OWLA, the City of Auburn, and Town of Owasco Filed a New Lawsuit to Protect Owasco Lake

To our OWLA Members,

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I wanted to inform you of the recent OWLA effort to support the Owasco Lake Watershed Rules and Regulations that were submitted to the State in 2020. The OWLA Board of Directors, after reviewing our Vision, Mission and Values statements agreed to join a new lawsuit (filed 11/22/2024) along with the City of Auburn and the Town of Owasco. 

This new Article 78 lawsuit takes aim at the New York State Department of Health's recent decision that new rules and regulations are not necessary to protect Owasco Lake drinking water. The state provided no data or information to support that decision. This Article 78 petition filed in the Cayuga County Supreme Court challenges the Department's decision to deny the City of Auburn and Town of Owasco's request to regulate and protect Owasco Lake's water quality. The press release announcing the lawsuit is included in this notice.  

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The first court date has been scheduled for January 2, 2025 at 9:45 am before Judge Budelmann at the Cayuga County Courthouse. You are welcome to attend the session to show support for this effort. 

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As an update on our previous lawsuit filed in January 2024, that groundbreaking lawsuit is still going through the legal process. This landmark Article 78 procedure seeks to clarify that the NYS Department of Health does have the right to regulate nutrient management practices. This legal determination will have impacts across all of New York state. Many watersheds, including our own, presently have some agricultural nutrient pollution regulation on the books. If NYS Department of Health's legal determination is allowed to stand, protections for many watersheds, including our own will likely be rolled back. We joined this filing to help ensure that NYS Department of Health fulfills its duties for all watersheds in the state.

EarthJustice is serving as the attorneys on behalf of the City, Town, and OWLA at no cost to us. EarthJustice is a non-profit organization that provides legal representation for environmental issues.

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Carol Sutkus

OWLA President

Press Release

December 9, 2024

Contact: City of Auburn, Office of the Mayor, 315-255-4104

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City of Auburn, Town of Owasco, and the Owasco Watershed Lake Association Announce New Lawsuit to Protect Cayuga County's Drinking Water Source

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The Article 78 Petition filed in the Cayuga County Supreme Court challenges New York State Department of Health's Recent Decision to Deny the City of Auburn and Town of Owasco's Request to Regulate and Protect Owasco Lake's Water Quality

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Auburn, NY – On December 5, 2024, a summons was served on the New York State Department of Health announcing a new Article 78 lawsuit filed against the state agency by the City of Auburn, the Town of Owasco, and the Owasco Watershed Lake Association. The new lawsuit takes aim at the Department's unsupported decision that new regulations are not necessary to protect Owasco Lake drinking water. Since 2016, Owasco Lake has been beset by a harmful algal bloom crisis that is degrading the quality of the waterbody. Owasco Lake serves as the drinking water source for 45,000 Cayuga County residents. The City of Auburn, the Town of Owasco, and Cayuga County officials and residents have spent the better part of a decade working on responding to this public health crisis by developing new watershed rules and regulations to protect Owasco Lake. In 2020, the City of Auburn and the Town of Owasco made a request to the State Department of Health to enact the new watershed rules and regulations for Owasco Lake. This July, the Department denied the City of Auburn and Town of Owasco's request to regulate Owasco Lake. The Department announced the decision in a terse letter stating that the water body does not need any new watershed rules and regulations whatsoever to help manage its water quality.

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The Article 78 Petition filed in court to commence the lawsuit states that the Department of Health's denial of the request to make new regulations to protect Owasco Lake from harmful algal blooms is contrary to the best available science and to the prior determinations and commitments of public health officials.

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"The State Department of Health has a duty to protect drinking water sources across New York," says City of Auburn Mayor, James N. Giannettino, Jr. "The decision to abandon Cayuga County amid our harmful algal bloom crisis has no basis in reason, in science, or in the law. We feel betrayed. But we are fighting back to make sure the State protects our residents from toxic

harmful algal blooms."

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"The State Department of Health has acknowledged Owasco Lake's water quality issues and until recently agreed with the City of Auburn and the Town of Owasco to create new regulations to protect Owasco Lake," said Town of Owasco Supervisor, Ed Wagner. "Harmful algal blooms continue to roil the Owasco Lake watershed, and the Departments' determinations and decisions are making it more difficult to protect Cayuga County residents."

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"The State Department of Health-endorsed science-based reports like the Nine Element Plan and the HABs Action Plan recognize the need to protect Owasco Lake by controlling nutrient and sediment pollution," says Owasco Watershed Lake Association President, Carol Sutkus. "We are stunned by the State's about-face. The State made a decision about our lake and our drinking water, but they provided no reasoning and no data to support the decision."

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The City of Auburn and The Town of Owasco are the two suppliers of water sourcing and distributing public water from Owasco Lake to 45,000 residents of Cayuga County.

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The Owasco Watershed Lake Association, Inc. (OWLA) is a non-profit, volunteer and membership-based organization that works to preserve, protect and restore Owasco Lake and its watershed for future generations. OWLA strives to improve water quality for both drinking and full recreational use while protecting the balance of its ecosystem. www.owla.org. info@owla.org. 315-704-5510.