The Village of Saugerties sewer plant has been waiting for changes in its operating requirements from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and they have finally come. The major recommendation is that treated wastewater released to the Esopus Creek must be dechlorinated, trustee Donald Hackett reported at the Village Board meeting on Wednesday, March 22. The second recommendation is to reduce the high levels of ammonia in the discharge. “We will have to do something about the ammonia: possibly an oxidation process, which I previously talked about. It will be up to the engineers to recommend the cheapest way to deal with it.”
The plant is also handling high levels of mercury, Hackett said, and he and plant operator Mike Hopf were not sure where the mercury might be coming from. They concluded that it might be coming in with sludge, and that the simplest solution would be to stop taking in sludge, Hackett said.
The timeline includes the time inspectors will give their report to the DEC heads; the required public hearings would take three to nine months. Then it would be up to the engineer, Dennis Larios, to develop an action plan, which would take 18 to 24 months; completion of all the changes could take as much as five or six years, Hackett said.
The best thing about the scenario is that it gives the village time. It also means that while the planning and upgrade are in progress, the plant won’t be found in violation. “We’ll be proactive,” he said.
The village has discussed dechlorination, Hackett said, “for ten years we’ve talked about it.” The DEC is now requiring it.
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