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Town Board issues negative SEQRA declaration and approves Thermo Fisher wastewater treatment plant site plan
Summary
After a presentation from the company’s design team, the Town Board declared a negative SEQRA determination and approved Thermo Fisher’s replacement wastewater treatment plant site plan; the company said the new plant responds to DEC discharge requirements and must be completed by May 1, 2027.
The Town of Grand Island Town Board voted unanimously to issue a negative declaration under SEQRA and to approve the site plan for a new wastewater treatment facility at Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Staley Grove site at 3175 Staley Road.
Gerald Boggan, a member of the design team from Lando, told the board the existing on-site wastewater plant cannot meet more stringent Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) discharge requirements imposed in the most recent SPDES review and that the company must design and construct a replacement system to comply. Boggan described the replacement structure’s footprint and internal arrangement, saying two-thirds of the primary tank will be open-aerated with the balance covered to house blowers, filters and a UV disinfection system. He said the treated effluent will continue to be discharged to the site’s existing outfall to an unnamed tributary of Big Six Mile Creek and that Thermo Fisher plans to decommission and backfill the old plant after the new plant is operational.
Boggan told the board the DEC has set a certificate-of-completion deadline of May 1, 2027. He also said the project will not increase Thermo Fisher headcount and that the most significant equipment noise (blowers) will be enclosed in a concrete structure with sound enclosures.
Board members moved and seconded a motion to issue a negative declaration (no significant environmental impact) and then to approve the site plan as submitted based on the Planning Board’s unanimous recommendation. Roll call votes recorded Garcia, Belida, Tagati (Tigati), Kilmer and Marston voting in favor of the negative declaration and approving the project; the motions passed.
Several residents who live near the Thermo Fisher site addressed the board during public comment and raised concerns about construction noise, ongoing humming and industrial noise they already experience, and safety/roadway issues on Staley Road. One resident asked whether the town had received the letters residents had sent; the board clerk confirmed letters had been received and noted staff was collecting and transmitting them. Another resident asked about the distance between the new plant and Staley Road and urged the board to ensure mitigation for noise and construction impacts.
Ending: The approval moves the project forward under a standard local approval process; the company will work to meet the DEC-mandated timeline and board staff will continue to receive resident input as construction planning proceeds.
