STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOSEPH A. GRIFFO ON THE MOHAWK VALLEY WATER AUTHORITY’S LEGAL ACTION AGAINST THE STATE CANAL CORPORATION

“Water is arguably the most important resource that we rely on.  We use it for consumption, for recreation, for conservation and for generation of power.  The last several years have seen a contentious disagreement on who controls, who allocates and  who is responsible for making sure that we have enough water for all our needs – the most important being safe drinking water. Today’s announcement by the Mohawk Valley Water Authority to file a motion to intervene in a lawsuit because its settlement offer was ignored, points to the fact that we aren’t progressing toward a agreement of the Hinckley Reservoir’s water  level control. I’ve spoken to the Chairman of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee and requested that a hearing of the Committee be convened to compel all parties to testify as to why we haven’t sufficiently progressed to where we need to be.  I’ll be making an announcement shortly as to the specifics and logistics of the hearing.”