ELDRED, NY — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on May 22 granted permits for the new Eldred Preserve complex that is currently under construction near Eldred. One of the permits, a State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit, will allow the owner, Dan Silna, to move forward with a new wastewater treatment plant that will be permitted to release 17,000 gallons per day of treated wastewater into Halfway Brook.

The new Eldred Preserve will include a motel, restaurant and bar, as well as 28 lodging units in nine buildings, and a 2,400-square-foot event space. According to DEC documents, “The project also involves the removal of several subsurface sewage disposal systems and the installation of a wastewater treatment plant.”

The DEC received some 145 comments on the project, and the overwhelming majority urged the DEC not to issue the permit. Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, noted that document revealed that the sewer system would provide only “primary treatment,” which she said was concerning.

DEC responded writing, “To be clear, the proposed wastewater treatment plant is a secondary treatment plant. The Notice of Complete Application for the draft SPDES permit erroneously identified the plant as having ‘primary’ treatment only.”

Van Rossum and others wrote that a “non-discharge” alternative for sewage treatment would be preferable to the one proposed.

DEC responded, “The Department presumes that the term ‘non-discharge’ alternative used in numerous comments denotes a system that discharges treated wastewater to groundwaters. This alternative was considered by the applicant and determined to be incapable of meeting the 2014 New York State Design Standards for Intermediate Sized Wastewater Treatment....

“In conclusion, the effluent limits established in the draft SPDES permit are protective of the Halfway Brook Class… water quality standard and best usages of the receiving water.” The best usages of water in Halfway Brook are recreation and fishing. “These waters shall be suitable for fish propagation and survival.”

The DEC said the project is also subject to requirements of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), which has reviewed the project and provided input.

 Further, “To address any concerns regarding the functioning of the wastewater treatment plant and to provide more oversight of the plant and Halfway Brook, the final SPDES permit includes a change to the discharge class from a 02 to a 09, which requires the submission of monthly discharge monitoring reports and regular inspection by the DEC.