SYRACUSE - New York and two counties filed a federal lawsuit Thursday to block the U.S. Department of Interior from putting 13,004 acres of upstate land into trust for the Oneida Indian Nation, the third legal challenge this week to block the transfer.

“My office will not sit back while the Department of Interior runs roughshod over New York's Constitutional right to determine the best use of its lands,” said Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

In a 60-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Albany, New York and Madison and Oneida counties charged that federal Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's decision authorizing the transfer was unconstitutional and exceeded his authority.

The U.S. Constitution does not grant a federal agency the authority to remove land from a state's jurisdiction and turn it over to an Indian tribe without first obtaining the state's consent, said Cuomo.

New York has continuously exercised jurisdiction over its lands since the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and has never consented to the removal of any state land from its jurisdiction, he said.

“The state still believes that the best solution to this problem would be a negotiated settlement between all parties involved,” said Gov. David Paterson. “Absent such negotiations, we simply cannot allow this decision to stand as it will have a devastating affect on Madison and Oneida counties, and set a dangerous precedent for similar cases across the state.”

The interior department's policy is to not comment on pending litigation, a spokesman said.