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In a statement issued Wednesday, Save the Sound claims the county's leadership along with officials in several towns and villages are "responsible for ongoing sewage leaks of raw and inadequately treated sewage into Long Island Sound ... that risk public health, harm the environment, and violate federal, state, and county law."
In addition to the county, the municipalities of Rye, Rye Brook, Scarsdale, Harrison, Larchmont, the town of Mamaroneck, the village of Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Pelham Manor, Port Chester and White Plains are named in the suit, which was filed in federal court in August.
According to the advocacy group, the western Sound and water surrounding Westchester County got a D+ in an ecological report card released in June. The group claims its own water quality monitoring found "disturbing bacterial pollution in Westchester waters" during each of the past three summers.
The findings confirm "what officials have known for over a decade — local waterways are polluted with high levels of fecal bacteria," the group claims.
“The presence of untreated sewage in our waters is unacceptable, and a danger to public health and the health of the Sound,” said Tracy Brown, director of Western Sound programs for Save the Sound.
Brown, in the group statement, said the sewage leaks are partially the result of older, "poorly maintained" pipes. The group claims the county and towns have been aware of the issues since at least 2003, but have failed to take action.
Save the Sound's suit further alleges that "the County and the 11 municipalities ... created a public nuisance by discharging raw and partially treated sewage that resulted in beach and shellfish bed closings and other harms."
Read more about Save the Sound's lawsuit here.
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