GOSHEN - Orange County lawmakers gave County Executive Edward Diana the go-ahead to take legal action against the Village of Kiryas Joel at general session Wednesday.

A resolution was passed unanimously in the legislature approving a lawsuit to be filed against the village alleging it did not properly addressing the SEQRA requirements set forth by the New York State Supreme Court regarding the environmental impacts of a water pipeline link to the New York City Catskill Aqueduct.

A challenge by Orange County regarding the SEQRA process in 2005 cited “failure to take a required hard look at the project’s impact upon wastewater generation and treatment, archeological resources, and wetlands and failed to adequately assess alternatives,” as the resolution reads.

 Now, the county is contesting the Amended Findings Statement filed by village trustees on March 31, 2009.

Some legislators, like Alan Seidman, said it’s just a matter of playing fair. “I believe that every municipality, and I don’t care what the ethnicity is, has to abide by the laws of the State of New York, Orange county and the federal government,” he said. “I don’t believe that has been done.”

Seidman said Kiryas Joel has violated many of those laws on numerous occasions, the most recent being the hanging of celebration lights without a permit last month.

One of the few residents who spoke out in favor of the pipeline suggested “anyone who votes against this pipeline is voting against Jews and against a minority.”