By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
In an effort to bring Empire Farm Brewery into compliance with its wastewater discharge permit, dye tests were recently performed.
The results were discussed by the Cazenovia Town Board at its meeting last week.
The town — along with its engineer, Timothy P. O’Hara, P.E., PLLC — and Empire have been working for several months to address violations related to problems monitoring the flow of wastewater output and controlling pH levels.
In May, the board and David Katleski, Empire’s owner, agreed on a dye-test to help expose any obvious inadequacies in the brewery’s drainage system.
Katleski, and Empire’s engineer, Dale R. Vollmer, P.E. of Plumley Engineering, represented the brewery at the July meeting.
Town Supervisor Bill Zupan reported the town’s dye-test revealed drains in the production facility that run into the sanitation sewer, rather than into the brewery’s equalization tanks.
According to Zupan, the town believes that the best way to address the issue would be to construct another manhole on the property to provide additional access to the sewer system and allow for the sampling and monitoring of all combined discharges — brewery and restaurant/restroom — at one location.
Zupan said the town would pay for the construction of the manhole and the structure covering it, as well as the installation of the flow meter, sampler and other testing equipment.
Empire would be expected to provide permanent electrical power to the manhole and to add extra aeration to its equalization tanks.
According to Zupan, the additional aeration is intended to help reduce the odor detectable at the existing downstream manholes.
Vollmer reported Empire conducted its own follow-up dye-tests that yielded contradictory results.
“Those three drains that your dye-test found to go to the sanitary sewer, we found to go to the equalization tank,” he said. “I’m convinced that [your] test was flawed.”
Zupan responded that he visited Empire’s production facility just four days prior to the meeting and personally watched the dye go down the drain and into the sanitary sewer.
After inquiring about the specific drain Zupan examined, Katleski said the drain in question was not actually part of the production area.
Zupan said according to the plans presented to the town, the drain was not supposed to run into the sanitary sewer.
Katleski said felt that the process was “fairly unnecessary” and that he would like to perform the dye-test again.
“I know what our engineers saw and now you guys are saying you saw something else, but I don’t care,” Zupan said. “This one manhole solves the problem . . . If we can test there, [we’ll be] off your back, Dave . . . Let me put it this way: it’s going to be in your permit. If you want to discharge into the Town of Cazenovia Wastewater Facility, that manhole is going to be put in and we are going to test from there.”
At the end of the discussion, Katleski agreed to walk the property with Zupan, the engineers and Jim Cunningham — Plant Operator of the Town of Cazenovia Water Pollution Control Facility — to determine the optimal location for the manhole.
Katleski also agreed to look into adding extra aeration to the equalization tanks.
“I noticed [the odor] down near Lorenzo,” he said. “I wasn’t sure that it was being caused by us, but if we can fix it with aeration, then by all means.”
In other news
Town Attorney John Langey reported that contracts have been signed for the Cazenovia/Town of Nelson Route 20 Joint Water District project.
“That work will start to really take off now,” he said.
The board passed a resolution to set a public hearing for new sewer rates. The hearing is scheduled for the next regular monthly meeting in August.
Langey said the sewer rent fee and charge schedule is outdated, and that the new rates were proposed with input from Cunningham.
Zupan announced the start of the sidewalk installation project on Fenner Street.
The Cazenovia Town Board meets the second Monday of every month at 7:30 p.m. in the Gothic Cottage. For more information, visit towncazenovia.digitaltowpath.org or call the town office at 315-655-9213.
