Suffolk to pay fine for sewer discharge

Faced with $1 million in penalties for sewage overflows, Suffolk County has agreed to pay a $47,000 state fine and spend $3.5 million in the Southwest Sewer District to eliminate future discharges.

Public works officials said the state Department of Environmental Conservation originally had proposed the $1 million penalty after finding the district's Bergen Point treatment plant violated its permit for sewage overflows and discharge of solids three times during the past five years.

Gilbert Anderson, public works commissioner, described the discharges as minor and largely out of the county's control since they occurred during storms. He emphasized in each case, the county resumed meeting standards 15 minutes later during the next test. The county conducted 15,000 tests during the five-year period. Anderson said all the water was treated before being discharged through Bergen's outfall pipe that extends 11/2 miles into the ocean.

County officials also maintained the violations were marginal, noting that the discharge of settleable solids amounted to 0.4 milligrams per liter, compared with the 0.3 milligrams per liter permitted.

Peter Scully, DEC's regional commissioner, said public works officials have been "very responsive" in responding to violations. "In these difficult fiscal times, we do not seek to include penalties punitive to the taxpayer."

Bergen's state permit allows for treatment of 30 million gallons of sewage daily from about 70,000 homes along the south shore of Islip and Babylon. The plant also serves businesses along the Route 110 corridor.

In response to the alleged violations, the county has begun two remediation projects, totaling about $3.5 million, to help seal the collection system around Bergen Point so that stormwater does not overload the plant. The consent agreement with the state, approved Tuesday by the county legislature's public works committee, calls for a $47,000 penalty as long as Suffolk complies with the terms of the consent decree.