A challenge to the water decision of Dec. 26 in the village that involves the reservoir was filed on Friday.

FREDONIA — Opponents of Fredonia Village Board’s decision to decommission its water treatment plant and implement a plan to permanently interconnect the village system to the city of Dunkirk have filed a challenge in state Supreme Court in Chautauqua County.

Petitioners include village residents Richard Clark, Andrew Ludwig, Gladys Sedota, former Mayor Athanasia Landis and former Trustee Kara Christina. Their effort aims to void the resolution that was passed by the board on Dec. 26 through an injunction.

All those in the filing say they are “concerned about the negative environmental effects that will be caused by the resolution, and the loss of the village’s historic resources” and note the village violated the requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act. The court filing was made on Friday.

“The village’s determination to decommission the water treatment plant and draw down the reservoir was premature,” the petitioners note. “Even in the resolution that they passed, it is indicated that the village is deferring the actual plan to be put into effect.”

Earlier this week, four of the five petitioners spoke at the Village Board meeting, pleading with the current board to change direction during the public comment portion. A resolution offered by Trustee Michelle Twichell was defeated to rescind the current water plan by a 4-1 margin.

Fredonia’s water deficiencies have been decades in the making. As noted by previous Mayor Doug Essek, previous village governments did little to nothing when it came to improving the treatment plant or delivery system.

Since 2010, the village has suffered from numerous boil-water advisories due to lack of attention or care at the treatment facility. The longest boil-water order occurred in September 2020 and lasted for 20 days.

“The village water treatment plant is over 100 years old,” the filing says. “As such, it is a historic building and resource of the village. SEQRA considers the alteration and adverse consequences to a historic structure to be a significant adverse environmental consequence. Since the village intends to decommission the water treatment plant, without any consideration or information concerning what they will do with the water treatment plant, an Environmental Impact Statement would have to be drafted.”

Friday’s lawsuit is the fourth since September against the village. Other recent filings involve the owner of the former strip club on Water Street, the fire caused by a village employee that damaged Heenan’s and a dispute over a fence for a back yard pool.