Residents and Seneca Nation press Olean leaders to accelerate fixes after years of raw sewage discharges

Dozens of residents and Seneca Nation members told the Olean Common Council on April 22 that raw sewage discharges into the Allegheny River have continued for years and demanded the city move in weeks and months — not decades — to stop them.

Speakers described health, cultural and ecological harms, urged transparency, and offered assistance. JC Seneca, President of the Seneca Nation (Cattaraugus territory), and other Seneca leaders said the nation has formed a joint task force with the city and offered technical resources and grant-writing support. Danielle Heron Lovell, director of community planning and development for the Seneca Nation, said her grants team “welcome[s] the opportunity to work with the city of Olean.”

Why it matters: Commenters said the discharges harm downstream communities, cultural practices and river users. Multiple speakers asked the council to reduce the time set by an administrative enforcement order to bring the system into compliance — the order originally allowed decades for full remediation — and to prioritize immediate fixes that reduce overflows during storms.

What council and others said: Council members acknowledged long-standing problems and said they are meeting with Seneca Nation leaders and other partners. Mayor William J. Aiello told the audience he looks forward to working with the joint task force and said he hoped the city could “significantly beat” the compliance date in the administrative order rather than taking the full allotted time. JC Seneca urged the council to make the task force produce a plan and timeline quickly: “We expect those that are here today to be the caretakers of our land along with us,” he said.

Public testimony and evidence cited: Speakers described technical steps they want prioritized — investigating which drainage basins are tied to sanitary sewers, testing connections, applying for engineering grants, and using containment near lift stations or sewer separation at source when feasible. One speaker who identified himself as a longtime resident said the city had reported 50 discharge incidents since 2007 and about 1.1 million gallons since 2018; that figure was cited during public comment as the scope of recent releases. Commenters also told council members that the Seneca Nation can provide grant writers and planning staff to assist project funding and outreach.

Requests for transparency and accountability were repeated: residents asked the city to post up-to-date testing and timeline information online, add a Q&A for frequently asked questions, and produce a short-term schedule for deliverables. Multiple speakers said they will keep returning to council meetings until visible progress is made.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: Council members and Seneca Nation leaders agreed to meet and convene the joint task force; JC Seneca asked to schedule a task-force meeting the following week and the council committed to work with the nation and staff to set an initial timeline. Mayor Aiello and other council members said they will pursue available state and federal funding and meet with state officials as part of the effort.

Context and background from public comment: Speakers connected the wastewater issue to cultural and historical harms to Indigenous communities, noting ancestral connections to river places and long-term effects on fishing and river use. Several speakers referenced a New York State administrative order on consent that provides an extended compliance timeline; commenters called that timeline untenable and urged the city to seek faster remedies and available grant funding. The Seneca Nation repeatedly offered technical and grant-writing help, and at least one speaker encouraged the council to invite the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) commissioner to a task-force meeting.

Taper: Council members closed public comment by thanking speakers and expressing a commitment to work with the Seneca Nation. Mayor Aiello said he looked forward to convening the joint task force and to pursuing a faster timetable than the administrative order required.