Suffolk County homeowners building or renovating their homes would need to install high-tech sewage treatment systems that can cost twice as much as traditional systems. This comes out of a proposed water quality initiative by County Executive Steve Bellone.
Bellone’s proposed sanitation code amendment, which the county legislature will vote on Wednesday, is the first step in a $ 4 billion underwater drainage plan that will put aging septic tanks and cesspools out of circulation for over 50 years should be. The proposal aims to reduce nitrogen pollution, which officials have blamed in part for fish deaths, algal blooms and beach closures.
However, critics said the nitrogen pollution concerns are overstated and that county officials are yet to demonstrate that the systems, which cost about $ 20,000 to install plus $ 300 annual maintenance costs, are effective in improving water quality.
“You are going to tell me that I have to drop $ 20,000 in the ground and then pay for it every year? If you’ve shown me this really has an impact and is necessary, I’ll come up with the money, ”said Royal Reynolds, a former county engineer who is part of a coalition of engineers and scientists who are questioning the underwater divide scheme to have.
A diagram showing how advanced septic tanks work. Source: Suffolk County Department of Health Services; Illustration by Andrew Wong
Deputy District Manager Peter Scully, the county tsar for water quality, said Suffolk has a rigorous certification process for the systems and that computer models show that they would help improve water quality in 10 years.
“You don’t want to keep piling old technology,” Scully said.
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About 75% of Suffolk is unsewn, and there are roughly 380,000 homes with outdated cesspools or septic tanks, district officials said.
The proposed change would require innovative on-site alternative wastewater treatment (IA) systems for new construction of residential and commercial buildings, as well as for residential renovations that will increase the number of bedrooms from July 2021. The proposal is expected to affect 1,000 homes and 200 commercial properties per year, officials said.
The measure would also allow more flexibility for urban wastewater treatment plants, which official figures suggest could help with remedial efforts in areas like Mattituck.
The Suffolk Board of Health approved the change in July. Supporters, including local environmental groups and a builders’ association, welcomed the proposal, saying it was based on “rigorous science” and would improve water quality while creating jobs.
“Sewage from failing and obsolete sewer systems is polluting our bays, ports and drinking water, and we need to take steps to maintain our lifestyles and protect public health,” said Bob DeLuca, group president for the East End, in a statement .
While environmentalists and the Bellone government have raised concerns that nitrogen pollution is affecting Long Island’s drinking water supplies, nitrogen is not a problem for the Suffolk County Water Authority’s wells, according to spokesman Tim Motz, who said the agency supported Bellone’s initiative .
The cities of East Hampton, Southampton, Shelter Island and Brookhaven already require low-nitrogen sewage treatment plants in some new buildings. More than 1,000 such systems have been installed in Suffolk, and homeowners have received state, regional and city grants to replace existing sewage treatment plants. This process costs about $ 25,000 on average.
But homeowners would likely have to install the systems in new builds at their own expense. According to Scully, officials are working to obtain grants for low- to middle-income households and have found the systems are less expensive than sewer connections.
Conventional systems average between $ 5,000 and $ 10,000 to install, but they release at least three times the amount of nitrogen, according to the county. The district has provisionally approved eight innovative systems, six of which, according to the district, reach a threshold of 19 milligrams of nitrogen per liter.
Patricia Layton, who lives in Bayport, said the high cost of the IA sewer system posed challenges to her sister-in-law Julia Ballas, who became homeless after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and is finally rebuilding her home in Mastic Beach with the help of New York Rising. Because the house is near water, the Brookhaven Town code requires them to install an IA system, but it is expected to cost $ 40,000, Layton said.
Ballas can’t afford that. She is eligible for a county grant, but it would qualify as taxable income under a decision by the Internal Revenue Service. The family fears they will lose their entitlement to benefits like grocery stamps and Medicare.
“It’s so much trouble,” said Layton, 68, a self-described housewife.
District officials are working with Layton to appeal the IRS ruling, Scully said.
The cost can also increase due to the power consumption of the system. District officials said they recommend connecting generators in areas where power outages are likely to occur as toilets may not flush after three days of no power.
“I support this bill, but I have a serious problem with what it will cost people to do this,” Legis said. Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville) said on Monday on an environmental committee.
Rachelle Blidner covers the government, politics and breaking news in Suffolk County.
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