Judge overrides order closing camp

Ulster County reaches settlement with Camp Rav Tov addressing failing septic system

A Kings County judge has overridden an Ulster County Health Department order directing Camp Rav Tov to cease operations at the

Cherrytown Road camp, according to a statement issued late Tuesday by the Ulster County Attorney’s Office.

The temporary restraining order issued by the Brooklyn-based judge came before the 5 p.m. Monday deadline set by the Health Department and allows the residential

girls camp to remain open through the rest of its season, which ends on Aug. 22.

On Thursday, the Ulster County Health Department had ordered the camp to cease operations by 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 13, because raw sewage that was seeping out of the ground from the camp’s failing septic system posed a health hazard to campers and the community, said Dr. Carol Smith, Ulster County Health Department

commissioner. She said the Health Department attempted unsuccessfully to work with the camp to mitigate the problems before taking the extraordinary step of ordering the camp closed.

Following the issuance of the restraining order, the county and the camp negotiated a settlement. Under the settlement, the camp will be required to pump and haul all sewage from the camp on

a daily basis until Aug. 22, and provide daily certification from an independent engineer that the pumping and hauling had been completed.

The camp also agreed to put $40,000 in an escrow account to be used for cleanup in the event of any non-compliance by the camp and agreed to install a new septic system, approved by Smith before seeking operating permits from

the county for 2019, according to the County Attorney’s Office.

In its statement, the County Attorney’s Office said the Health Department will monitor the camp’s compliance and “stands ready to pursue further action to ensure the public health if necessary.”

Smith said her department took the extraordinary step of shutting down the camp after numerous attempts

to get the camp owners to remedy the problem were unsuccessful.

“It’s a failing septic system and the untreated raw sewage is pouring over the surface of the ground, and reports from the town are that it has kind of trickled down into the roadway,” Smith said last week.

Rochester Town Supervisor Mike Baden has said neighboring landowners have been complaining since June, when the camp opened, about sewage odors that, according to him, forced some residents indoors on hot summer nights.