Morning Read: As waters rise, North Country dam operator catches a break

There’s a certain synchronicity to the fact that this week, while the North Country struggled with floodwaters, the embattled Hudson River Black River Regulating district finally caught a break in court.

The HRBRRD lost its major source of funding in 2008 when power companies won a lawsuit that freed them from paying regular user fees to the authority.

Ever since, the Regulating District has operated with deep deficits.  An effort to demand that downstream counties pay more for flood protection has been tangled up in litigation.

But a judge has sided with the dam-operator, concluding that it is appropriate for counties to pay for the flood control services they receive.

This from the Watertown Daily Times:

Those counties had sued in an attempt to overturn the assessments, arguing that additional communities downriver of the regulating district’s dams, including New York City, should be charged the additional expenses incurred by the regulating district.

Saratoga Supreme Court Justice Stephen Ferradino threw out the case April 1. The district was informed Wednesday by the state attorney general’s office, which represented the district in the matter.

The ruling could force Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties to pay roughly $2 million dollars in annual flood control fees.  The Saratogian is reporting that the counties are considering an appeal.

Saratoga County Attorney Stephen Dorsey said he was disappointed by the decision and said the private attorneys who represented the counties are urging each of the counties’ officials to appeal the decision.

Dorsey said he will present that option to Saratoga County officials at next week’s law and finance committee meeting.

The Glens Falls Post Star is reporting that Warren County has already voted to move forward with an appeal.

Warren County supervisors also discussed an effort to convince local state legislators to have a bill taken up that would absolve the counties of the expense and have the district become a state-funded arm of the state.

They have also argued that municipalities along the Hudson River downstream of Albany also benefit from the district, so they should be required to pay as well.

It’s unclear when any actual revenues will reach the HRBRRD, which had a deficit of more than $3 million this year, some of which is owed to local school districts in the form of property tax payments.

The state-run authority has been operating on a skeleton crew.

Tags: flooding