Saratoga Water Services Inc. and the Saratoga County Water Authority reached an agreement Friday, April 25, that prevents Saratoga Water Services from pursuing any new litigation efforts against the Water Authority while allowing Saratoga Water Services to provide water to a portion of Luther Forest Technology Campus.
We’re pleased with the settlement, said Waterford Supervisor John Lawler, chairman of the Saratoga County Water Authority. `We were able to benefit all parties involved.`
He added, `The settlement eliminates the last existing legal challenges to the project.`
President of Saratoga Water Services Alec Mackay said, `I think it was a fair and amicable agreement.`
Mackay said the portion of the tech park known as the `fifth pod` is projected to use 50,000 gallons of water a day.
The agreement also states if the county water system is not complete by the time Advanced Micro Devices begins building in Malta that Saratoga Water Services will be designated to provide water for construction.
Lawler said the settlement protects Mackay and provides a back-up water supply to the tech park.
AMD has proposed building a microchip fabrication plant in Malta. The company is in talks with Malta officials to gain approval for preliminary construction work on the site.
Saratoga County Water Services has been providing water to the area for 30 years.
Mackay has filed several suits against the Saratoga County Water Authority in past years.
`We challenged basically anything we could or thought we could at the time,` Mackay said.
Mackay’s latest suit charged the Saratoga County Water Authority with violating the Constitution because the Water Authority was given permission by the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to run a pipeline through Moreau Lake State Park.
The $67 million county water system, which is dependent on a $4.8 milllion loan from the county general fund until the plant is in its seventh year of operation, is funded through $33 million in grants from sources including the Dormitory Authority and the Empire State Development Corporation.
The county’s plan is to draw water from the Hudson River in Moreau and pipe it along the Northway to the southern end of the county, where it will serve the Luther Forest Technology Campus.
Neither party expects any future disagreements.
`I don’t expect any other issues,` Mackay said. However, he said he is glad to have the document in writing to ensure if the Water Authority switches hands that the agreement will be upheld.
`I think we have a good working relationship,` Lawler said.
The water authority said the water rate will be about $2.05, but that an exact figure will not be known until the water is turned on.“
