POUND RIDGE, N.Y. - A legal challenge brought by a Pound Ridge property owner against two state agencies could wind up delaying – if not sinking -- plans for an $11.1 million water improvement project in Scotts Corners.
The Article 78 proceeding was filed by Donna P. Simons against the state Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) and the state Department of Health (DOH) in February.
The town itself was not named in the original complaint, but after it sought to intervene as a “necessary party,” it was included as a “respondent” in an amended version.
The town plans to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, according to its attorney, Bill Harrington.
As of press time, it was not known if the EFC or the DOH had done the same.
Last fall, Pound Ridge announced that it had been selected to receive a $7.7 million Water Infrastructure Improvement grant through the EFC.
Seeking to “annul and revoke” the grant, Simons’ suit calls the state’s decision to award it “arbitrary and capricious and based on errors of law.”
'Forever' Chemicals Detected
Considered the town’s cultural and business center, the hamlet has dealt with groundwater pollution from septic systems as well as a major service station leak in the past.
The Scotts Corners area is served by individual privately owned wells and small non-community public water systems, which share the same groundwater resources.
More recently, wells were found to contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in excess of the state and federal government’s maximum allowable levels.
(They’re called “forever chemicals” because they don't break down in the environment or in the human body.)
The town was issued two violations by the Westchester County Department of Health.
Last October, Supervisor Kevin Hansan appealed to voters to approve the establishment of a public water district in the hamlet.
“The outcome of this vote is critical to the future of Scotts Corners and our wider community. It will significantly shape the quality of our drinking water and the economic resilience and sustainability of the area,” he wrote.
The public referendum was approved with a vote of 20-15.
The plan was to connect a water main from the Aquarion Water Company’s system on High Ridge Road and then run it along Upper Shad Road and Westchester Avenue into Scotts Corners.
The goal was to have things ready for hook-ups by the fall of 2026. That schedule relied on the district’s formation and the award of grants and low- or zero-interest loans.
The district itself has to be approved by the state comptroller and this can’t happen while it’s the subject of a lawsuit.
In December, the town announced that it had been tapped to receive the WIIA grant. That would cover about 70 percent of the project’s cost.
Money
According to Hansan, the EFC had informed the town that it also qualifies for federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Officially known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, it targets transportation projects but also includes investments in water infrastructure, broadband, clean energy, and environmental remediation.
For that to happen, it has to officially create the water district.
But because the Trump administration could cut back on federal grants, the town was advised by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to have a back-up plan.
In response, it applied for $3.1 million in Congressional Directed Spending funding through Gillibrand’s office and another $3.1 million from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office.
If everything falls into place, the town could receive more than $17 million in outside funding, meaning that it wouldn’t have to borrow any money for the project.
The idea is to divert as much of the financial burden away from the water district’s taxpayers “as possible,” Hansan explained.
“Our plan is not to have to go for a bond,” he added.
Simons' Side
Simons declined to comment for this article.
However, in a “letter of opposition” read to the Town Board last July, Simons identified herself as one of 39 property owners within the proposed water district.
“From my understanding, you tested just two wells in a location historically known for ground contamination. And as a result, you plan to impose a 3.4 million dollar debt upon all the properties from PBA through PBC, despite their zoning, whether their wells are effected (sic) or not, and whether they even wish to participate.”
(If the town doesn’t get funding beyond the WIIA grant, it would have to bond the rest of the $11.2 million project.)
Simons founded Pound Ridge Organics Farm, a food co-op, market, and teaching kitchen run out of a carriage house on Westchester Avenue. She lives next door.
She calculated that -- based on how the town would assess her property for taxing purposes as part of the district – she could face an annual bill of at least $4,300 – or $129,000 over the life of a 30-year bond.
“As a senior, and sole proprietor of a small business, I can’t afford this!” she wrote, asking the town to table the project “go back to the drawing board and seriously hear, really - truly listen, to the concerns of the citizens that you have the responsibility and privilege to serve and support.”
Suit Allegations
Simons’ complaint alleges that the town’s grant application “was riddled with misrepresentations, misstatements, errors, and other fundamental flaws.”
It references a letter to that effect that was signed by herself and 20 other town residents and sent to the EFC and DOH.
Her suit claims that the agencies “ignored them and then rubber-stamped” the town’s application without giving it the “requisite hard look.”
Simons also states that the town “blatantly lied” in its application about submitting its annual financial reports in a timely fashion to the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC).
The lawsuit alleges that this was done because “failure to comply with the OSC’s regulations would call into question its financial responsibility and ability to manage an $11 million infrastructure project.”
Simons asserted that the town’s application “misrepresented” the proposed district’s “median household income” in order to receive “hardship financing” subsidies from the EFC.
She claimed it “falsified” the cost per “Equivalent Dwelling Unit” in order to keep the project below the comptroller’s average $1,083 per EDU.
According to Simons, the town “wrongly” assigned a “staggering five EDUs” to her property “making her responsibly for five households’ worth of the construction, implementation, and annual cost for this project.”
(An EDU is a single-family home or individual apartment that uses up to 110 gallons per day. Non-residential or properties with residential and commercial uses have been assigned a number of EDUs based on a simple formula that estimates the water usage for each permitted use on the property and divides it by 110 GPD, with a minimum of one EDU per each independent use.)
According to Simons’ suit, she fears that the costs assigned to property owners in the district “will very likely lead to the demise of her business and the loss of her home of 30 years.”
Simons also claims that the town “grossly overstated” the extent of PFAs exposure in the proposed district.
The chemicals were found at two sites in the northwestern end of the proposed district and, the lawsuit said, the town “provided no evidence” of any contamination in the southeastern end – where Simons’ property is.
The suit claims that the town hasn’t made any effort to “ensure that the municipal water” it plans to use “will be free of PFAS.”
Folks who oppose the district have argued installing “private point of entry treatment filtration systems “can effectively address the identified freshwater concerns at a fraction of the cost of the proposed public system.”
After “word spread of possible PFAS contamination in Scotts Corners,” Simons installed filters at her business and home “out of an excess of caution.”
Hansan said last week that he “would welcome the opportunity to comment,” on the suit’s particulars but has been advised by the town’s legal counsel, Bill Harrington, not to at this time.
However, he was able to make a generalized statement.
“I have complete confidence that the EFC reviewed our grant application in detail,” Hansan said.
Stepping Up
Ellen Ivers of the town’s Water and Wastewater Task Force spoke at the Town Board’s April 15 meeting, after Harrington brought folks up to speed on the situation.
The PFAS are likely coming from septic tanks, however, there also appears to be a “stronger” source that has yet to be tracked down, Ivers said.
Several buildings in the business district are now using bottled water and considering using filters.
Some critics have hit the project as just the beginning of more broad development plan for the area.
However, Ivers insisted, the only goal is “to find a solution that works and protects the public health of everybody down there.”
A filter is “only as good as the monitoring,” she said, adding: “When it’s full, you can have the best filter in the world, but if you don’t take care of it, it won’t work.”
“As far as I can see, the town stepped up to protect its residents, which is what a town ought to do," Ivers said.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here