The Mount Vernon Sewer Crisis — The Time to Act Is Now

Dear Mount Vernon Friends and Family -

As many of you are aware, the Department of Justice has filed suit against the city for failure to adhere to the Clean Water Act. These violations date back to 2010. The city must respond to this lawsuit in the next two weeks.

Last night, I briefed the City Council on the matter. I was also joined by the city’s retained counsel who attempted to brief the Council; however, I am disappointed to report that they refused to hear from him. The attorney and I made the decision to stay in City Hall until nearly midnight for all the residents who were present to have their questions answered.

Over 100 residents also attended the meeting where they heard about the urgent need for the Council to fund the positions and equipment necessary to bring Mount Vernon into compliance.

During the City Council’s response to the public testimony, City Councilwoman Delia Farquharson expressed her frustration with the infighting on the City Council. She was outraged at what she described as “hypocrites sitting on the City Council, corrupt hypocrites” when it came time to fund the personnel necessary to deal with the sewers.

The threat before us is too critical to allow political games to rule the day. The City Council must act to fund the positions necessary to do the work. Period.

And, it must act now. Every day of delay hurts our case and moves us closer to crippling fines.

Below are my remarks and links to the presentation. Pursuant to the authority granted to me under the Charter of the City of Mount Vernon, I have deemed the lawsuit a matter of public necessity and I will continue to call special meetings of the City Council until they act to protect Mount Vernon. Today, the council refused my call for a special meeting, but I will continue to call for a special meeting everyday until they agree to sit down and discuss the very real threat to our city.

Respectfully

Mayor Richard Thomas

*****Remarks as Prepared for Delivery*****

Mayor Richard Thomas Briefing to the City of Mount Vernon

Good evening.

I would like to provide the Council and our residents with some context around our sewer crisis.

It is largely a silent and stealth crisis. Every day, we turn on the faucet, take a shower, flush the toilet, and the waste water goes down the drain… and it all disappears, seemingly without a trace.

But for years, because of our aging and crumbling sewers, waste has been flowing into our waterways, primarily the Bronx and Hutchinson Rivers.

So much so, that the federal Environmental Protection Agency has been citing Mount Vernon for violations of the Clean Water Act since 2008.

That’s 10 years ago … and in that decade the EPA has been pleading with the city, so far in vain, to take action.

Now their patience has run out.

Two weeks ago, the Department of Justice sued the city and Mount Vernon residents are facing crippling fines — between $37,000 and $54,000 a day.

If you want to know why the fines went up, it is because we have been in violation so long that government has added an inflation factor to them.

….

Who is to blame? Everyone and no one.

Everyone wants clean water. Paying for it is expensive. Overhauling sewers costs millions of dollars, and the natural reaction of politicians is to kick the can down the road, so someone else can pay the bill later.

Well, the day of reckoning has arrived.

After 10 years of denial, we must finally face the facts.

The first fact is that we must comply with the Clean Water Act.

The only negotiation with the EPA and DOJ is how long will compliance take and how much it will cost. On that point, the sooner we stop defying and denying …and start complying, the better it will be for our city and taxpayers.

The job now is to move forward, and we have a plan to do that. To get started, the city must inspect 600,000 linear feet of sewers and drains. This will identify where the problems are and help us prioritize the fastest, cheapest and best way to get the work done and bring the city into compliance.

If we act quickly and smartly, we can get the inspections done at a cost to taxpayers of only about $200,000. But that requires the support of the Council and Comptroller.

We need to fund the following:

• A City Engineer to oversee the inspections and the entire compliance plan.
• A DPW crew of four to be dedicated to the inspections.
• A Planning Commissioner to get the project under way.
• Two grant writers in the Planning Department to secure state and federal funds to offset the costs.

Add $500,000 for specialized equipment and the cost for two years is $1.8 million.

Here’s the good news.

The city has already been awarded a $1.6 million grant from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which knocks down the cost to $200,000 for our taxpayers.

But before the money can be disbursed, we need to have our plan and people — such as city engineer — in place so we can show the state that we have a detailed course of action for how and when the grant will be spent.

There’s more good news. Once we get the first grant, we will be eligible for additional grants to offset the repair work.

This is not to minimize the crisis. Coming into compliance will cost Mount Vernon millions of dollars and take more than a decade.

But, if we act now to make Mount Vernon clean and green, we can start to minimize the cost of the work and the fines.

Defiance and inaction will only add to the bill.

Again, our plan needs the support of the Council and Comptroller. Legislation has been sent to the Council to fund these roles. Approval is needed on an expedited basis. The clock is working against us.

Mount Vernon will be before a federal judge in about two weeks. We need to show that the city is serious and wants to work in good faith with the federal government. A decision is needed by Friday to give our lawyers time to prepare.

Both the Council and Comptroller have my commitment that my administration is ready in any way to help secure this necessary funding. I am ready to call a special meeting of the City Council every day until this legislation passes.

Compliance not defiance is the way out of this crisis.

Prompt cooperation is the best strategy for protecting our city and taxpayers.

Let’s work together to move Mount Vernon forward.

Thank you. Now you can hear from our attorney Fred Andes.

STAY CONNECTED: