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State DEC wants changes in Onondaga County
 

Sep 10, 2007 06:53 PM

Action News has learned that the State Department Of Conservation is about to order Onondaga County to stop the deliberate dumping of raw sewage into Bloody Brook. Water Environment Protection Commissioner Randy Ott says the County's Law Department and the DEC are working on a draft consent order that may require the construction of a facility that will store sanitary sewer overflow in the Salina neighborhood to the east of Bloody Brook.

Ott confirms that sometimes after a heavy rain or snowmelt, sanitation crews will connect sanitary sewer lines in the neighborhood to storm sewers which empty into Bloody Brook.

The State is about to order an end to the practice which Ott says is only done on an emergency basis to prevent raw sewage from backing up into people's homes. He says whenever the County diverts sewage into Bloody Brook, it will inform the DEC.

A spokesperson for the DEC did not return our calls for comment. A State consent order will often include timetables, goals, and possible fines.

Commissioner Ott says the solution will be costly and borne by every homeowner who pays a sewer use fee. He expects the State will require Onondaga County to build above ground storage tanks capable of holding several million gallons of liquid. He says it would probably be similar to a system the County installed in Salina two years ago at a cost of $5 million.