Nassau County takes over village’s treatment plants

Nassau County took control of the wastewater treatment plants in Cedarhurst and Lawrence villages on Jan. 1 as part of the county’s Sewage Treatment Master Plan that includes transferring village sewage to the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant in East Rockaway.

The plan, enacted in the spring of 2007, seeks to improve operations, save money, reduce odors emitted from the plants and introduce the latest technology connected to wastewater treatment.

Nassau County Department of Public Works Spokesman Mike Martino said the county is currently working on connecting both the Cedarhurst and Lawrence wastewater treatment facilities to the Inwood pumping station. “The county is waiting for the Department of Transportation to review plans for the next phase so piping can be run under the Nassau Expressway,” he said. “The project can’t go forward until the Dept. of Environmental Conservation issues approval.”

Village of Cedarhurst Clerk Treasurer Sal Evola said three Cedarhurst employees at the village wastewater treatment plant were transferred to the county. “The village plant is still operating until the sewage can be flowed to Bay Park,” he said.

Evola said a one-family home in Cedarhurst pays $205.74 per year for sewer rents while a two-family home pays $411. He added that Cedarhurst would continue to bill and collect sewer rents from residents before turning them over to the county for at least the next 10 years. “Under the agreement with the county, while there is a bond in place the village will be collecting the sewer rents,” he said. “But that could change if the county refinances.”

In Lawrence, Mayor Martin Oliner sent a letter to residents explaining why the project was needed. Oliner stated in the letter that, “The consolidation was necessary due to certain regulations promulgated by the Department of Environmental Conservation which require a series of extensive upgrades and overhauls to the existing system.”