New York's Westchester County settles U.S. water safety lawsuit, pays record fine

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - New York's Westchester County will spend roughly $12 million to settle a federal government lawsuit alleging that its failure to properly treat drinking water exposed thousands of residents to greater risk of severe gastrointestinal illness. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara on Thursday said that under a consent decree, the county will spend about $10 million on capital improvements in Water District No. 1, which serves about 175,000 residents of Yonkers, White Plains, Mount Vernon, Scarsdale and North Castle, all suburbs north of New York City. Westchester will also pay a $1.11 million fine, a record civil penalty against a public water system operator under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, and spend $691,000 on other environmental projects, Bharara said. A spokesman for Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino called the terms "very favorable" for Westchester, with the county saving $95 million compared with initial estimates. In its August 2013 lawsuit, the government accused Westchester of having since April 2012 failed to comply with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring public water systems to treat unfiltered surface water for cryptosporidium. The parasite is associated with diarrheal disease and is a leading cause of waterborne disease among Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As part of the consent decree, Westchester admitted to having failed to comply with the EPA rule. It also will more closely monitor water from the Kensico Reservoir for cryptosporidium. "Today's consent decree ensures that Westchester will finally come into compliance with EPA standards, and will pay a significant civil penalty for its years of noncompliance," Bharara said in a statement. The consent decree is subject to court approval and a public comment period. The case is U.S. v. County of Westchester, New York, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-05475. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Chicago; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)