Millions earmarked to stop bay discharge

The Nassau County Legislature approved more than $3 million in contracts on Jan. 10 for new equipment and upgrades at the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant, in an effort to end months of illegal sewage discharge into Reynolds Channel, which many residents and local officials have called a serious environmental health hazard.

Since March, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has issued numerous violations for the discharge coming from the East Rockaway facility, which DEC officials say is in need of repair. The DEC is currently conducting an investigation, after discovering in October that the plant was discharging more suspended solids than allowed by environmental law.

DEC officials said that because two of the facility’s six tanks are inoperable, the sewage is being discharged from an outfall pipe in Reynolds Channel. The sewage is a semi-solid stew of human fecal matter and highly toxic heavy metals that are washed through the county’s sewer system. The brown plumes of effluent released into the channel sparked an outcry from residents, who called on local and state officials to address the situation.

Following months of criticism by environmentalists, elected officials and residents, the Legislature unanimously approved four separate contracts, totaling $3.1 million, for facility upgrades in what lawmakers said was a major step toward long-term repairs at the plant.

“I was shocked to discover the depths of neglect of the county’s infrastructure, especially the sewage treatment plant at Bay Park,” Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said in a statement. “With the help of the Nassau County Legislature, we take another step forward in our mission to repair and improve the Bay Park facility to ensure that the plant becomes a model of how to do things right.”

One of the contracts is a two-year, $2.2 million deal with WHM Plumbing & Heating Contractors. The work will include the replacement of effluent water strainers and the installation of new above-ground tanks, as well as the replacement of main engine generator cooling valves and the installation of temporary equipment during repairs.