Town to absorb another abandoned sewer system

CLIFTONPARK, N.Y. » After establishing Clifton Park Sewer District No. 2 in June to handle 2,500 customers from an abandoned private sewer company, the town is in the process of absorbing another one.

This sewer company services 48 parcels off Crescent Road in Treemont Estates. The problem, as described at a Town Board public hearing Monday, is no one seems to know who the owner is at this point.

The public hearing is the first step for the town in taking ownership of the Treemont Estates’ system.

Private sewer systems, known as transportation systems, were once a common part of suburban residential development where public sewer systems were few or nonexistent. The law states the owner must operate and maintain the system for a minimum of five years. New York State law requires the nearest municipality to absorb them if they are abandoned by their owners.

Developers proposing to build housing subdivisions today with private sewer systems are dissuaded by local Planning Boards.

The Treemont Estates system includes parcels on Bittersweet Lane, Crescent Road, Durham Way, and Princess Pine Drive. According to a report done by an engineering consultant for the town, the Treemont Estates subdivision was built in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The subdivision, like many others, dedicated its roads to the town. This was done in 1981. However, the sewer system infrastructure operation and maintenance remained under the ownership of the developer, G. Allen Cruickshank.

“Based on current operations, it is difficult for residents to contact the responsible party to address issues/concerns as they arise regarding the sewer infrastructure,” the report states.

Currently, the system is connected to the former Crescent Waste Transportation System, now known as Clifton Park Sewer District No. 2. That system connects to the much larger Saratoga County Sewer District.

At Monday’s meeting, Town Supervisor Philip Barrett said when some homeowners in Treemont Estates were asked about the system’s ownership the best anyone could recall was that it was supposed to have been transferred to the town in the 1990s.

Homeowners using the Treemont Estates system currently pay $255.50 per year to the Saratoga County Sewer District. Since ownership does not come under the county system’s authority, maintenance and repairs in emergencies can be a problem.

If approved by the Town Board, the town will take possession of the system and make it Extension No. 1 of Clifton Park Sewer District No. 2. By becoming part of the growing Clifton Park Sewer Department, homeowners will face an additional cost of $175 per year to the town.

In his remarks presenting the background at the public hearing, Barrett noted that the law requir-

ing the nearest municipality to take over such systems makes no mention of the quality of the system or its finances.

“We take these over blind,” he said. “Others who have become part of Clifton

Park (sewer system) have had a positive experience.”

In discussing the background of how the town was thrust into creating a sewer department within town hall in the first place, Barrett noted that the town was notified by the owner of the former CK Sanitary Sewer Company in December 2004 that the company planned to abandon the system to the town within two weeks. That company had more than 5,000 customers, the system was in need of repair, and there was little to nothing in the bank.

When Monday’s public hearing was opened to the public for comment there was none forthcoming.

The Town Board took no action on the issue at the meeting.