GOSHEN – Orange County Government has settled a long-standing case of three families on Police Drive in the Town of Goshen with contaminated water wells. It will cost the county $1.5 million and about $300,000 to construct a water line to their homes.
The homeowners had claimed potential damages during a lawsuit, which began in 2007 for which they sought $18.3 million. In May 2015, they sought over $10 million.
County Executive Steven Neuhaus took up the issue when he came into office because gas pumps had leaked into the private wells from the county’s nearby highway garage.
“The EPA and the DEC both had originally placed blame on the county because it was our pumps,” Neuhaus said. “So, what did the county do? The county fixed the water at the highway garage for its workers, but never fixed the water and the damage that was done to the wells of the residents who were impacted around there.”
In 2014, Neuhaus proposed that the county finance a waterline from the Village of Goshen water system to the families, but the county legislature did not authorize the bonding for the project.
The county water authority agreed to pay for the project when Neuhaus became involved.
One of the plaintiffs in the case, Stephanie Cockburn, said that Neuhaus “was personally involved and promised to do whatever he could to bring us a fair settlement.” She said he was the first and only elected official to keep his word since the issue arose. “As residents of Orange County, we only wanted to be treated fairly, and we feel we have been.”
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