Lawsuit Filed by East Hampton Residents Against LIPA, PSEG to Continue

Acting State Supreme Court Justice Andrew G. Tarantino released on Wednesday the decision allowing the lawsuit against both LIPA and PSEG Long Island filed by local residents after the installation of utility poles between East Hampton Village and Amagansett in 2013 to continue.

Two years ago, as part of a project to upgrade the transmission and distribution systems, PSEG installed a total of 267 utility poles along 6.2 miles in the area, according to the decision.

Residents living along the roads near the poles stated that the poles, which were treated with the chemical preservative pentachlorophenol, or penta, could cause “serious injury” to those breathing the fumes, according to the decision.

Residents also claimed that the transmission lines transmit harmful and dangerous electric magnetic fields, the poles and lines damaged the vegetation and scenic quality of East Hampton and significantly lowered the value of residential properties near the power lines, the decision reads.

LIPA and PSEG moved to dismiss the complaint, stating that the action is “an untimely and impermissible collateral attack on a final administrative determination,” Tarantino wrote in the decision.

Tarantino dismissed the claims of the poles decreasing local property values, but said that the health concerns should be explored further at trial.

Residents also claimed that LIPA failed to alert locals of the use of the chemical in the poles and that both companies failed to adhere to the State Environmental Quality Review Act when LIPA gave permission to continue the project, according to the decision.

“Absent from the record is proof of coordinated review or that LIPA contacted other involved agencies during the SEQRA process,” the decision reads. “Plaintiffs’ allegations sufficiently allege that defendants owed plaintiffs a duty of care and they breached that duty and caused damages to plaintiffs when they installed the electric poles.”