$1.4 Million Grant Aims to Protect Peconic Estuary: Bellone

NORTH FORK, NY - With an eye toward addressing escalating water concerns, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced a new $1.4 million grant opportunity for mobile home communities looking to install an advanced wastewater treatment system.

The project would replace the existing septic systems at a mobile home community which, he said, "spew nitrogen and other pollution directly into the groundwater and Peconic Estuary", with an advanced treatment system which would removed harmful chemicals and dramatically reduces nitrogen pollution emissions.

The winning community will receive an advanced treatment system using New York State and Suffolk County funding, leaving the mobile home community only responsible for the cost of operation and maintenance costs for the system, Bellone said.

There are 19 mobile home parks located within the Peconic Estuary Program goundwater watershed, he said.

“This project will protect the Peconic Estuary by replacing older septic systems or cesspools which leech nitrogen directly into our water with an advanced system which treats these pollutants,” Bellone said. “Our residents understand the need to replace old systems through our Reclaim Our Water initiative, because our region is dependent on it. Clean water plays a significant factor to our local economy, our tourism, our environment and our quality of life. With the new mobile and manufactured home portion being incorporated into the program, we will continue to make significant progress in reducing our nitrogen pollution.”

The newly-launched Mobile & Manufactured Home Wastewater Treatment Demonstration Program is a new component to the County’s septic demonstration program, designed to improve the region’s water quality by reducing nitrogen pollution through the implementation of advanced on-site wastewater treatment systems and means of sewering in targeted areas, Bellone explained

The manufactured home wastewater treatment portion of the program is largely funded by the New York State Regional Economic Development Council Awards. Out of the $1.4 million project, $1 million of the funding will be provided by the state and approximately $240,000 will be funded by the county – including $100,000 from the Suffolk County Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund.

According to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, the project will remove up to 1,343 pounds of nitrogen each year depending on which mobile home park is selected.

Mobile home park owners can download the application, click here.

Minimum requirements for park owners applying for the program include:

· Mobile homes on properties must be served by public water

· Mobile homes on properties must have a septic system or cesspool

· Mobile homes on properties cannot be connected to a public sewer or located in a sewer district

· Properties must be located near surface water area contributing in the Peconic Estuary

· Properties must have year-round residents

Since Bellone declared water quality as his administration’s number one priority, the county executive noted that the county has selected 19 homeowners to receive free advanced wastewater treatment system on their propertys and is in the process of conducting a second lottery to install more advanced systems.

All systems are currently being monitored by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services and wastewater industry experts, Bellone said. Based on early results, some of the installed systems could be provisionally approved by the Department of Health Services for residential use by the end of the summer.

Suffolk County currently has more than 360,000 unsewered homes, accounting for nearly 75 percent of the county’s households.