When the Shit Hits the Harriman Sewage Plant

Camp LaGuardia swamped by sewer issues
Kathy Kahn
Wesrfair Onlione

More than Canada geese are flying over Orange County these days. Lawsuits have also taken wing.


Orange County is currently enmeshed in two lawsuits regarding sewer capacity, one of which could conceivably send a plan to redevelop New York City’s former homeless shelter down the drain. The second suit involves Kiryas Joel and its quest for greater capacity.


Mountco Construction of Scarsdale, the successful bidder for the county-owned parcel, needs triple the property’s current sewer capacity in order to move forward to develop the 260-acre site.


Mountco’s proposed project calls for more than 800 homes, nearly a quarter-million square feet of retail/commercial space and a “town square” that would be the focal point of the new community. Mountco is also negotiating to have a satellite campus for Mount St. Mary College at the site, pledging to give the school an initial 10,000 square feet of space and more if the college needs it going forward.


But nothing can move forward unless Mountco has the sewer capacity for the project, “and we don’t have it to give,” said town of Chester Supervisor Steve Neuhaus.


When the sewer bill came due for Camp LaGuardia, both Blooming Grove and Chester refused to pay what the county considered to be the municipalities’ portion, sending the county to court to recover a total of $65,400 on the $140,000 in charges.


“We’re all upset,” said Neuhaus, referring to himself, town of Blooming Grove Supervisor Frank Fornario and developer Joel Mounty. “Rather than sit down and discuss this in a healthy manner, the county filed a lawsuit.”


Fornario said he would confer with Neuhaus over how to proceed with the county.


Neuhaus said the county cannot put Mountco into Sewer District No. 1, the county’s recently expanded sewage treatment plant in Harriman, because others have waited for sewer capacity before Mountco’s project was proposed. “We can’t give away sewer capacity pledged to others so this project can proceed. It’s not only a bad precedent, it’s literally opening the floodgates for more litigation,” said Neuhaus. “There’s a real lack of communication going on here. Why can’t we all just sit down and discuss this?”


Camp LaGuardia’s need for more capacity is not the only hurdle the county is facing. It is being sued by the village of Kiryas Joel for more sewer capacity in the same sewer district.


Mountco did not return calls for comment, nor did the county executive’s office.