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Ë®¹ûÅÉAV obtained a letter signed by Dr. N. Scott Alderman, assistant director of the state Department of Health's Bureau of Water Supply Protection, to Auburn Mayor Jimmy Giannettino and Owasco Supervisor Ed Wagner. The letter notifies the municipalities that the state "does not intend to move forward with amendments" to the watershed rules. 

"Following internal evaluation of the existing regulations, the department has determined that amendments are not necessary to ensure potable water quality for the foreseeable future," Alderman wrote. "Instead, the bureau will continue assisting the city, town, New York state Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Agriculture and Markets with other critical efforts to protect Owasco Lake against the damaging effects of climate change." 

The decision comes as the localities, along with the Owasco Watershed Lake Association, are suing the state over proposed changes to the regulations. The lawsuit, filed in January, accuses the state Department of Health of not following the Public Health Law procedures for updating the watershed rules and violating the constitutional right to clean water. 

The legal challenge also alleges that the state Department of Health committed an error when it determined that it could not regulate nutrient pollution because of language in the state's agriculture and markets law. The city and town sought nutrient management regulations, but was denied by the department. 

After toxins from harmful algal blooms were found in drinking water supplies in 2016, local officials collaborated on a process to update the watershed rules for the first time since 1984. The product of that work was a proposal approved by city and town governments at a meeting in 2020. 

The state Department of Health did not issue a formal response until 2022. When it unveiled its own proposal last year, it omitted many of the changes requested by localities, including nutrient management rules and a prohibition on pollutants entering the lake. 

Local leaders were outraged that their work was largely ignored. A spokesperson for the state Department of Health said in August 2023 that it was "finalizing updates to the watershed rules and regulations" and there would be a public comment period. 

The lawsuit has yet to be resolved. It was initially filed in Cayuga County Supreme Court, but it has since been moved to a state court in Albany.