Owego Village Nixes Sale of Wastewater for Drilling

Last night the Village of Owego board of trustees voted to halt negotiations with Inflection Energy. The only dissenting vote was Mayor Ed Arrington.

At the end of last year the village board was considering whether or not to sell treated wastewater to the energy company. Inflection had offered to purchase up to 200,000 gallons of effluent at 5 cents/gallon - bringing potentially $3.6 million into the village coffers. But in order to sell the effluent, the village had to upgrade the facilities at a cost estimated near $400,000. At least those are the details that were made public - the village has consistently denied FOIL requests by this reporter and others for documents relating to the proposed deal.

While Arrington thinks the Village is losing a huge opportunity to bring in needed funds, village trustees see things differently. The money was never a sure thing, says trustee Jim Legursky. In a telephone conversation this morning he said that the proposed contract included a line stating that "nothing would obligate Inflection to buy water."

"The concept [selling wastewater] is great, and the village trustees are open to selling effluent," Legursky said. "But under the right contract."

For now it looks like the deal is off the table. You can read earlier posts on the proposed sale here.

Owego Puts Wastewater Sale on Hold

Owego Mayor Ed Arringon confers with atty Irene Graven

On Monday night the Village of Owego decided to conduct environmental assessment before voting on the Inflection-wastewater sale.

Before a standing-room-only crowd, the village Board of Trustees voted to retain the legal services of Syracuse law firm Hancock and Estabrook to assist in the environmental review and regulatory compliance. Owego Mayor Ed Arrington explained that the board was not prepared to vote on the sale at that time. “There is still additional work to be done,” he said.

The deal, which could potentially generate as much as $3.6 million a year for the cash-strapped village, still leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Residents want to know whether the Village is limited in selling only to Inflection, how – and whether – the agreement can be renewed, and who pays for the development of the pumping site.

The problem is that no one – except Village officials, Inflection representatives and a bunch of lawyers – has read the agreement. That’s because village attorney Irene Graven is denying all FOIL requests for documents related to the sale.

“The agreement may be impaired if it is released right now,” Graven said at Monday night’s meeting.  

Environmental attorney Helen Slottje insists that there is no basis under the Freedom of Information Act to keep the agreement under cover, and Robert Freeman of the NY Committee on Open Government concurs.

Graven acknowledged the difference in opinions and left an opening to revise her stance. “I’m reviewing the (FOIL) requests,” she said last night.

People need an opportunity to see the proposed agreement, says Kevin Millar. The village resident has, through conversations with board members, learned that the contract ties the village into a ten-year lease with Inflection.

“It sounds like the contract was developed by Inflection,” Millar said. And he’s concerned that the agreement might not be in the best interests of the Village. “If we can’t see the contract how can we be sure it is a good deal for the taxpayer?”

Owego To Sell Treated Wastewater for Drilling

This coming Monday, December 20, the Village of Owego Board of Trustees will consider an offer from Inflection Energy LLC to purchase effluent from the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) for use in gas drilling operations. Yup, you heard right - someone wants to buy the stuff that comes out of the sewage plant, mix it with fracking chemicals and inject it into Marcellus wells for fracturing the shale.

Right now the Village discharges the effluent (treated wastewater) into the Susquehanna River. If Inflection has its way, the Village could turn sewage into gold – or at least cold hard cash. Close to $3.65 million a year, according to the presentations on the Village website.

The deal, mayor Ed Arrington explained a couple weeks ago, is that Inflection would purchase up to 200,000 gallons of effluent for 5 cents a gallon. There’s a minor glitch – if the treatment plant hopes to sell the effluent, they need to install an ultraviolet disinfection unit. And that will cost about $400,000.

Not to worry, says Inflection. The corporation will front the costs and recoup their investment by paying only two-and-a-half cents a gallon for water they use until the loan is paid off. Which, says the mayor, could be as few as eighty days, if they are using the water at their maximum capacity. Or longer, if they only use a fraction of the water.

Selling WWTP effluent is not an idea unique to the Village elders. Three years ago Prescott Arizona auctioned off their effluent at $24,650/acre foot - that's 7.5 cents/gallon. If Owego charged that much they could potentially haul in a couple million over the price Inflection has offered. And, says Bret Jennings, Director for the Hallstead Great Bend Joint Sewer Authority, some municipalities in PA are charging even more.

Of course, there are some potential problems with the sale, increased truck traffic being a prime concern. It was just a year ago that Mayor Ed Arrington objected to Patriot Water due to the truck traffic it would bring through the village.

Another concern – and one that has little to do with environmental issues – is the fact that residents have not been allowed to read the proposed agreement between Inflection and the Village. When this reporter requested a copy to peruse, village deputy clerk Teresa Sedlacek said, “It’s not available to the public.”

Why not? Well, Sedlacek explained, “the village attorney says it is a negotiation, not a contract.” Village attorney Irene Graven has not responded to a telephone request for clarification.

“The agreement should be a public document,” says environmental attorney Helen Slottje. She feels that the Owego officials are illegally denying citizens access to a document that even the Council of Mayors deems a public document.

Not only that, the public won’t be allowed any time to comment on the proposed deal before the Village Board addresses the issue – privilege of the floor is second on the agenda.

The Board meets Monday, Dec 20 at 7 pm in Hubbard Auditorium at 56 Main Street, Owego following a brief public hearing on some local laws.

You may read the presentation on selling wastewater on the Village website http://www.villageofowego.com/news.aspx