An Orange County power plant that once made headlines during an Albany pay-to-play scandal is now facing Senate scrutiny for allegedly operating without a federal permit.

From federal indictments to actor arrests and neighbors claims of toxic air, Competitive Power Ventures is no stranger to controversy.

“This is a company that’s already proven they’re willing to break the rules,” said Pramilla Malick, the chair of Protect Orange County. “I don’t think they’re qualified to operate a hot dog stand in New York state let alone a massive gas generating plant."

The Wawayanda natural gas facility is under investigation by the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations while the mega-watt plant allegedly continues to operate without a federal Clean Air Act permit since they opened in 2018.

State Sen. James Skoufis says the Senate committee is reviewing communications between former state officials and the DEC as part of an investigation into the facility’s permit process.

One of those officials, former aide to then Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Joseph Percoco, was sentenced to prison for accepting more than $300,000 in bribes from a former CPV executive, who also served prison time, in exchange for influencing permits in the company’s favor.

“If we find any criminal activity, we will refer that to the appropriate prosecutors,” says Skoufis.  

Malick was one of the so-called “Wawayanda Six” who protested the plant and served jailtime for staging a sit-in on the property even before it opened.  

“We should not reward a company that engages in bribery, that engages in corruption and demonstrates that they are willing to break the rules,” Malick says.  

The DEC denied the plant’s Clean Air Act permit in 2018. The company filed an appeal and won a state Supreme Court judgement that has temporarily allowed them to operate since.  

News 12 reached out to the DEC for updated information and CPV for comment but hasn’t heard back.