Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Wastewater topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Trustees hear updates on wastewater plant: partial compliance, DEC site visit and reduced odor complaints
Summary
Village staff reported operational progress at the new wastewater treatment plant, a successful reactivation of the old plant's sand filter and UV disinfection, DEC site-visit findings that no remedial action is planned, and ongoing operator recruitment and optimization work.
Village staff reported improvements and remaining issues at Red Hook’s wastewater treatment operations, including lab compliance, equipment repairs, odor complaints and a regulatory site visit by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
Village staff said UV disinfection systems at both facilities were repaired in mid-May and were returned to service, allowing the temporary use of chlorine tablets to be discontinued. At the old treatment plant the sand filter was repaired and recharged; sampling on May 28 showed preliminary results for ammonia and coliform within compliance at that facility.
At the new treatment plant staff reported continued optimization work: temporary pumps in the equalization tank will be replaced with permanent units; blower settings that deliver air to biological processes need tuning; one bypass (weir) was bent and will be replaced to balance flow between parallel process trains. Operators measured microbiological populations (“bugs”) above the initial target during late May; staff described this as part of normal start-up optimization and said flows from the discharge appeared clear and steady.
Village staff told trustees they have received operator proposals from multiple contracting firms and will solicit additional proposals before recommending an operator to the board. The village’s engineering firm and the manufacturer (PureStream) visited the plant in late May to review operations.
Regulatory and wetlands review
DEC’s restoration team visited the parcel that contains the wastewater treatment plants on May 15. In a June 2 letter referenced in the meeting packet, DEC said field staff did not observe erosion around the treatment plant and noted that previous remedial work removed the primary contaminant source area; DEC indicated no further remedial sampling or cleanup was planned at this time. The village submitted a request to DEC for a freshwater-wetlands jurisdictional determination on June 2; DEC’s estimated response time is about 90 days.
Odor complaints and community engagement
Staff reported four odor complaints in May, two incidents occurring close in time and location. One complaint on May 21 was several blocks from the plant; crews inspected the sewer and did not identify a clear plant-related cause. Staff said odor reports appear to have decreased since the old plant was returned to service. The village held a public information meeting on June 5 to share lab results and field sampling data with residents and with a neighborhood coalition that has been studying subtributary health.
Financing, reporting and next steps
Village staff said additional project financing has been confirmed with a closing date set for June 26; only punch-list items remain on the capital side. Semi-monthly lab reporting (DMRs) and official compliance reports arrive with a lag (staff noted DMRs are due on the 20th of each month), so some data are reported with a delay. Staff will continue weekly operations monitoring until several weeks of consistent compliance are recorded. The board heard that remaining tasks include submitting modification drawings to DEC and Department of Health for plant changes and selecting an operator after receiving additional proposals.
Trustees asked staff to continue regular public updates and to present a recommendation on operator contracts when the proposal review is complete.
