EAST ROCKAWAY, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — Senator Chuck Schumer on Monday unveiled a new sewer treatment plant in Nassau County.
While it might not be the most glamorous announcement, Schumer on Monday noted that when sewage treatment isn’t done right, it can cause a lot of issues for nearby homeowners.
The Democrat says the sewage treatment plant in East Rockaway has had too many issues in the past, which is why he fought with FEMA to get more than $800 million to construct a new treatment plant in the neighborhood.
“This plant was a dinosaur. It was old. It was decrepit. We were looking for ways to get enough money to clean it up but, it would have cost a huge amount of money for the taxpayers, the rate payers,” Sen. Schumer said.
According to Long Island officials, 400,000 homes are connected to the sewage plant which began operating in 1949.
Nassau Executive Laura Curran notes that the new plant will have revolutionary technology that will help reduce waste in an environmentally friendly way.
“Thanks to our new biological nutrient removal system, the county is removing more than 40% total nitrogen – 40% – that's 5,000-pounds per day from being discharged into Reynolds Channel and the western base,” Curran said. “This nitrogen reduction or removal technology is a significant upgrade to this plant.”
Schumer says the funding provided by FEMA was the largest grant provided by the agency at the time of the plant’s reconstruction.
“We fought very hard to get FEMA to fund this plant,” The Democrat said. “It was the largest FEMA grant in history, at the time, $810 million.”