Audit: Disclosure lagging for some sewage systems
Comptroller says some still aren’t registered to report raw overflows, despite requirements
It’s been almost a decade since the 2013 Sewage Pollution Right to Know Act was passed, mandating public disclosure of raw sewage discharges into lakes, rivers and streams across the state.
And while environmentalists say the law has worked well to raise awareness, it’s still far from perfect, as evidenced by a recent letter that state Comptroller Tom Dinapoli’s office sent to Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos as a follow-up to a 2020 audit.
The comptroller’s office found that up to 70 local treatment plants around the state may still be flying under the radar when it comes to the registry that is supposed to track sewage overflows.
According to the 2013 law, locally operated sewer systems and sewage treatment plants are supposed to register with the DEC and report overflows. The public can then learn of such overflows if they subscribe to an online alert system. That way, people can steer clear of water bodies that may contain raw sewage.
But according to a recent follow-up to a 2020 audit, the comptroller’s office found that there were still some sewer systems that haven’t yet registered for the notification program.
“Generally, the Act requires … publicly owned sewer systems to report untreated and partially treated sewage discharges to the Department and local health department within two hours of discovery and to notify the public and affected and adjoining municipalities within four hours of discovery,” reads a comptroller's letter recently sent to DEC.
The public can learn of such spills by subscribing to the NY Alert system at https://alert.ny.gov/.
While the comptroller’s audit found that DEC had made progress in addressing the problems found in the initial report, it said improvements were still needed, including the activation of an app that would provide more information about overflows.
DEC, in its response, noted that it is working with the state Office for Information Technology on the app, and working to register the unregistered sewer systems, which are found in locations from Long Island to Chautauqua County in western New York.
“DEC’S Bureau of Water Compliance works diligently to ensure facility compliance with the Sewage Pollution Right to Know Act,” the agency said in a prepared statement.
Dan Shapley, water quality program director for the environmental organization Riverkeeper, said the Right to Know Act has worked well to raise awareness of sewage overflows, which remain a problem along the Hudson River in particular. These overflows typically occur when, during a heavy rainstorm, the amount of water in combined storm and sanitary sewers overwhelms the treatment systems and flows into the river.
“Every time it rains, you get a flurry of notices,” Shapley said.