PRESS RELEASE
March 20, 2008

Public Urged to Attend Meeting on New Sewage Mandates

Members of the majority of the Rensselaer County Legislature are urging members of the public to attend a meeting on March 31 to learn about costly new federal mandates for combined sewer overflow.

The new federal requirements will require municipalities to separate storm water from treated sewage, a proposition that is expected to cost local governments millions in the coming years. Local officials and legislators have protested the initiative by the federal Environmental Protection Agency as too expensive.

The meeting regarding the long term control plan for combined sewer overflows will be held Monday, March 31 at 7 p.m. at Hudson Valley Community College at the Bulmer Telecommunications Center, 80 Vandenburgh Avenue, Troy NY 12180.

“The plan to deal with combined sewer overflow will be one of the most expensive mandates in history, and we encourage residents who are interested in this subject to attend the meeting,” said Legislator Mike Stammel.

The March 31 meeting will focus on what federal officials have termed the Albany Pool Communities, including Albany, Cohoes, Rensselaer, Troy, Watervliet and the Village of Green Island. Surrounding communities will also be impacted and are encouraged to attend.

Albany Pool Communities have been working to attract federal and state funding to help defray the enormous costs for meeting the new combined sewer overflow regulations. The new regulations will require expensive new equipment and treatment techniques on area sewer plants.

“We are working on a regional basis to attract grant funding to help deal with this new federal mandate. This is going to be a very expensive proposition and hoping to offset these costs as much as possible,” said Chairman of the Legislature Neil J. Kelleher.

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