FULTON, NY – The city of Fulton has entered an agreement to conduct a headwater study of the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Eventually, city leaders explain that the study could result in additional revenues in Fulton coffers.Fulton Mayor Ronald Woodward explained that over the next two years, the city is required to conduct a study to measure the flow and strength of wastewater going into the Fulton wastewater treatment plant.
“It evaluates the condition of our system since the last time we renewed our license,” Woodward said. He pointed out that the system hasn’t been evaluated since it was set up in 1986-87.
“The DEC and EPA will require the study before they reissue our license,” Woodward noted. “We are hoping at some point that we can increase our permit. … Most of the capacity is sold. Something will have to be done to change that anyway.”
Woodward explained that the capacity at the wastewater treatment plant was sold to local industry in the late 80s. While many industries have scaled back their use, the city cannot enter agreements with any new industry at this point because that capacity is technically committed.
“The plant is not full but the capacity is ‘sold,'” Woodward said.
Woodward explained that local industries were asked to commit to a capacity expectation when the plant was put in.
“When we did it, we asked the industries how much they were going to use,” he said. The percent industries committed to translated to the percent that the businesses contributed toward the capital cost of the system.
Woodward explained that Nestle, for example, committed to 25 percent of the city’s capacity permit. New York Chocolate and Confections is in no way using that amount, he noted.
“When Nestle was in full swing, they would discharge a quarter million gallons of water per day,” Woodward said.
“Even though they are not using it now, we can’t give it to anyone else because we would be over capacity,” Woodward said.
“The problem now is that we have several entities, such as Northeast Biofuels, that want to dump wastewater into the system,” Woodward added. “But because of the way it is set up, we don’t have the capacity to let them do that.”
There are other issues that the study is expected to address, he said, such as in flow from the storm water system that is not supposed to go into the wastewater treatment plant.
“We are addressing things like that now,” he said. “We have got to get a better handle on it.”
Woodward noted that the city expects that it will be required to make upgrades at the plant before it receives its new permit. New revenues will help to offset that cost.
“We believe that the DEC and the EPA will ask for upgrades,” Woodward said. “I am sure that there are environmental laws that have changed since 1986-87.”
With consent of the Fulton Common Council, the capacity assessment will be conducted by Stearns & Wheler Engineers & Scientists. The work comes with a $15,000 price tag.
In a letter to the mayor from Howard LaFever, vice president at Stearns & Wheler, the study was regarded as the “first step in using the wastewater treatment plant as a potential source of generating more financial revenues for the city and allow economic growth to occur.”
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what’s this going to cost taxpayers beyond the $15,000.