Sewage plant saga slogs on

The Village of Lawrence has hired an independent auditor to review work being done at its former sewage treatment plant, which is now under Nassau County control and being transformed into a pumping station that will send the waste to the county’s Bay Park facility.

“We want to ensure that the money we are spending and what we are doing there is absolutely correct to ensure the old facility becomes a pumping station,” said Lawrence Mayor Martin Oliner.

Nassau County is fronting all construction costs, which the village must pay back. The village has a short-term loan through New York State’s Environmental Facilities Corporation. To date, the village has borrowed $9.4 million, according to Michael Martino, the county’s Department of Public Works spokesman. Overall, the village could borrow up to $14 million. When the short-term loan is rolled into a long-term loan on Dec. 31, 2014, Lawrence is eligible to repay only 50 percent of the borrowed money — up to a maximum of $6.3 million, Martino said.

Oliner said that the project could cost up to $12 million, and that he wants to make sure the work is being done. “I go out there to see how much is done and I have no ability to confirm anything,” he said. “That’s my handicap. I want to hire someone with expertise to confirm [the work].”

The mayor said that the village interviewed an auditor, but was then told by the county that an auditor was coming last week. When that didn’t happen, the village hired an auditor, who was expected to begin his review on Wednesday.

Nassau County took over the operation of both the Lawrence and Cedarhurst sewage plants on Jan. 1, 2012, but progress has been slow in converting the plants to pumping facilities. The converted Lawrence pumping station will send its sewage to Bay Park, while Cedarhurst will send its waste to the Inwood pumping station, which will then push it to Bay Park.

The Bay Park facility has endured its own problems, especially after Hurricane Sandy, as untreated and partially treated waste was discharged into Reynolds Channel, and the plant is still operating on generator power due to a faulty electrical system. County Executive Ed Mangano is seeking $1.2 billion for a plant recovery plan.

Construction related to the electrical power supply and distribution, odor control systems, effluent screening and raw sewage pumping, and sludge thickening and dewatering facilities would use $740 million of those funds. The remainder would be used to construct a new outfall pipe that would direct treated sewage into the ocean rather than local bays and waterways. “[Mangano] has mandated that no additional sewage will be sent to Bay Park until the plant is repaired from damage caused by Sandy,” Martino said.

A redesign of the route for the force main pipe coming out of Inwood is another reason for the project’s delay, according to Martino. The state’s Department of Transportation is planning work on the Nassau Expressway, and the county’s planned force main would have been in the DOT’s way, Martino said. “The redesign, negotiation of change order and physical construction caused a major delay,” he said.

Cedarhurst Trustee Ron Lanzilotta Sr. said that with all the inspections and testing required, it will be another six months to a year before the village plant isn’t needed anymore. “As they say, sewage flows downhill, and the engineers say the pitch is enough to get it to the Inwood pumping station,” Lanzilotta said. The Cedarhurst plant will then be decommissioned. “Once the facilities are complete, we can turn a switch,” he said. “I can’t wait.”

Both villages will be out of the sewer business, but they will still be part of the system. “The villages collect the sewer rents and the money belongs to the county,” said Cedarhurst Village Administrator Sal Evola. Sewer rents in Cedarhurst are $205.74 per year for a one-family home and $411 for a two-family home.

In Lawrence, the annual sewer rents are divided into five categories and are charged based on 10 hookups: residential ($304), commercial ($607), apartments (not condominiums) ($1,012), restaurants and other food establishments ($634). There are also varying charges for additional hookups.

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