Huntington – Supervisor Chad A.
Lupinacci released a statement on calls by State Senator Jim Gaughran for the
production of State DEC emissions reports on the Northport Power Plant on
January 24, 2020:
“The emissions produced by the Northport
Power Plant have always been a very serious concerning for our community,
especially now with the environmental findings at Northport Middle School
coming to light. We trusted the school district would take quick action to
protect their students and faculty based on the findings of their investigation
and we applaud the school district’s recent decision to move out of the
building while they further their environmental investigation. We are also
pleased to hear the State Department of Health is investigating a possible
connection between the Northport Power Plant and environmental issues found in
the area surrounding the plant, including the area in the vicinity of Northport
Middle School.
“Prior to my colleagues on the Town Board
inquiring with our Town Attorney on this issue this week, the Town Attorney,
his internal team and our outside LIPA counsel have invested significant
resources in researching documents dating back decades, and housed in the Town
Clerk’s Archives, regarding terms of agreements granting or removing emissions
monitoring authority over the Northport Power Plant, and past Town Board and
Planning Board resolutions concerning this topic. While the question of the
Town’s emissions monitoring authority is under review, there is no question
that the New York State DEC and the EPA have environmental oversight on the
plant’s emissions, confirmed in part by the 2019 NYS DEC permit review report
cited by the Senator today.
“If the New York State DEC has determined
that the plant has been in "severe non-attainment" for VOCs, and they
have assessed the impact of those emissions on the greater safety, health and
general welfare of the community, we ask Senator Gaughran to ensure the State
acts to ensure that LIPA comes into compliance, since the State has the
information he is calling for the Town to seek and the authority to enforce
emissions regulations.
“Our administration and this Town Board
inherited the LIPA case in 2018. The Town has spent approximately $4.2 million
to date defending the LIPA tax lawsuit. In our short two years in office we
have invested the most significant amount of resources into this case, $1.9
million, which amounts to over 45% of the full legal costs over the entire
ten-year timeline of the case.
“In addition to the tax certiorari experts
on our legal team, we have an internationally recognized energy analyst with
more than thirty years of experience in the energy, utility, environmental, and
regulatory fields providing invaluable assistance to our attorneys. While the
pending nature of the litigation limits what we can say publicly regarding this
topic, we want to assure our residents that this administration is devoting
substantial resources and pursuing all avenues to obtain a fair outcome in the
best interests of the health, safety and welfare of our community.”
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