Town of Bellmont v. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Mercure, J. P.

Appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court (Lahtinen, J.), entered March 14, 2000 in Franklin County, which, in a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78, inter alia, granted respondent’s motion to dismiss the petition for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.

Water levels in Mountain View Lake and Indian Lake, as well as their connecting narrows, are augmented by a dam located at the northern end of Mountain View Lake in the Town of Bellmont, Franklin County. Petitioner took title to the dam in 1962 and until recent years conducted annual “drawdowns” in which it lowered…