The decision whether or not to mandate an adjudicatory hearing regarding the Adirondack Park Agency’s decision to approve the White Lake quarry project has been postponed.

Supreme Court Judge Bernadette Romano withheld her ruling on the matter of the Adirondack White Lake Association’s (AWLA) petition against the Adirondack Park Agency’s (APA) decision to grant a permit without first holding a legally mandated adjudicatory hearing on a highly contested application to open a granite mine in the Adirondack Park. Romano stated that she wanted to conduct further review before making a final decision.

Attorney Todd Ommen, with law intern James Brody, of Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, represented the AWLA and Protect the Adirondacks!, who jointly filed the petition to request an adjudicatory hearing. They made oral arguments that the APA’s January decision to approve the permit for Red Rock Quarry Associates, LLC to operate the White Lake Granite Quarry was made based on limited and false information.

They further argued that the decision was made based on the APA’s own misinterpretation of their own laws. They believe that a court-mandated adjudicatory hearing should have been required before the final decision was made and the permit approved.

Romano asked the council from Pace when the last time a court-mandated adjudicatory hearing was held. Brody responded that his records indicated that the last time was more than a decade ago. In the years since, no court has mandated that the APA hold an adjudicatory hearing nor has the APA willingly held one.

The law does not require an adjudicatory hearing if a permit is going to be approved; however, a hearing is required if the permit is going to be denied.

The petitioners, the AWLA and Protect the Adirondacks! believe that not only was the APA’s decision based on misinterpretation, it also was determined without significantly addressing some key issues, including noise assessment (which was based on DEC noise regulations), public easement and use of Stone Quarry Road, and a lack of documentation of the location of the water table under the proposed mine site.

Romano stated that adjudicatory hearings are reserved for when significant legal issues are skimmed over or not thoroughly explored during the permitting process. She believes the APA is quite thorough and does a good job at protecting the environment.

In addition she noted that hundreds of mines already exist within the Adirondack Park, all requiring a permit, and that therefore the APA is an expert body in determining potential environmental impact.

The APA was represented by the New York State Attorney General’s office. Council argued that all decisions made are based on conservative assumptions, including noise-impact and environmental concerns, and that in addition, the APA has strict liability standards imposed on permit grantees. Permit holders are held to strict criteria, he said, which was the reason for additional conditions on the permit granted for the White Lake Quarry in January.

If a permittee does not adhere to the conditions of a permit then they are subject to enforcement.

The APA believes that the determination of approval for the White Lake Quarry permit, and the process to that decision, was rational and requires no further exploration.

APA council also stated that the APA does not employ the use of adjudicatory hearings to investigate issues, and that he believes that the issues brought up by the petitioners have already been addressed. The council also said that in the case of an adjudicatory hearing, the burden of proof falls on the petitioner, in this case being the AWLA and Protect the Adirondacks!, and not the defendant, in this case being the APA.

All APA decisions happen publicly, he added, by a bipartisan board. The APA board voted unanimously to not hold a hearing during this permitting process.

Romano will reserve her decision until a later date, which was not specified.