City says NO to sewage overflows

Oswego NY - March 11, 2008

In a move to preserve the improved water quality of the Oswego River Basin, the Oswego City Common Council yesterday voted to override a mayoral veto and prohibit the city’s overtaxed west side waste treatment facility from accepting additional waste -volumes claimed to underlie the occasional discharge of untreated sewage - from sources outside the city.

Oswego is situated on the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Of Ontario's tributaries, the Oswego River is second in volume only to the Niagara River. On July 25, 2006 , after 28 years of remedial actions, the Oswego River Basin became the first of 43 Great Lakes sites to be delisted as an Area of Concern by the EPA.

Apparently, more remains to be done. According to plant supervisor Michael Coffey during periods of prolonged precipitation, and during high volume flows such as might follow a thunderstorm, Oswego’s west side facility, located near the riverbanks, can be overwhelmed, resulting in the direct discharge of wastewater containing raw sewage.

Named as significant outside sources are the adjacent Town of Oswego and the nearby SUNY Campus. The city currently contracts to handle sewage from SUNY Oswego, as well as from portions of the adjacent Town of Oswego - although the agreement with the town has expired and might not be renewed.

The problem arises because a number of residences near the SUNY campus have the appearance of being within city limits but are actually located in the Town. These properties are located on Baylis Street , Franklin , Maple, Washington , and West End Avenues, as well as New Street , Swift Street , and parts of Washington Blvd, and all are connected to the city sewer system.

The reinstated resolution will permit the continued receipt of waste from certain private dwellings in the town, but will prohibit all other Town of Oswego waste. The agreement with SUNY Oswego is unaffected by the council’s action, but its future is uncertain. Councilman Michael Myers, spearheading the resolution to prohibit additional outside waste, believes the plant needs to be expanded and the city and university can "work together" to pay for the project.

In opposing the vote to override, Councilor Connie Cosemento blamed landlords for the overflow. “If you concentrate 4 adults per unit and max out every house and turn it into two units instead of one, then we probably do have more sewage in a small area.”

Ms. Cosemento was previously quoted as saying she opposed the resolution because landlords had besieged her on the subject. It is not been shown that students living off campus generate more waste than those residing in dorms. Since the number of students is static regardless of their location within the district and SUNY waste is handled by the facility in question, it is not clear how Cosemento’s logic concludes the landlords are at fault.

Advisory opinions are expected from the NY DEC and EPA by month's end.