MOREAU, N.Y. -- Unless the two sides can reach a settlement, a water pollution lawsuit against General Electric Co. is set to go to trial in December.
Federal District Court Judge Lawrence Kahn has recently set the trial date for Dec. 6. The lawsuit was brought nearly 15 years ago by the town of Moreau, in Saratoga County.
``This puts everybody in more of a position to get a settlement done or else go to trial,'' said Supervisor Harry Gutheil Jr.
A proposed $5 million settlement by the company that had been on the table for several years was made public last month. Under the deal, the money would go toward the installation of a new municipal water system.
The plan was opposed by residents of one area of town where there is no evidence of water contamination.
The company's requirement that residents be barred from using well water on lawns and to wash cars appears to be the last sticking point in the deal, Gutheil said.
Town Board members discussed the issue behind closed doors and will take up the matter again soon, officials said.
Contractors for GE dumped tons of solvents and other chemicals containing polychlorinated biphenyls at a former dump in the town in the 1950s and 1960s. The chemicals later leaked and polluted the groundwater supply.
The town signed a contract earlier this year to buy water from the town of Queensbury that is contingent on settling the lawsuit and getting the money for the project from GE.
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