only sanitary sewage, which comes
from toilets, sinks and bath tubs, at
least in theory. The plant treats 40
MGD but has the capacity to treat
120 MGD. DEP acknowledged that
there are some unlawful connections
of roof drains and other storm water
sources which likely contribute to the
increased flow. It is difficult and very
time consuming to track down these
illegal
connections.
Also DEP
acknowledged that they are some-
what mystified by the presence of
sewage indicators such as tampon
applicators and condoms on the
beaches of Staten Island. There are
no combined sewer outfalls (CSO’s)
along the south shore of Staten Is-
land. The items that have been seen
could have been carried by tides
from just about anywhere, including
New Jersey.
DEP acknowledged the CSO prob-
lems from the Port Richmond WTCP
and its sewer shed, but said that the
weirs and chambers can hold back
most of the sanitary water, until such
time as it can be treated.
There was also a brief overview of
the treatment of sewage. The sani-
tary mix is pumped up from approx.
200 feet below the WTCP, into set-
tling chambers. Skimmers then re-
move any trash (diapers, wipes, cig-
arettes, toilet paper and more). The
trash is terrible, especially the wipes,
which contrary to claims, are not
flushable or biodegradable. The
wipes foul up the pumps and ma-
chinery which require frequent
maintenance. Another big problem is
congealed fat and grease, which
comes from people pouring cooking
oil, bacon grease, etc. down the sink.
We are always looking for people
to come to the monthly meetings
and bring us ideas and
suggestions for future activity.
All are welcome!
MEETING SCHEDULE ON THE
1
st
TUESDAY
OF THE MONTH
Meetings held at the Nature
Center at Blue Heron Park
January 5, 2016
February 2, 2016
March 1, 2016
April 5, 2016
May 3, 2016
June 7, 2016
July 5, 2016
August 2, 2016
September 6, 2016
October 4, 2016
November 1, 2016
December 6, 2016
Page 5
Summer 2016
NATURAL RESOURCES PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION
(continued next page)
half mile. Included in the debris
were plastic bags, cigarette butts, a
household pillow, dock and boat
pieces, fishing line, a boom box, Hei-
neken bottles, Burger King wrappers,
and more. We collected 550 lbs. of
garbage, and recycled 10 lbs.
A nearby salt marsh creek on the
Mount Loretto preserve was the set-
ting for a minnow trap, and over 200
banded killifish were caught and re-
leased.
NRPA will continue to clean our ma-
rine environment.
Liquid fat, oil and grease should be
discarded into a can or jar and then
put into the trash when it solidifies.
They also mentioned “the London
blob”, a 15 ton mass of congealed
fat and wipes that was clogging
London’s sewer system.
In the settling chambers, lighter ma-
terials are skimmed off and bio sol-
ids settle to the bottom of the tanks.
At this point, microbes are used to
break down organic material. The
bio-solids are then sent to a centri-
fuge, where they are spun around at
high speeds to remove even more
liquid. The Oakwood Beach WTCP
also receives 13 tons of bio-solids
from the Port Richmond WTCP on a
daily basis. Then the bio-solids are
heated, reducing the water content
to 27 percent, and using 12" diame-
ter pipe, gravity fed into tanker
trucks for transport along the BQE
to the Bronx, where they are ulti-
mately trucked to landfills. In Brook-
lyn, sludge is pumped into a ship,
which then docks at the back of the
old Pennsylvania Avenue landfill in
East New York. The sludge boat
then connects to a pipe that pumps
the sludge to the 26
th
Ward WTCP a
few blocks away. The sludge is de-
watered and then shipped by truck
to out of state landfills for final dis-
posal. For several years, there was
a company that pelletized the
sludge prior to transport, but this is
no longer being done, as local resi-
DEP PRESENTATION
By Jim Scarcella
At the May 5, 2016 meeting of Natu-
ral Resources Protective Associa-
tion, we had several important
guests from the NYC Department of
Environmental
Protection (DEP).
They came in response to conditions
we had observed on some of our
clean ups.
Mario Bruno, Assistant Commission-
er of DEP’s Bureau of Public Affairs,
Frank Fontana, the Borough Coordi-
nator, and John Pepito, Deputy
Commissioner of Wastewater Treat-
ment provided a presentation on
sewage treatment, efforts to control
combined sewer overflow, storm wa-
ter overflow and more. Mr. Pepito
discussed the functions of several of
the water treatment control plants
(WTCP’s) around the city and the
volume of wastewater treated each
day, measured in millions of gallons
per day, MGD.
The Oakwood Beach WTCP treats
