A new agreement has been proposed that could extend sewers to several parts of New Castle that have long called for them.

An existing petition to expand the county sewer district to three sections of New Castle has won backing from New York City's Department of Environmental Protection and County Executive Rob Astorino, in exchange for allowing Westchester communities to hook up to a new water filtration plant that is being build for New York City.

The news was announced at a Wednesday morning press conference by County Legislator Mike Kaplowitz (D-Somers). Speaking at the Yeshiva Farm settlement in northern New Castle - it is one of the areas that would benefit - he was joined by Supervisor Barbara Gerrard, various town officials and folks who would benefit locally from the deal.

“The time to do the right thing is right now," said Kaplowitz, whose district includes New Castle.

Because the sewer district is a county one, approval from the county government is needed.

Under the proposal, three new mini districts would be created in town that would be part of the broader district. They would be District No. 1 (the Riverwoods and Yeshiva developments) No. 2 (the Random Farms development) and No. 3 (expansion to northern and eastern parts of Chappaqua Crossing that are not under the current district). They would each be connected to a county trunk line along Route 100, with sewage diverted to a treatment plant in Yonkers, a move that has long been opposed by some in the city for fear that it would cause more odor in the area.

In total, 293 units across the developments would be affected, including 32 of the 111 Chappaqua Crossing housing units that the Town Board approved in an April vote. In the case of Chappaqua Crossing, whether or not the units will be built remains to be seen, as developer Summit/Greenfield is suing the town in federal and state court over how the review process for the proposal was handled.

In exchange for extensions in New Castle, several Westchester municipalities would have the chance to "piggyback" onto a new ultra-violet water filtration plant being built in Eastview for New York City. The city's Department of Environmental Protection wants New Castle's extension as a condition for the hookup. New Castle, which has an existing filtration plant in Millwood, would not be among the communities that would benefit for the new plant. It is being built in order for the city to comply with a a recently imposed federal environmental mandate. The piggybacking would save communities $20 million to $40 million, according to Kaplowitz, and would eleminate the need for them to build treatment plants on a local level.

Yeshiva, Riverwoods and Random Farms are among 38 "focus areas" identified as being near the New Croton Reservior, which supplies water to New York City and many residents in Westchester County. These focus areas are sites in which concern stands over unhealthy material getting into the reservior, such as pathogens, pollution and pharmaceutical traces, because sewage is not being properly treated.

The problem goes back to the 1990s, culminating in a 1997 agreement between 14 Westchester communities and New York City to secure the water supply. Back then, $50 million was set aside, to be used in $10 million installments for five remediation cases, one of which would be to pay for New Castle's sewer extensions. With added interest since then, the money stored is now $60 million.

Exasperated with years of delay, officials from Yeshiva and Riverwoods were on hand at Kaplowitz's press conference to praise the proposal.

“It should have happened already, a long time ago," said Hershel Reich, administrator for Yeshiva.

In an interview, Reich said that they have spent $700,000 within the last few years to upgrade Yeshiva's sewage infrastructure. Currently, Yeshiva shares an on-site sewage treatment plant with Riverwoods. Other houses in the development are on septic systems, which historically have had failure problems. Random Farms has its own plant.

Operating the joint plant has been costly for Riverwoods and Yeshiva. It comes in at a monthly average price tag of $25,000, according to Kevin Cullen, who works for Riverwoods' property manager.

Even with sewer extensions, don't look for substantially more development to take place. Under the agreement with New York City, criteria exist that effectively prevent new development that could not be built were it still under septic systems. This includes the Millwood hamlet, where there has been recent talk of bringing sewers to, including from Republican Terrence Murphy, who is running against Kalplowitz for his seat.

In a press release sent out in response to Kaplowitz's press conference, Murphy accused Kaplowitz of bringing up the proposal for the purpose of being an election-year issue.

Kaplowitz, noting that he has been working on the issue since the late '90s, called Murphy's recent proposal for sewer extension "an irresponsible one." The problem, he explained, is that there can't be ramped new development, which would go against the 1997 agreement.

Impact on Yonkers is An Issue; Kaplowitz & Jenkins Disagree About Extent

Meanwhile, Ken Jenkins, a Yonkers Democrat who chairs the county legislature, is concerned about the New Castle extension proposal.

While millions of dollars have been allocated for remediation of odor emanating from the Yonkers plant, Jenkins says that it has not been used, making the idea of extension a tougher sell locally. Other remediation measures, such as improving manholes in the city and foam treatment of sludge, either haven't been carried out or did not work as intended.

In response to historical concerns about the Yonkers impact, Kaplowitz stated at the press conference that there is enough capacity at the facility, which is up to 120 million gallons per day. On average, the Yonkers plant handles a daily amount of 83 million gallons, Kaplowitz said, and the New Castle extension would add about 207,000 more.

Jenkins disagrees that there is room. He said that while the average amount provides room, events such as heavy storms can push the sewage amount higher and cause the plant to enter "secondary treatment," which includes bleaching and discharging. He also cited a recent example of a plant part that malfunctioned and caused odor to emanate in Yonkers.

As an alternative solution to help New Castle and Yonkers, Jenkins has advocated building a new sewage plant for northern Westchester, which would also double as a stormwater treatment facility to satisfy the expensive MS4 stormwater treatment mandate that New Croton Reservior communities, including New Castle are required to implement for help with the water supply. In exchange, Yonkers, or another existing treatment plant would temporarily host New Castle's sewage until the new plant is built.

Kaplowitz doesn't feel that Jenkins' proposal is practical, citing cost and interest.

Opposition from Yonkers and Jenkins' stance have been met with concern locally.

“He's basing his reasons on emotional issues, not science," said Donald Mahaney, a member of Riverwoods' association board, about Jenkins.

The sewer extension petition, which was first sent to the county by the Town Board in July 2010, will be discussed at an Oct. 17 meeting of the legislature's Committee on Environment and Energy, which Kaplowitz chairs, at the county government building in White Plains.

Editor's Note: A copy of Astorino's memo in support of the deal, a copy of the extension proposal and a county government environmental review of it, are attached in a bundled PDF file.