Asharoken to appeal in KeySpan suit

The beach in Asharoken, with Northport plant in the distance.

By Deborah S. Morris
deborah.morris@newsday.com

The village of Asharoken officials voted unanimously Monday to appeal a judge's decision to throw out a decades-old lawsuit against the former Long Island Lighting Co., now KeySpan.

Village Mayor William Kelly said a vote to hire the law firm of Schlam Stone & Dolan LLp was also approved by a vote of three yes, one no and one abstention.

“It’s a serious issue,” Mayor William Kelly said. “Most people live on the water either on the bay, the sound. They’re convinced the power plant is the culprit. We’ve lost hundreds of feet of beach.”

Kelly was notified July 3 of the judges decision.

Village officials and residents had argued in the $20-million lawsuit that the high-powered expulsion of about 1 million gallons of water per minute from the utility’s Northport power plant into Long Island Sound continues to disturb the flow of sand to the shore.

At a meeting last month more 100 residents gathered at the Laurel Avenue School in Northport to discuss what to do next. At that meeting, Kelly said he wanted residents opinions before the board made its decision.

“I’m convinced appealing is the right thing to do,” Kelly said. “I’m not pleased with spending a lot of money but it was the only thing to do. The government has not helped us yet.”

Kelly said the village has been in touch with the Army Corps of Engineers to try to enlist its aid, but so far village officials have not gotten a response.