Judge Rules that the State Department of Health Has the Authority to Adopt Rules and Regulations to Protect Owasco Lake

Hello to all our OWLA members!

We recently received good news regarding the lawsuit filed in January 2024 taking issue with the New York State Department of Health (DOH) determination that it did not have the authority to adopt rules and regulations that were developed to protect Owasco Lake. We filed this lawsuit in partnership with the City of Auburn and the Town of Owasco. The judge in this case agreed with us that that DOH’s claim of lack of authority “…is an error of law, and was made arbitrarily and capriciously”.

The lawsuit leading to the ruling was filed against the DOH amidst a water quality crisis affecting more than 45,000 residents of Cayuga County. The water quality crisis has forced local officials to regularly close beaches and expend large sums of taxpayer dollars to treat drinking water.

This court decision affirms that DOH retains its power to protect sources of drinking water from agricultural pollution. We believe DOH should exercise this authority to protect the state’s drinking water sources, instead of continuing to shirk its responsibilities.

The City of Auburn, the Town of Owasco, and OWLA also filed a second lawsuit in November 2024 that takes aim at DOH’s later decision that new regulations are not necessary to protect Owasco Lake drinking water. We have no recent updates on this second lawsuit but will be sure to let you know when we do have information.

This is all great news for Owasco Lake and its watershed. The judge’s language was very strong in support of our arguments on behalf of the rules and regulations.

Thank you,

Carol Sutkus

OWLA President