Environmentalists accuse Falun Gong of polluting Deerpark mountain streams

An environmental group claims that a Buddhist organization is polluting the Shawangunk Mountains and waterways in Orange County and undertaking an extensive construction project without governmental approvals.

NYenvironcom (Mid-New York Environmental and Sustainability Promotion Committee Inc.) accused Dragon Springs Buddhist Inc. of violating the federal Clean Water Act and of creating a public nuisance, in a complaint filed Jan. 20 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.

The project’s site plan and government approvals have been pending for more than two years, according to the complaint, but Dragon Springs “is now simply proceeding with the improvements anyway.”

Dragon Springs did not respond to an email asking for its side of the story.

The nonprofit organization runs a large compound on about 393 mountain acres in Cuddebackville, Deerpark, where it operates headquarters for the Falun Gong movement and the Shen Yun dance company.

Falun Gong is a spiritual movement that promotes traditional Chinese culture and opposes the Chinese Communist Party.

Shen Yun operates a performance arts center at the compound and showcases traditional Chinese arts in performances around the world.

Dragon Springs “combines the natural beauty of New York State with ancient Chinese architecture, performing arts, academic learning, and Buddhist faith,” according to its website, and it is a refuge for practitioners of Falun Gong who were persecuted, jailed and tortured in China.

NYenvironcom was formed in 2019 and says its mission is to strengthen thoughtful land-use policies and practices.

The group claims that Dragon Springs has been discharging wastewater and storm water containing high levels of fecal matter for the past ten months, as a result of illegal construction and an inadequate wastewater treatment plant. The alleged pollution drains into Basher Kill, the Neversink River and ultimately the Delaware River.

In 2018, the Buddhist organization proposed building and renovating facilities, including a temple, two religious schools, a 30-room dormitory, a 920-seat music hall, a rehearsal hall, a dozen gazebos, a parking structure, a wastewater collection and treatment system, and a fire pump house.

In April 2019, the Deerpark planning board directed Dragon Springs to submit a supplemental environmental impact statement.

The report has not been submitted, according to the complaint, but last spring construction began without government permits.

A town inspector who tried to enter the compound was allegedly told that he could not take photographs, the area was not open to the public and if he wanted access he “should see a judge.”

A spike in fecal coliform in the waterways corresponds with “the onslaught of this construction activity,” NYenvironcom claims. “The compound can be the only source of this contamination.”

The group accuses Dragon Springs of unlawful discharge of pollutants and private nuisance. It is asking the court to declare that the Buddhist organization has violated the Clean Water Act, enjoin it from discharging pollutants, remediate the damages and pay unspecified civil penalties.

The complaint was also brought by two neighbors, Robert Majcher and Grace Woodard, and by New Paltz artist Alex Scilla who “often utilizes the Basher Kill and Neversink River for recreational purposes.”

Long Island attorneys E. Christopher Murray and Elizabeth Sy represent NYenvironcom and the individual plaintiffs.