Westchester County officials continue to blame Con Ed for the system failure that led to the discharge of 39 million gallons of partially treated sewage into the Hudson, while the utility is pushing back, attributing the failure to design flaws at the Westchester Southwest Yonkers treatment plant.
County legislators met Aug. 13 to question county officials responsible for the plant, but focused most of their inquiry on Con Ed’s handling of the failures that led to the discharge. Vincent Kopicky, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Facilities, offered a detailed account of the Murphy’s Law series of breakdowns in a system that was designed to back up total electrical failures, but that wasn’t designed to withstand partial voltage reductions.
Con Ed continues to assert that the Jul. 2 voltage reduction was a standard operational tool used to manage the electric grid during extreme conditions. The waste treatment plant maintained a continuous supply of electricity, Con Ed says.
“Critical customers, like the Yonkers Joint Treatment Plant, are required to have backup generation that automatically powers operations if there are any issues with the utility,” a Con Ed spokesperson told The Ledger in an emailed response. She asserted that the facility’s loss of power was due to internal equipment failure and a failure of its backup generation systems.
The sewage discharge over the July 4 holiday led to the closing of Hudson River beaches from New York City up through Briarcliff Manor. Holiday events were canceled. This disruption has put a renewed focus on the safety systems at the wastewater plant, which serves about half of the county and processes 145 million gallons of sewage daily.
While the legislators focused mostly on detailed fact-finding during their meeting, frustration bubbled up. David Tubiolo (Dist. 14) called the plant malfunction “a huge environmental issue, safety issue” and described the communications breakdown as “insane.” He said: “They’ve [Con Ed] have been in power and have a monopoly for decades, and this is not anything new.”
“Something’s always happening with them, and no one ever holds them accountable,” he said.
Inspectors from the state Department of Environmental Conservation visited the plant after the discharge and gave the facility an “unsatisfactory” rating.
Although the plant remained active through local generators, the loss of power to large equipment, specifically a 4160-volt, 1700-horsepower Roots Blower, caused a total blackout during equipment resets, which disrupted secondary biological treatment for several hours, Kopicky told the legislators. Kopicky stated that this outage caused a damaged breaker, delaying full restoration until 1:45 p.m. Jul. 3.
He stated that the facility generally achieves 94% to 96% pollutant removal, exceeding its permit requirement of 85%. Despite its lack of secondary biological treatment, Kopicky stated that the facility met all permit limits for Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand (CBOD), TSS, fecal coliform, and chloramine residual.
An outside contractor completed repairs to the damaged roots blower breaker on Jul. 8. Kopicky clarified that this incident was not a “sewage spill” but rather a release of partially treated effluent.
DEF stated that they’re now working with ConEd to establish protocols for improved notification, potential voltage-boosting equipment, and a comprehensive list of contact numbers for all seven treatment plants and various pump stations.
During the meeting, officials discussed the plant’s future infrastructure, which is undergoing $68 million in construction projects as part of a larger $400 million upgrade plan. Additionally, a major $200 million electrical system upgrade is planned to improve reliability and relocate sensitive equipment from flood zones.
They’ve further stated that an Anaerobic Digester Gas (ADG) project is expected to be completed by 2027 to increase energy self-sufficiency.
More recently, the state reported a significant spill Fri. Aug. 7. According to state authorities, an estimated two million gallons of partially treated sewage was discharged from a treatment plant just to the north of the main facility, North Yonkers Combined Sewer Overflow Treatment Facility.
The series of spills has alarmed community groups in the neighborhoods along the river. “I am squarely on the side of Con Ed being 100 percent responsible for that,” said Lyida Blakely, chair of the Hudson River Community Association. “If you can pinpoint someone for not paying their electricity bill and cut off their service, you can certainly pinpoint a waste treatment facility.” HRCA and other groups are planning a series of meetings to discuss plant safety and water quality issues.
