Westchester County and the nonprofit organization Save the Sound have reached a settlement of a lawsuit that was filed a decade ago in which it was alleged the county was not doing what it should to protect Long Island Sound from pollution by sewage. The lawsuit alleged that the county and 11 municipalities were discharging partially treated sewage into the Sound in violation of the Clean Water Act, causing a public nuisance. The lawsuit also alleged that the county was failing to enforce the County Sewer Act to limit illegal levels of flow from municipalities to sewage treatment plants.
Prior to reaching the agreement with Westchester County, Save the Sound had settlements in place with the 11 municipalities named in the lawsuit: the Town/Village of Harrison, Village of Larchmont, Town of Mamaroneck, Village of Mamaroneck, City of New Rochelle, Village of Pelham Manor, Village of Port Chester, City of Rye, Village of Rye Brook, Village of Scarsdale, and City of White Plains.
After approval by the County Board of Legislators, the settlement was submitted to federal district court, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency for review. If the federal parties do not object, the final settlement is expected to become effective in another couple of weeks.
Under the agreement, the county is obligated to:
- take “reasonable measures” to enforce the County Sewer Act within four sanitary sewer districts: New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Blind Brook, and Port Chester;
- conduct a round of flow monitoring no earlier than 2037 to determine compliance with the Flow Limit within the four districts;
- provide materials to support the municipalities’ sewage management efforts;
- spend $475,000 on future environmentally beneficial projects, such as green infrastructure installation, inland wetland remediation, and riparian buffer restorations, with specific projects to be identified by the County and Save the Sound in the coming two years;
- spend an additional $25,000 to cover any future monitoring fees and costs.
“Municipalities are responsible for maintaining and repairing their sewer systems but the county is responsible for continuing oversight as it is their plants that are impacted,” said Roger Reynolds, senior legal director for Save the Sound. “When finalized, this agreement and others with municipalities will address the problem of ongoing sewage spills Save the Sound encountered when we opened our Westchester office more than 10 years ago. This will result in a cleaner, healthier Long Island Sound with less sewage pollution, and fewer beach closures and swimming days lost.”
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said, “This resolution puts the missteps of past administrations behind us and reflects our renewed commitment to protecting water quality and upholding the Clean Water Act. I want to thank the Westchester County Board of Legislators for their support, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the federal district court. Together, we are taking important steps to protect and preserve Westchester County’s waterways for generations to come.”
Save the Sound said that collectively, the settlement reached with the county and others reached with municipalities will have resulted in more than $100 million invested to study and repair more than 600 miles of sewer pipe and fix more than 64,000 identified defects, as well as more than $1.75 million in funding for projects that will restore and protect Long Island Sound and other bodies of water. Save the Sound also points out that involved municipalities have developed plans for effective management of their sewer systems into the future.
