Illegal Stormwater Discharges Allegedly Inundated St. Mary’s Cemetery And New York State Route 281 In Cortland County

Schneiderman: Our Laws Are There To Safeguard Public And Private Property And Must Be Respected

Last week, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that he has obtained a court order against a Cortland County property owner for allegedly causing the flooding of a cemetery and State Route 281. The court order, which is a preliminary injunction and consent order, requires James C. Stevens, III of Cortlandville, to cease diverting stormwater from his property unless he secures a DEC permit to do so. A lawsuit previously filed by the Attorney General’s Office alleged Stevens was illegally diverting water from his property, which is adjacent to the cemetery, in violation of state environmental and public nuisance laws. The cemetery flooding, according to the suit, desecrated grave sites and necessitated the disinterment and reburial of several bodies.

“New York’s environmental laws are there to protect our health and our communities,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “Nobody is above the law, and my office will hold accountable those who create public nuisances and endanger New Yorkers.”

Information on the lawsuit, filed in the New York Supreme Court in Cortland County, is available here. The order, signed by the Hon. Phillip R. Rumsey, J.S.C., is available here. It requires Stevens:

• To cease diverting stormwater from his property unless and until he secures a DEC permit to do so and implements a DEC approved stormwater pollution prevention plan;
• Within 20 days, to submit for DEC review and approval a proposed engineering plan for restoring his property to pre-stormwater diversion conditions and implementing appropriate stormwater controls;
• To restore drainage back to its original pre-diversion configuration.
• Claims for penalties regarding the state’s allegations of Environmental Conservation Law violations and public nuisance are pending.

Attorney General Schneiderman’s suit alleged that, in undertaking clearing, grading, and other construction activities on his Ridgeway Avenue property in July 2012, Stevens altered the direction of stormwater runoff. As a result, stormwater from approximately 120 acres of land that had previously drained into a wooded area without causing harm has been redirected through a series of conveyances and ultimately downslope onto cemetery burial plots and other nearby properties, including State Route 281.

The complaint charged that Stevens’ activities violate several state environmental laws, including by releasing unpermitted discharge of stormwater from construction activity and failing to implement a stormwater pollution prevention plan. The suit also charged that his illegal activities, having allegedly injured the property, health, safety or comfort of a considerable number of persons– particularly with respect to the flooding of St. Mary’s Cemetery and State Route 281 – constitute a public nuisance under state law.

The complaint cited reports of the Catholic Cemeteries of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, which owns St. Mary’s Cemetery, that several families have been forced to disinter and rebury bodies of their loved ones due to significant erosion caused by Stevens’ alleged illegal stormwater discharges. The Diocese also reports that the discharges have transported sediment, gravel, and dirt from the Stevens’ property and caused significant soil erosion on cemetery property. On multiple dates, the discharges have reportedly desecrated grave sites at St. Mary’s by covering them with debris and by eroding them.

In addition to the impacts at the cemetery, the complaint alleged that illegal stormwater discharges had, on multiple dates, caused runoff to flow downslope onto Route 281 where it has overwhelmed the stormwater collection system, flooded the road, and threatened public safety.

According to the complaint, since July 2013, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has informed Stevens of the violations of state environmental law and sought his cooperation in correcting them. However, Stevens has not corrected the violations and his illegal discharges allegedly continue. Attorney General Schneiderman thanks the DEC for its assistance in this matter.

This case is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Joseph M. Kowalczyk and Michael J. Myers, and Environmental Scientists Mauricio Roma and Charles Silver. The Environmental Protection Bureau is led by Lemuel M. Srolovic. Executive Deputy Attorney General for Social Justice is Alvin Bragg and First Deputy for Affirmative Litigation is Janet Sabel. DEC Region 7 Regional Attorney Joseph Sluzar and Environmental Program Specialist Scott Cook assisted in the case.