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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE10-66

June 30, 2010

CONTACT:

Farrell Sklerov / Mercedes Padilla  (718) 595-6600

Statement of NYC Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway On Agreement with Mothers on the Move to Study Air Quality and Increase Open Space in Hunts Point

"Today's announcement is another example of the results we can achieve by sitting down across the table, rather than years of fighting in a courtroom. Odors are part of the 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater that New Yorkers produce each day, and DEP has invested significant resources to implement state-of-the-art odor controls throughout the treatment network, including $20 million for a new Residuals Handling Building at our wastewater treatment plant in Hunts Point. 

These investments are part of our efforts to be a good neighbor in the communities we serve, and as part of the agreement announced today, we will significantly enhance our air monitoring efforts at the Hunts Point plant, and we will continue to take all reasonable steps to address odors that could be impacting local residents. In connection with the more than $570 million already committed since 2002 to modernize the Hunts Point plant, we have also agreed to provide matching funds to the community to remediate 1.2 acres of land that will ultimately become part of Barretto Point Park.

Earlier this year, due to its increasing costs, DEP decided to terminate its contract with the New York Organic Fertilizer Company to process a substantial portion of the 1,200 tons of sludge that the wastewater treatment process produces each day for use as fertilizer. Over the long term, our goal is to dispose of as much sludge as possible through beneficial reuse, and DEP is working on a Request for Proposals to achieve that goal. As part of this agreement, we will release that RFP before November of this year, and we look forward to assessing the innovative technologies that we are sure will be proposed."

As part of the agreement, DEP has agreed to:

  • Issue an already planned Request for Proposals for the beneficial reuse of sludge produced by DEP's wastewater treatment plants by October 31, 2010
  • Spend $87,000 to hire an independent consultant to perform an odor study of the Hunts Point Wastewater Treatment Plant and recommend strategies for implementing additional cost-effective odor control measures at the plant
  • Allocate $500,000 in matching funds for the remediation of a City-owned 1.2 acre parcel that will ultimately be incorporated into Barretto Point Park
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