AFTON – Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo filed a lawsuit Friday against the operator of an illegal bluestone mine in Chenango County and his associates for refusing to remedy environmental abuses that have laid waste to up to eight acres of forest land.

Attorney General Cuomo’s lawsuit charges the mine operator, John D. Lepre, of Kingsley, Pa., with unlawfully mining bluestone without a required permit and without any intention to restore the site once mining is completed. The suit further charges the company through which Lepre allegedly sold the bluestone, Pennsylvania-based Stoney Lonesome Quarries, and its owner, Julie Lepre, also of Kingsley, with supporting the illegal mining activity. The Attorney General’s Office also obtained a court order against John D. Lepre prohibiting him from any further bluestone mining at the Town of Afton site unless the required state permit is obtained.

“New York state mining laws exist to protect our air, water and neighboring citizens, and to ensure that mining companies restore the land when their operations end,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “New York’s mines must operate in a safe and responsible manner. Our state will not tolerate businesses that choose to flagrantly break the law and put the environment at risk.”