Schumer urges U.S. to pay water plant settlement

Sen. Charles Schumer is criticizing the U.S. Department of Justice for stalling a settlement to build a South Farmingdale Water District treatment plant, a delay the district says could cause a rate hike for customers.

Chemicals from a former naval weapons depot at the Northrop Grumman Corp. property in Bethpage threaten to pollute district wells, district officials said. The Navy and the district reached a tentative agreement in 2005 in which the Navy will pay for a $8.6-million treatment plant.

The water district covers South Farmingdale, North Massapequa and parts of Bethpage and Seaford.

But the Justice Department must approve the deal before payments can be made. Schumer (D-N.Y.) says the department hasn't acted on it for more than a year. Department spokesman Charles Miller declined to comment Thursday. Schumer said he spoke to Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday, who told the senator he would have an answer by next week.

The water district, awaiting a settlement, has gone ahead on its own, breaking ground in April on the treatment plant. It expects the facility to be operating by next summer.

In lieu of the settlement money, district officials are using money from bonds issued through Oyster Bay Town to pay for the construction. That could lead to rate hikes, depending on when the settlement money arrives, district business manager Len Constantinopoli said.

The district said it doesn't know how much rates may increase. Schumer says it could be as much as $65 more a year.