Riverkeeper sues state on T.Z. Bridge clean water loan

A group of environmental advocates has filed a lawsuit to block the state's attempt to tap a clean water fund for the Tappan Zee Bridge project.

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled that $481 million of the state's initial $511 million request included projects that were ineligible for a loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said the state will appeal the decision.

"We need to make sure that the ruling on the 95 percent of the loan stays in effect, and the best way we thought we could do so was to go to court to make sure a judge has jurisdiction over this, as well as the EPA," said Riverkeeper President Paul Gallay, the lawsuit's leader.

The suit also charges that the remaining $30 million the EPA has said qualifies should not be used either because the state did not follow public participation rules.

"That is important to us because the public should not be kept out of a process the Clean Water Act explicitly requires them to be involved in," Gallay said.

Riverkeeper, Waterkeeper Alliance and Environmental Advocates of New York sued Monday in state court in Albany. The suit names Joseph Martens, the state Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner, and host of state leaders as defendants. Cuomo is not named.

In June, Cuomo's administration said the state had applied for the $511 million loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a federally backed program administered by the state Environmental Facilities Corp.

Thruway Authority leaders said the money would be used for a host of environmental protections associated with the $3.9 billion Tappan Zee Bridge replacement, including river dredging and marsh restoration. But they also planned to use a large portion for the demolition of the existing bridge and the new span's recreation path.

The state's proposal sparked outrage among environmental groups, who argued the clean water fund is intended for sewage treatment projects, not bridge construction activities.

In July, the Public Authorities Control Board unanimously approved a $255.7 million loan — or half of the Thruway's proposal. The Thruway board of directors also gave that amount the green light, with Thruway leaders maintaining they would seek the remaining half as the Tappan Zee work progresses.

But the plan hit a snag last month when the EPA ruled that $481 million of the initial request included projects that did not qualify for the clean water fund. Gallay said Tuesday he does not think the EFC has disbursed any of the money in question to the Thruway Authority.

In a statement, the EFC said the loan would reduce TZ project costs "by up to $35 million and help keep future bridge tolls as low as possible. EFC intends to vigorously defend its right to finance Clean Water Act projects that benefit the Hudson River Estuary."