| WILTON -- Residents of the Highland Hills subdivision and the state Department of Health are appealing an administrative law judge's decision that the man who built their homes is not to blame for their poor water supply.
In July, administrative law judge James Horan found in favor of builder John Staalesen and his companies, Hearthwood Homes Inc. and Pace Communities Inc. Horan ruled Staalesen did not violate a state Health Department mandate when he installed well points instead of drilled wells at the Highland Hills' homes.
A drilled well requires drilling a hole in the ground and then installing a steel or wrought-iron casing to prevent the hole from caving in. Well points are installed by fastening a drive point with a screen to a well pipe and driving the point into the earth until it hits water. They are not necessarily protected by casing.
In Highland Hills, many of the well points have failed and the homeowners have no drinkable water, said Cheryl Roberts from the law office of Marc S. Gerstman. The firm represents 17 property owners in the neighborhood. The people at the houses with the worst wells must rely on bottled water; at other homes families are frustrated by a limited flow of water and worry about contamination, Roberts said.
"Their houses are close to worthless," she said.
The Health Department and the homeowners sued Staalesen, hoping Horan would compel him to fix the water problems in Highland Hills, but Horan said the department could not prove the builder was required to install drilled wells instead of points. The homeowners also sued the town, but the town is not named in the appeal.
In its appeal, lawyers for the Health Department argue their expert witness could tell by looking at the plans for the wells that the diagrams show a drilled well. The appeal also calls for the administrative appeal board to disregard testimony from Wilton's engineer, Keith Manz, and building inspector Roger Blauvelt because they are not well experts.
Roberts filed a brief in support of the Health Department's appeal.
It reads in part, "if allowed to stand, the decision will undermine the basic health and safety protections afforded to the public by section 116 of the Public Health Law ... (the Highland Hills Neighborhood Association) believes Judge Horan's misguided decision will establish a far-reaching and negative precedent."
A federal lawsuit alleging Staalesen deprived the residents of their constitutional right of property is also pending. It names the Town Board, the Planning Board, three real estate agents and Staalesen.
Leigh Hornbeck can be reached at 581-8438 or by e-mail at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
| 
Home 
