LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — New York State Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Muller denied the Lake George Park Commission’s planned use of a chemical herbicide—ProcellaCOR—to control Eurasian watermilfoil. Muller issued a preliminary injunction on Monday.

The injunction was requested by the Lake George Associaton (LGA), the lake George Waterkeeper, the town of Hague, and Helena G. Rice, who owns property on Lake George in the town of Dresden. LGA previously filed a lawsuit against the Adirondack Park Agency (APA), Lake George Park Commission, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation over the herbicide.

In the lawsuit, the LGA alleged that the APA failed to meet the requirements of the APA Act, as well as other laws and regulations. Justice Muller later decided to put the use of the herbicide in Lake George on pause. This allowed for time to consider a preliminary injunction on the use of ProcellaCOR.

Muller’s Monday injunction will protect the lake while the court conducts a thorough review of the regulatory process used by the APA to issue the herbicide permits. The LGA, Waterkeeper, and the Jefferson Project—representing Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and IBM—said that the decision will put their scientific and technological expertise to work, conducting the Lake George-specific research necessary to answer questions about ProcellaCOR. The groups will continue their efforts to prevent and contain other aquatic invasive species.

Take a look at the decision and order: