Albany Supreme Court Determines NYS-DOH Cannot Shirk Responsibility to Protect Drinking Water Supplies from Agricultural Contamination

Albany, NY —

On May 6, 2025, the Albany County Supreme Court issued an order stating that the New York State Department of Health is responsible for and has the authority to issue Watershed Rules and Regulations to protect Owasco Lake and drinking water sources throughout New York State from dangerous agricultural pollution and associated human health harms.

The lawsuit leading to the ruling was filed by petitioners the City of Auburn, the Town of Owasco, and the Owasco Watershed Lake Association against the New York State Department of Health (DOH) and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, amidst a water quality crisis affecting more than 45,000 residents of Cayuga County. The water quality crisis has forced local officials to regularly close beaches and expend large sums of taxpayer dollars to treat drinking water.

In 2020, the City of Auburn and the Town of Owasco, which treat Owasco Lake’s water and deliver it to Cayuga County residents, asked DOH to update outdated Watershed Rules and Regulations that were failing to protect the Lake from the present-day sources of pollution that contribute to the growth of harmful algal blooms, and submitted draft regulations for approval. Harmful algal blooms contaminate water with toxins that can cause serious liver damage and may be carcinogenic. The draft regulations proposed mandating the adoption of best management practices to stop agricultural runoff, such as manure, the main controllable source of harmful algal blooms in Owasco Lake.

While DOH and other state agencies originally worked in tandem with the municipalities to amend the regulations for the Lake, for almost three years, DOH stated that the agency would be unable to adopt the requested regulations. DOH claimed that the state’s enactment of Agriculture & Markets law Article 11-a decades ago, which created a program for farmers to ask for state assistance in managing the environmental impacts, had stripped DOH of its authority to protect drinking water sources from agricultural pollution.

Alarmed by DOH’s position that the agency had lost authority held and used by it for over a century, the petitioners filed a lawsuit so that the court could decide whether DOH had indeed lost that power so central to its mission. But DOH then asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit — effectively telling the court that it did not want its authority restored. The court refused to dismiss the lawsuit and emphatically rejected DOH’s position, stating that “Article 11-a was intended to supplement existing laws, not replace them … it makes no sense that … the Legislature would determine to abolish the ability of the State to mandate rules and regulations designed to address this area of serious concern and replace it with a program that is voluntary in nature.”

This court decision affirms that DOH retains its power to protect sources of drinking water from agricultural pollution. DOH should exercise this authority to protect the state’s drinking water sources, instead of continuing to shirk its responsibilities.

“The court’s determination is welcome news and a step in the right direction in our ongoing efforts to protect Owasco Lake and the drinking water of over 45,000 Central New Yorkers. We have maintained, all along, that the New York State Department of Health was wrong in claiming that it does not have the power to regulate nutrient loading of Owasco Lake,” said James N. Giannettino, Jr., Mayor, City of Auburn, New York. “This was a deliberate and unfortunate choice by the DOH that has ultimately threatened the drinking water and health of our constituents.”

“We are happy that the court has decided that the Department of Health has the authority to protect Owasco Lake. Now we are hoping that the Department of Health will reconsider its previous decision to not move forward with these Watershed Rules and Regulations. We welcome the department to join us in our efforts to protect Owasco Lake so that people of Cayuga County watershed will have clean water now and for future generations,” said Edward Wagner, Town Board Supervisor, Owasco, New York.

“On behalf of our members and the lake itself, the Owasco Watershed Lake Association (OWLA) is pleased. This lawsuit is about state policy and the roles and responsibilities of state departments. This is fundamental to protecting Owasco Lake and its watershed. The state Department of Health is trying to disavow its responsibilities to protect sources of potable water in New York State and the judge has said that makes no sense,” said Carol Sutkus, President of Owasco Watershed Lake Association.