Community Corner

Pols Greenlight Some Funds for Bay Park Repairs


Written by Stephen Bronner

Nassau Legislators on Monday approved nearly one-third of the money needed to fix the failing Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant and the Cedar Creek Water Pollution Control Plant.

Follow Long Beach Patch on Facebook.

The county received approval to borrow $262 million to fix both the East Rockaway and Seaford facilities, pending approval from the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. Democrats had held out on greenlighting the funds, saying more oversight is needed. County Executive Edward Mangano had requested borrowing $722 million for the repairs.

Hurricane Sandy caused significant damage to the Bay Park plant, which emits sewage into Reynolds Channel north of Long Beach, shuttering it for several weeks after it was flooded by nine feet of saltwater.

In May, a power outage caused by saltwater corrosion at the Bay Park facility — which serves about 40 percent of the county, including the Five Towns — reportedly caused 3 million gallons of wastewater to spill into Reynolds Channel.

Mangano held a press conference there shortly after asking state and federal officials to provide $740 million for improvements for odor control and electrical systems at the plant as well as $500 million for a new outfall pipe to deliver sewage to the ocean.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.