“Several local municipalities and advocacy groups are part of a lawsuit filed against the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) accusing the state agency of violating state law when it failed to comply with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and not take a “hard look” at the environmental consequences of its regulations, among other allegations.
Ben Wisniewski, an attorney with the Zoghlin Group PLLC, that filed the lawsuit in Albany County, Tuesday, represents 13 petitioners, including the Town of Cambria, the Town of Somerset and the Town of Yates, as well as three other towns in New York and seven advocacy and education groups including Cambria Opposition to Industrial Solar (COIS) and Save Ontario Shores (SOS).
SEQR violations
“The allegation here is when this new ORES siting body was drafting its regulations for power plants, they failed to engage in the environmental review required by SEQRA,” Wisniewski explained. “That’s the violation.””
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Joe, Benjamin. Union-Sun & Journal 29 June 2021.