For Release: Monday, September 14, 2009
DEC Takes Action to Protect Moodna Creek Watershed, Woodbury Residents
Taking action to protect Hudson Valley streams from sewage discharges, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has issued an order mandating operators of the Rushmore Water Treatment Plant to immediately comply with the federal Clean Water Act, Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today.
The plant, which treats residential sewage of approximately 240 homes in Woodbury, Orange County, is near "total process failure," according to a recent DEC inspection. The result is that insufficiently treated sewage has been released into Woodbury Creek and Moodna Creek. Rushmore has a permit to discharge up to 90,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day.
"There has been a history of violations at this facility," DEC Regional Director Willie Janeway said. "But recent eyewitness reports and a detailed DEC staff investigation reveal that the facility is on the verge of complete failure. This is unacceptable and we cannot let it continue."
DEC issued what's known as a "summary abatement order" that demands immediate corrective actions, including replacement and/or repair of failed system components and greatly improved oversight. Summary abatement orders are a legal tool used when a condition presents an "imminent danger to the health or welfare of the people of the State of New York." The plant operators and the plant's parent company, Carteret Group Inc., have until Sept. 23 to respond.
"The requirements of the Clean Water Act are clear - as was the need to bring this immediate and significant enforcement action," Janeway said.
