Schumer seeks money for Bay Park

Prompted by a continuing sludge release into Reynolds Channel from the Bay Park sewage treatment plant, Sen. Charles Schumer again has asked the federal Environmental Protection Agency to reimburse Nassau County $20 million for sewer construction projects that date to the mid-1980s.

Schumer had written to the former EPA administrator more than two years ago, requesting reimbursement. He renewed his request this past May and this week wrote to current EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

"Every day the EPA fails to pay the millions it owes Nassau County, Reynolds Channel grows more and more toxic and Nassau taxpayers are more at risk for funding the upgrades needed to fix the problem," Schumer said in a news release.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said in October that the Bay Park plant had been illegally discharging sludge into the channel since at least March. Last week, a group of activists said a brown plume has been visible in the water since summer. A video of the plume taken in October has been posted on Youtube.com.

Nassau has promised a temporary fix for the sludge discharge by the middle of this month.

The EPA press office did not return a call for comment Wednesday.