Plant to undergo $9 million worth of ‘corrective measures;’ grant could cover 40 percent of cost
By Lauren Young
Staff Writer
For the last three years, the Meadowbrook-Limestone Wastewater Treatment Plant in Kirkville has been cited for “significant violations” and “noncompliance” with the Clean Water Act statute. Now it will need to undergo $9 million worth of “corrective measures” to fix it.
A public commissioner’s hearing was held on Aug. 14 at the Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection (WEP) in Syracuse to discuss the Meadowbrook-Limestone I and I (Inflow and Infiltration) Abatement project consisting of improvements to the county sanitary district to remove extraneous flows, or excess water, from the plant.
WEP Commissioner Tom Rhoads said the project is in response to a 2002 Sanitary Sewer Evaulation Survey (SSE), currently being updated, which identified areas where inflow/infiltration of stormwater and groundwater into the sanitary sewer system was “compromising treatment” at the plant.
The five municipalities recommended by the SSE for the I and I Removal Program and the approximate percentage of what they would pay include:
l City of Syracuse: 47 percent
l Town of DeWitt: 4 percent
l Town of Manlius: 18 percent
l Village of Manlius: 21 percent
l Village of Fayetteville: 10 percent
The total cost would be $8 million, added to the county’s cost of $1 million.
The corrective measures are eligible for a state Intermunicipal Water Infrastructure Grant (IMG) subsidy, which would reduce the cost by up to 40 percent to roughly $5.4 million to be split among the five municipalities that use the plant.
The decision to apply for the grant, however, must be made in less than three weeks, as the application deadline is due Sept. 7.
Plant ‘undersized…robbing opportunity for growth’
The plant, built in 1973 and serving 35,826 residents and 643 non-residents, has a capacity of 6.5 mgd (million gallons per day) of wastewater. Due to extraneous flows, however, the plant has frequently exceeded its permit limits during periods of wet weather, resulting in violations cited by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
Extraneous flows, generally referred to as inflow and infiltration, refer to when otherwise clean storm water or groundwater gets into a sanitary sewer system, taking up space in the system.
According to Rhoads, recent violations indicate the plant is “undersized” and these extraneous flows “are robbing our capacity of our population and opportunity for growth.”
The work to be performed involves sewer and manhole replacement, rehabilitation and possible catch basin disconnection, said Rhoads.
“Many of these pieces of municipality-owned infrastructure are older, and older sewer pipes have a tendency to leak groundwater inward,” said Rhoads.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website under the Clean Water Act statute,the plant’s last inspection took place on Feb. 27 2018, with a compliance status indicating “significant noncompliance.” The inspection notes that the past three years, were cited with “significant violations.”
Rhoads said they are proposing to do work that would result in a “considerable abatement of extraneous flow” by removing 1.9 million gallons of extraneous flow from both public and private portions of the sanitary sewer system.
In regards to I and I reduction for public portions of the sanitary sewer system, infiltration from broken, leaky pipes and manholes and inflow from catch basins were identified.
When it comes to I and I reduction for private portions of the sanitary sewer system, extraneous flow entering from private connections was identified, caused from sump pump discharges, foundation drains, roof leaders and downspouts.
Deadline looms for grant
The decision to apply for the Intermunicipal Water Infrastructure Grant must be made in less than three weeks, as the application deadline is due Sept. 7.
This application requires an engineering report, Smart Growth Assessment, SEQR Review, authorizing resolution and an Information Management Assessment (IMA).
“We have an IMA that is ambiguous in regards to cost sharing,” said Rhoads. “We believe that the IMA meets the requirements of the grant, that says there are two or more participating municipalities.”
Town of Manlius engineer Doug Miller said the town of Manlius’ percentage should be lower (at 9 percent) while the village’s should be higher (at 30 percent).
Rhoads noted the adjustment, adding that the stated percentages were not yet set in stone.
“I believe the cost sharing on this is still to be determined,” said Rhoads. “If not all parties join they would certainly be on their own and would have to find money to do it if there were enforcement actions against them.”
“We have not yet presumed how this 60 percent local match will be put together by all parties,” Rhoads said, adding that costs have not yet been finalized due to the difficulty of assessing how much work needs to be done. Town of Manlius Councilor Rich Rossetti asked why that was so.
“I’m having difficulty understanding why that would be difficult if there’s a plan to repair certain pipes in certain areas. It should be easy to figure out how much it costs to repair the pipe in DeWitt, Manlius and the villages,” said Rossetti.
Rhoads said that though the cost assessments have not been finalized, the county may “wish to contribute more than its share.”
“We’d be more than happy to have them do that,” said Rossetti, adding that the town of Manlius board determined it wouldn’t commit to the project unless they were sure what the costs would be.
If a municipality chooses not to participate in the project, Rhoads said other municipalities would not be expected to pick up their share.
“At this time, we are not asking for a specific cost commitment, but we are asking for people to consider the IMA with that flexibility,” said Rhoads.
The plant is already currently undergoing a $11.7 million capital improvement project, which will include upgraded clarifiers, replacement of pumps, upgrading the SCADA communications system, upgrading the polymer feed system, adding a UV disinfection system and completing a 1.6 mg wet weather holding tank.
Town of DeWitt Supervisor Ed Michalenko asked if any conceptual or engineering designs have been completed. Rhoads said the work would actually be proposed through term service contracts for manhole repairs and sewer lining based on the diameter and length of the sewer and the cost for pipe lining work.
Comments made during the commissioner’s hearing were sent to the county legislure, which will then hold another public hearing on the matter as they seek resolutions of support from the municipalities.
