$1-million sewage settlement for Bay Park

Environmental violations at Nassau County's Bay Park sewage treatment plant dating back to 2007 will end up costing taxpayers $1 million, according to a settlement between the county and the state.

The malfunction-plagued plant processes nearly half of Nassau's sewage and has long been the focus of complaints from residents and environmental advocates. Some blame effluent from the plant for poor water quality in the back bays behind Long Beach.

The settlement with state regulators largely concerns violations last fall, when plant operators repeatedly discharged partially treated solids into Reynolds Channel.

Officials with the state Department of Environmental Conservation said Nassau failed to maintain equipment at the aging facility and report illegal discharges. Nassau legislators approved the settlement on June 6.

Under the agreement, the state will fine Nassau $500,000 for the violations. The county must correct equipment and management failures that caused the problems -- something Nassau officials say they're already doing -- and spend another $500,000 to study the feasibility of building an ocean outfall pipe for the plant, which discharges 58 million gallons of treated sewage per day.

Nassau officials blamed the previous administration under Democrat Tom Suozzi for the "years of neglect" and said in a statement that "great strides have been made to correct the damage of the past" since Republican County Executive Edward Mangano took office in 2010.

Among the changes: new plant management and the installation of temporary equipment to remove treated solids until long-term fixes can be made.

Nassau public works spokesman Mike Martino said the county's proposed 2011 capital plan includes $80 million for upgrades at Bay Park, built in the late 1940s and later expanded. The county usually spends $10 million to $15 million a year on projects at the plant, he said.

Long Beach resident Scott Bochner applauded the $500,000 feasibility study and the county's recent response to the problem. "They're doing a great job," said Bochner, who posted YouTube videos of the brown plume last fall and has lobbied the county for fixes.

He and Nassau Legis. David Denenberg (D-Merrick) said it's too bad the penalty for mismanagement by the plant's previous operators would be borne by taxpayers.

"They were the ones who didn't receive notice of these violations last year, and now they're the ones who have to pay," said Denenberg, who has sponsored a bill that would require public notification of future permit violations at sewage treatment plants.

DEC Regional Director Peter Scully said the penalty was appropriate given the severity of the violations. An additional $500,000 penalty will be suspended so long as the county complies with the order.

"The impact of any penalty on county taxpayers was a serious consideration," Scully said. "But we think the penalty is fair and will result in a significant benefit to the environment and to the resource."

Scully said it's hard to quantify the environmental impact of the violations on the bays.