Bay Park plant gets a ‘D’

Courtesy CCE

The Bay Park Sewage plant was given a poor grade in a recent environmental study by the CCE.

Herald file photo

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The Bay Park Sewage Plant got a big, fat D from the nonprofit advocacy organization Citizens Campaign for the Environment, which released its first Long Island Sewage Report Card on Monday.

“Sewage in the suburbs is not exactly a bedtime story,” said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the CCE. “It’s a ghoulish story. Frankly, Long Island’s sewage woes are frightening — aging infrastructure, antiquated plants and zero dollars result in decreased water quality, shellfish closures, outbreaks of toxic algae and public health threats.”

The CCE analyzed 10 large sewage treatment plants across Long Island, reviewing effluent data from 2005 through 2010 and conducting interviews with the management of each facility. The plants were graded on permit violations, public notification procedures, storm water management, energy efficiency, public education and climate-change adaptation.

The Huntington Sewage Treatment Plant had the highest grade, an A+, while the Bay Park, Long Beach and Stony Brook plants did the worst, each receiving a D.

The report stated that owners and operators of sewage treatment plants do not have public notification systems when untreated or partially treated sewage is released. There are several such releases each year, and residents, unaware of the spills, have been seen fishing and crabbing in impacted waters.

However, on Oct. 18, Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano and legislators Denise Ford and Howard J. Kopel announced the creation of a new system designed to notify residents about reportable incidents at the county’s treatment plants. “Since taking office, we have invested tens of millions of dollars in reversing the damage created by decades of neglect at Nassau County’s sewer treatment plants,” said Mangano.