By ANTHONY BOTTAN
Officials blamed the FOG - fats, oils and greases - processed at the facility for the foul odor in the neighborhood.
"I made a promise to the residents of the Bay Park community and, along with Legislator Jeff Toback, we are making good on that pledge," said County Executive Tom Suozzi at a press conference outside the plant.
On Jan. 14, in a 10-8 vote, the county Legislature approved the consolidation of the Lawrence and Cedarhurst sewage districts with the county's system in Bay Park. Many East Rockaway and Bay Park residents have voiced their strong opposition to the consolidation, fearing that the extra two million gallons of sewage per day that would be diverted to the Bay Park facility would worsen the odor and damage the environment.
The move will eliminate 45 "scavenger" waste trucks per week, which carry used restaurant grease, from traveling through the small residential community. Officials said they believe the new restrictions will reduce the odor in Bay Park. "This is great news," said resident Cathy Tierney.
Charles Durante, assistant superintendent of the sewage plant, said the restaurant waste will be trucked to private waste sites at each establishment's discretion. "We in the county are not giving them any alternatives," Durante said. "If we steer them [to a specific private company] it would be a conflict of interest."
He explained that the decision to end the acceptance of untreated restaurant grease was a practical one. "The grease adheres to every piece of equipment," he said. "The wells were never manufactured or engineered to handle this. It's overwhelming this facility and destroying our equipment."
On April 30, the facility will accept its last loads of unprocessed grease. "We gave [restaurant owners] a month's notice so they can seek another dump site," Durante explained. The county's commissioner of public works, Ray Ribeiro, said that there are private plants in Lindenhurst and Bohemia that can process restaurant grease, but restaurants may have to pay more than the $53 per 1,000 gallons they have been paying the county to process it. According to Ribeiro, an average truck can carry up to 1,500 gallons.
East Rockaway Mayor Ed Sieban said he was happy to learn that some of the truck traffic coming through the village will be eliminated. "Wherever the trucks are coming from, they're going through our streets anyway," Sieban said. "It's always good news when this happens."
Toback and Suozzi also planted the first of what they said would be 175 trees to create a buffer zone between the plant and nearby homes. "These are one of the things we are implementing to be a good neighbor," Suozzi said.
Marsha Ander contributed to this story. Comments about it? ABottan@liherald.com or
(516) 569-4000 ext. 246.
