Orange County Legislature votes for 2nd suit vs. Kiryas Joel pipeline
By Chris Mckenna
Times Herald-Record
July 02, 2009
GOSHEN — Orange County lawmakers voted unanimously Wednesday night to support a second lawsuit against Kiryas Joel to challenge the environmental review for the village's proposed pipeline to the Catskill Aqueduct.
County Executive Ed Diana announced last week, as a public hearing and Legislature vote on the issue were looming, that he planned to file a suit, so the 20-0 vote was a purely symbolic show of support for that decision.
Litigation filed by the county in 2004 forced Kiryas Joel to elaborate on four parts of its environmental review but allowed the village to do so with no further public comment. Opponents contended the amendments made this year were inadequate and pressed for a second suit.
Legislators listened to two hours of arguments in support of a suit at a hearing in Central Valley Monday night and heard another round of public comments before voting.
Sheila Conroy of Woodbury reiterated her arguments that Kiryas Joel has underestimated its rapid population growth to play down the "tsunami" of sewage it will send to the county treatment plant if it's allowed to tap New York City's water supply.
"Supplying inaccurate responses just to say that it is done does not satisfy the intent of the court decision or SEQRA," Conroy said, using the acronym for the State Environmental Quality Review Act.
"Honest answers need to put out for all to look at," she added.
Jonathan Swiller, leader of a Woodbury citizens group called OCEAN, argued that allowing the amended review to pass without scrutiny means that "anything filed, a still-deficient document such as we have here, a phone book, a blank sheet of paper, must be accepted. That is absurd."
When it came time to vote, even Michael Amo, who represents Kiryas Joel on the Legislature, supported a lawsuit, saying, "Let's let the courts make that decision if it will satisfy people, and then let's move on."
Diana has until July 31 to file the suit, which will be funded with money left from the $250,000 lawmakers authorized in 2004 to challenge the pipeline study. His office said in 2007 that the county had spent $126,806 on an outside firm that handled the case.
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34 comments:
How about a swill?
Only if you're moving your hips.
Where there's a swill, there's a sway.
Anyone know what's going on with the board vacancy? Didn't they have the interviews weeks ago?
You alive, Uncle?
If you call this living.
I'm wading through the claims and counter claims about the Water Master Plan to try to figure out what's really going on.
I hope to post on it soon.
Help anyone?
WHO is wading through it??????????
I, me, your beloved Uncle.
Bureaucratese is a tough slog, so I am more than pleased to accept the input of others (hint, hint).
Oh please, the water master plan is just a back door way to get more support for the pipeline,just ask David Church hahahahahaha!
Why isn't Gerri running? Anyone know.
I would vote for her.
Not sure if I will even vote at all. The choice is dismal.
Maybe I will vote for the kid. I would like to hear more from him.
Gerri is selfishly putting the needs of her family, her health and her job above those of being a minority voice on a near meaningless board.
Why isn't the Republican CLUB found anyone to run in her place?
Town Board wont be so meaningless when we get this coterminous thing that everyone ran on a few months ago.
Haven't heard enough from him either, but Skoufis seems to be the only honest one of the bunch running.
Exactly what would you be basing your opinion on?
In briefly speaking with him a couple weeks ago when he came around to get my signature, he seems to be running for the right reasons and genuinely interested in the issues and improving Woodbury.
I heard that he is really part of a devilish plot to bring intergity back to government. But I could be wrong.
But the other choices, Ralph and Frank just add up to Fiend or Foe.
I'm voting for James and then I'll hold my nose and pick either Frank or George - probably Frank.
Now that makes no sense-George has integrity-Frank doesn't know the meaning of the word!
If you cast your vote for Frank,
you won't have me to thank,
because warn you I must,
vote for him and go bust,
and then woodbury is in the tank!!!
and besides, he doesn't have the guts or the desire to stand up to the bullies in KJ and that's what we need now.
and before you say it, it has nothing to do with religion or ethnicity, but with the crap that they are getting away with.
What else do we have to do with KJ? Didn't we stop the pipeline?
Another uninformed woodburyite! No the pipeline is stopped just for now, but who knows after the court case?
Looks like we're getting a new board member tomorrow:
http://townofwoodbury.com/calendar/agenda.shtm
Anyone hear who got the nod?
Rumours reaching the Uncle suggest a better than 66 % chance his initials are JS.
Is it the Pieman?
If it is...shoot me now!
FP is more like it.
Not what I'm hearing.
The new Town Board member is James Skoufis.
Good.
Nice to see that the kid is going to get some training before the election.
Maybe he will realize it is not the fun and games he thinks it is.
Not sure where you're getting that from, but James seems to be taking it very seriously to me.
Uncle Betty how about changing the topic to the upcoming town board candidates?
Residents need to know the ugly truth about Ralph.
He is pursuing an article 78 against the Village Planning Board and other entities that is costing the residents that live in the town.
How many lawsuits does that make?
When was the last time he actually served in an official elected position?
How many times has he lost an election?
WTF - we don't need or want Ralph!
Oh why don't you want Ralph?
Just because his last four elections went south?
He tries very hard,
to get his name on the card,
And his is not afraid to use his mouth!
Look, the kid may be inexperienced but he doesnt seem evil or demented and actually seems smart.
Ralph is evil. Look at his history.
Frank is demented and in KJ's pocket.
George is clueless, just watch the zoning board meetings.
Nuff said?
This town is going to hell in a hand basket and it is no one's fault but the peoples, especially the ones who don't vote.
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