For Release: Wednesday, August 19, 2009
DEC, Washington County Sewer District Agrees to Measures to Address System Problems
Washington County Sewer District II has agreed to take steps to prevent overflows and ensure compliance with its permit conditions, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Regional Director Betsy Lowe announced.
"We are pleased that the district will be taking steps to prevent pollution of the waters of New York State," said Betsy Lowe. "DEC continues to monitor and inspect municipal waste water treatment systems to ensure their compliance with environmental laws and regulations. Compliant systems ensure that surface and ground waters remain clean and, therefore, protect human health and the environment."
Under the agreement (known as an "Order on Consent"), the District paid $25,000 in penalties. An additional $78,000 in penalties has been suspended, provided the district complies with the schedule for completing measures to address the problems.
The District covers the communities of Villages of Fort Edward and Hudson Falls, and the Towns of Fort Edward and Kingsbury.
DEC took enforcement action against the District after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that the District had not complied with its State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Permit , since the beginning of 2007. The SPDES Permit allows the District to discharge wastewater from its treatment plant in Ft. Edward, N.Y., into the Hudson River within certain parameters. SPDES permits are used for the control of wastewater and stormwater discharges in accordance with the Clean Water Act. The EPA found that the effluent from the wastewater treatment plant had exceeded the levels of settleable solids allowed under their permit.
Also, beginning in 2007, the District reported to DEC that the treatment plant was not operated according to the conditions of its SPDES permit, on numerous occasions. This included many instances of wastewater overflowing or bypassing the treatment plant; improper handling of laboratory samples; and
exceeding legal limits for settleable solids in the effluent - 10 times between January 2007 and August 2008.
Under terms of the agreement, the District will develop a "Best Management Plan" that demonstrates its willingness to comply fully with its SPDES permit and enhance sampling and analysis procedures. An approvable plan must be submitted to DEC by Oct. 30.
Further, the District has agreed to develop a "Long Term Control Plan" in accordance with the National Combined Sewer Overflow Control Policy that will reduce and eliminate combined sewer overflows. The plan must be submitted to DEC by Dec. 31, 2010.
