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Planning board approves Thermo Fisher wastewater treatment upgrade; new enclosed system will replace lagoons
Summary
The planning board approved site plan items for Thermo Fisher to build a new, enclosed wastewater treatment plant that replaces existing lagoons, tightens effluent treatment to meet DEC limits and includes phased biological reactors and monitoring points.
Tim Walk (spelled in meeting materials as W A L C K), representing Thermo Fisher, presented a two‑phase plan for a new, compact wastewater treatment system sited adjacent to the current lagoons and near the Fresenius Kabi facility.
Walk said the new plant is prompted by stricter New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) effluent limits and by projections of increased future flows. “The new system…will be constructed in two phases,” Walk said, describing two sequencing‑batch reactors (SBRs) in phase one and a third identical tank to be added later if flows require it.
Why it matters: the proposal replaces open wastewater lagoons with a mechanical, enclosed treatment system and upgraded filtration and ultraviolet disinfection; the applicant said the new arrangement will discharge at the same outfall and will allow Thermo Fisher to meet the DEC’s tighter permit limits.
Project details discussed: the applicant described precast concrete tanks and a process building. Tanks are 18 feet deep with about 13–14 feet above grade; the overall system footprint presented in the plans is approximately 101 by 68 feet and the building footprint is 32 by 68 feet. Ancillary tanks include sludge storage and pre‑equalization basins; the applicant said the system may route effluent temporarily through a large stormwater pond to cool discharge water if DEC temperature limits require additional cooling.
Monitoring and sequencing: Walk and staff said DEC requires composite sampling and regular monitoring. The project will include composite samplers on the influent (to measure combined waste) and a composite sampler at the discharge after ultraviolet treatment; monitoring will follow the requirements of the DEC permit.
Board action: the planning board moved to approve the application as presented and voted to proceed; the transcript records unanimous approval of the action in the meeting record provided. The applicant said that once the new system meets permit conditions, the existing lagoon system will be taken out of service and the lagoons will be filled or otherwise decommissioned as part of the site plan follow‑up.
Next steps: planning staff said the project will return to the town board as required by the town’s review process (final permits and DEC approval remain necessary). The board recorded that site‑plan engineering comments will be addressed and that final construction will require coordination with DEC monitoring and permit updates.
