By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

The Van Buren Town Board welcomed two representatives from the Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection to the Dec. 15 town board meeting to discuss Onondaga County’s proposal to lease the town’s sewer districts.

Since he took office in 2018, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon pledged that the county would take over municipal sewer systems in order to update the area’s sewer infrastructure and ease the burden of costs on towns and villages.

Appearing via Zoom, WEP Commissioner Frank Mento explained that ownership of Onondaga County’s sewer infrastructure is split three ways. Homeowners own the pipes connecting their homes to the sewer system, municipalities own the sewer lines and the county operates six wastewater treatment plants.

Those pipes are aging, and failing pipes force other facilities to process much more wastewater than they are permitted to handle.

Infiltration and inflow (I/I) issues are common within Onondaga County’s sewer infrastructure. I/I occurs when groundwater and stormwater enter the sewers, causing a strain on the wastewater treatment facilities.

For instance, McMahon said in 2018 that the Meadowbrook-Limestone Wastewater Treatment Plant — which serves Manlius, Fayetteville, DeWitt and the east side of the city of Syracuse — handles as many as 20 million gallons of wastewater on the wettest days, but it is only permitted to treat 6 million gallons. The Manlius Town Board voted in February 2020 to lease its sewers to the county.

Mento said Van Buren’s sewers fall within the Baldwinsville-Seneca Knolls WWTP service area. Currently, homeowners pay into their town sewer district for maintenance and repair. Property owners also are charged by the county for WWTP usage and debt service. By consolidating the sewer districts with the county, homeowners could save about $100 a year.

WEP Deputy Commissioner Shannon Harty explained that the town of Van Buren’s sewer assets include about 24 miles of sewers, a system that is about 40 years old. The town’s sewer infrastructure includes 557 manholes, 3,830 connections and seven pump stations, four of which will need control upgrades. Since Van Buren’s infrastructure is relatively new and made mostly of PVC pipe, it is “attractive for this phase of consolidation,” WEP officials said. Taking over Van Buren’s smaller, newer system will help the county defray the cost of fixing the numerous I/I problems in the Meadowbrook-Limestone service area.

Harty explained that WEP uses flow meters and robotic cameras to monitor I/I issues.

Under an existing annual agreement, Onondaga County is already responsible for the maintenance of Van Buren’s sewer system. On average, the county responds to 100 calls each year. Harty said Onondaga County bills Van Buren a subsidized rate of $74,000. The true cost for operation and maintenance would be double that, and if the county increased fees to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s compliance levels, the cost would be about $200,000. Having the county take over the infrastructure would save a substantial amount of money.

The Onondaga County Legislature is in the process of approving the Baldwinsville-Seneca Knolls sewer lease, and the next step is for the towns of Lysander and Van Buren and the village of Baldwinsville to approve the agreement.

Some municipalities, like the village of Baldwinsville, have much older sewer systems in need of more extensive repairs.

“Are we basically going to be paying to upgrade their very old systems when we have newer systems?” Councilor Pat Dickman asked.

While municipalities joining the consolidated sewer district would have to share in the cost of repairs across the county, Mento said, the cost will be shared among a greater base of taxpayers.

Supervisor Claude Sykes asked about existing debt in the town’s sewer districts. Mento said the county will provide $200,000 for debt relief. Any revenue must remain within the sewer district and remaining funds must be returned to taxpayers.

Sykes also asked if the town would have any say in future developments.

“The old saying is, ‘He who controls the sewer controls development.’ I know you can’t speak for future administrations … and Ryan [McMahon] says why should he want to stifle development? He might not, but the next county executive might,” Sykes said.

“The town of Van Buren, as does any town that chooses to join the consolidation, will continue to have all protocols for development that you have right now,” Mento said. “As it stands, we have to get approval right now for your developments. That’s not going to change. The purpose of consolidation is not to step on development in any way, shape or form.”

Sykes asked if the lease agreement could be amended to include a clause requiring the county to take care of asphalt repairs, as settling issues can occur. Mento said it was too late to change the agreement, but Harty said work permits could address the issue.

The town board did not take action on the proposed lease agreement.