The two small Saratoga County villages that share a wastewater treatment plant on the Hudson River are headed to court over some of what happened during last year’s state-ordered plant upgrade.
The village of Victory, population 605, has filed a lawsuit in state Supreme Court against the neighboring village of Schuylerville, population 1,400, seeking at least $750,000 in damages because of incidents that happened during the upgrade and expansion of the Schuylerville wastewater treatment plant.
The $4 million sewer-improvement project was done after a number of years of the plant located in Schuylerville being under a state Department of Environmental Conservation consent order to make improvements because of improper discharges into the Hudson.
The two villages abut each other, and share water and sewer services. Victory says the sewer-plant improvements were undertaken “without input, agreement, participation or other involvement by Victory.”
The lawsuit was filed last week at the Saratoga County clerk’s office in Ballston Spa.
Victory officials contend that Schuylerville’s contractors last July removed an underground metering station located in Victory and owned by the village of Victory, replacing it with equipment that is owned by Schuylerville. That metering site is intended to measure the amount of sewer flow coming into the Schuylerville system from its municipal neighbor.
Victory officials also contend that a drying bed and other property that Victory owns at the wastewater treatment plant in Schuylerville was accessed by contractors without Victory’s permission, and new construction took place without Victory’s OK, constituting “continuing unlawful trespass” and taking of Victory’s property.
On Monday, Schuylerville Mayor John Sherman referred a request for comment on the lawsuit to village attorney Matthew Fuller of Lake George.
Fuller said he hadn’t yet seen the lawsuit, so couldn’t comment on it.
Newspaper clippings show that the two villages have had a contentious relationship in recent years, particularly over management of the jointly managed water system.
Categories: Schenectady County
