Orange County outlines $185 million plan to rebuild Harriman wastewater plant, schedules public hearing

Mary Beth Bianconi, partner at Delaware Engineering, D.P.C., told the Orange County Sewer District No. 1 advisory board on March 18 that the county is moving toward submitting a near-complete permit application and seeking grant and low‑cost loan programs to fund a planned expansion and upgrade of the Harriman Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Bianconi said the current design would replace Train 1 with a new 7,000,000‑gallon‑per‑day sequencing batch reactor and upgrade Train 3 “to maintain it at 3 MGD.” She told the committee the preliminary total project cost is $185,000,000 and said the estimate includes contingencies, escalation and costs for longevity and regulatory compliance. “Our current preliminary cost estimate is a hundred and $85,000,000,” she said.

The consultant said the county has completed the site survey, is scheduling asbestos and lead surveys in mid‑April for buildings planned for demolition, and expects to issue a geotechnical RFP within days. The basis‑of‑design report is nearly complete pending an updated peaking factor, and staff intend to submit a permit application this week. Bianconi said the county already submitted a variance request for total dissolved solids and chloride to the state Department of Environmental Conservation and had received only an acknowledgment as of the meeting.

Why it matters: the project is intended to address three drivers the county cited repeatedly — aging infrastructure, new regulatory requirements and…