By Mike Caputo
In an effort to combat these pressures, four independent sewage districts - located within the villages of Lawrence and Cedarhurst and the cities of Long Beach and Glen Cove - have joined forces with the county and its large-scale system.
The agreement was announced during a press conference held last week by County Executive Tom Suozzi. It served as the county executive's first major step toward achieving his vision of consolidating smaller, special districts within the county's jurisdiction.
"It does not make sense to consolidate government unless it will actually save the taxpayers money in the process and will continue to provide the same or better services to the residents as part of the process," Suozzi said.
The county, which now controls 85 percent of the sewage, would operate 93 percent in Nassau if the plan makes it through legislation.
Mandates issued by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) forced the local municipalities to keep updating the old sewage facilities. Notwithstanding a modern plant in Glen Cove, the sewage treatment plants in Cedarhurst and Lawrence date to the 1930s, while the one in Long Beach was constructed in 1952.
When the DEC issues new mandates, the small districts must comply by making the necessary improvements. These ongoing improvements, which Cedarhurst Mayor Andrew Parise called "Band-Aids" placed on an old system, can cost millions of dollars - a price tag that small villages and cities simply cannot afford.
"Aside from being old, we are being inundated with mandates from the DEC," Cedarhurst Trustee Ron Lanzilotta said. "It would require a complete upgrade of our entire plant."
Once a costly change is made, explained Lawrence Village Trustee Martin Oliner, other mandates are issued. "It is an endless pit because every time, the DEC comes out with new rules and regulations," Oliner said.
"Everything is $5 [million], $7 [million] or $10 million dollars. These are not little things where you are just adding a washer to your system or another filter."
The Village of Lawrence has recently struggled with water control. In 2006, village officials enacted a moratorium that banned construction projects requiring high water usage. Lawrence village officials imposed the temporary moratorium, which remained in effect for a year and a half, after the water pollution control plant exceeded its maximum capacity of 1.5 million gallons per day. Oliner said the village has been actively studying its options over the last couple of years and decided that consolidation was the "smartest thing to do."
In providing his endorsement of the agreement, Long Beach City Administrator Ed Eaton also acknowledged the struggles of being an independent sewage district.
"We have to adjust to change, I think we will be doing that each of us - in our respective municipalities because we have something here that is going to be good for everybody," Eaton said.
Under the consolidation plan, the county would begin designing the new pump stations - which would bring sewage to the county's facility in Bay Park - in 2008. Construction would begin in 2009, with the goal of a full county takeover when completed in 2011. When Nassau absorbs full control of the sewage districts upon completion of the pump stations, residents in the participating municipalities would pay taxes directly to the county on a five-year freeze program guaranteeing one price.
Suozzi and local officials also promised the job security of current sewage facility workers in the participating municipalities. As part of the agreement, the current employees would not be laid off, officials said. Instead, they will be reassigned within the municipality or offered a similar position by the county.
Currently, the only independent sewage plants remaining on the South Shore are the Greater Atlantic Beach Water Reclamation District and a state-run district in Jones Beach.
Claire Marker, an East Rockaway resident for 19 years who lives near the county's Bay Park treatment plant, was displeased to hear the news that additional sewage is on its way. "This is totally unnecessary," Marker said. "This is just a Suozzi underhanded thing to do. The people in this community don't want any part of it. This is an issue that no one wants in their backyard."
"We don't believe there will be an impact to the residents," said Joe Davenport, deputy commissioner of the Nassau County Department of Public Works. "We believe the facility operates very efficiently. The vast majority of the processes ... are either indoors or enclosed with odor control treatment."
The state requires the county to keep a maximum capacity of 70 million gallons per day at its sewage treatment facilities. At Bay Park, Davenport said, the plant operates at 59 million gallons per day - 11 million under the maximum capacity allowed by the state. According to Davenport, plans to incorporate sewage from Lawrence, Cedarhurst and Long Beach into the Bay Park sewage amounts to an additional seven million gallons per day - four million under the maximum.
If other independent sewage districts follow suit and consolidate with the county, the only other system that would flow to Bay Park would be the Greater Atlantic Beach Water Reclamation Project. Davenport said the Atlantic Beach district would be small enough to still leave an excess within the maximum capacity.
Nearby East Rockaway residents still remain concerned. "We don't need any more stink than we already have," said William Hoberg, an East Rockaway resident for 35 years. "We just got enough stink here."
Anthony Bottan contributed to this story.
Comments about this story? Mcaputo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210
