Someone is doing something really dirty to the village of Ellenville. An unidentified person or persons is pouring chemicals into village sewers, for up to an hour at a time. Mike Ryman, head of the wastewater treatment operation in Ellenville, brought word of the latest instance to the village board.

The latest incident occurred on Friday, January 24, between noon and 12:50 p.m. The workers at the treatment plant noticed something was going on when the water started bubbling and turned pinkish red.

Ryman took video of what was coming through the pipes. “We have to inform the DEC and EPA about events like this. And we have to make sure that the wastewater we pass out into the [Sandburg] creek is clean.”

The wastewater system, in a nutshell, carries sewage away, treats it, separates water from solids, releases clean water into the Sandburg Creek, and then disposes of all the nastiness leftover. But it relies on the digestive powers of bacteria in large concrete tanks at the wastewater treatment facility. Dumped chemicals can kill the bacteria that clean the village’s sewage.

Mike Ryman, senior staffer at Ellenville’s wastewater treatment plant shakes his head over this. He says the bacteria appear to have survived the incident but they “have to do more testing. And when we get the results back from the lab we’ll test again. But right now, it looks okay. However, it must be stressed, this is not okay."

Ellenville's wastewater treatment plant has been a thorn in the village's side for some time now. The village is in the middle of a $6 million effort to replace worn-out machinery, to be paid off half through grants and half through low-cost borrowing. Still, Mary Beth Bianconi of Delaware Engineering, who’ve been trying to fix the plant without debt-crippling the village, calls the current set-up “still too much borrowing.” They’re hunting for additional grants, but federal money could be scarce under the new administration.

The plant runs 24/7 in high heat and humidity, meaning that equipment wears out quickly. Incidents like this put additional wear-and-tear on everything, and, if they kill off the bacteria, could lead to additional costs. The bacteria have to be purchased, buckets of stuff called BioBug, that cost around $83 a gallon. Ryman has said purchases of new BioBugs can run up to $2,300. These purchases have been recorded by the Shawangunk Journal on many occasions. In the worst-case scenarios, it “takes months for the [bacteria] to recover, and then we have to buy more.”

The money woes continue to stack up under the possibility of the state Department of Environmental Conservation coming down on the village, because the plant has been out of compliance for up to a year at a time. Last spring, the village was negotiating with the DEC over environmental penalties after wet wipes blocked many of its filters. Under the worst-case scenario (which is very unlikely) the DEC could fine the village $37,000 for each day the plant isn't in compliance.

Ellenville has been on a good financial trajectory, but has no fund balance and is $800,000 in debt. “The year ahead,” Mayor Evan Trent said as he prepared the 2025 budget, “is going to be really tight.”

Samples of the pink effluent have been sent to be tested in a laboratory to try and find out the identity of the chemical. In the meantime, an investigation is underway.

“We are going to be lifting manholes and testing the effluent for 24 hours at a time to track down where this is coming from,” Ryman announced. “Eventually we expect to locate a source, part of a street or a building.”

After they identify the culprit, the village can levy two separate fines, one for $1,000 a day, and an additional civil penalty of $5,000 per violation. Criminal prosecution can bring a sentence of six months in prison on a misdemeanor charge. Village Attorney Ian Morse also noted that the village can shut off an offender’s access to village water and sewer.

If you think you know the culprit, you can call the Ellenville Sewer Department at (845) 647-9080.