November 5, 2016Groups Challenge DEC Permits for Restart of Seneca Lake Power PlantOn October 28, the Committee to Preserve the Finger Lakes and the Coalition to Preserve New York filed an Article 78 proceeding challenging the validity of the Title IV and Title V air permits issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) on September 8 to Greenidge Generation LLC (“GGLLC”) for its project to repower the Greenidge Generating Station on Seneca Lake. The groups challenge the permits on the ground that DEC's environmental assessment under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”) was fundamentally flawed. Richard Lippes and I represent the Petitioners. Petitioners assert that DEC's amended negative declaration was based on incorrect assumptions concerning current and future operations at the Greenidge plant, failed to compare the environmental impacts of the restarted operations to the current baseline of no operations, failed to identify all relevant areas of environmental concern, failed take a hard look at the impacts identified, failed to give a reasoned elaboration why the identified impacts would not adversely affect the environment, improperly segmented review of the impacts of the pipeline and the waste disposal from the review of the impacts of repowering the generating station, failed to consider cumulative impacts and constituted a conditioned negative declaration for a Type I action. Petitioners seek an order annulling the Air Permits and the Negative Declaration and imposing a preliminary injunction prohibiting Respondent GGLLC from taking further steps to repower the generating station until Respondents have complied with all applicable federal and state laws. Update: On December 6, an amended petition was filed to add the Sierra Club as the lead Petitioner. An index to the papers and decisions in the case is posted on my law office website. Posted by Rachel Treichler 11/05/16, updated 01/03/23.
Copyright 2023, Rachel Treichler
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