GOSHEN – The Orange County Legislature has approved a final environmental impact statement for improvements and enhancements to the Harriman Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The approval relates to increased treatment capacity of the facility to six million gallons per day and allows the county to enter into inter-municipal agreements with five municipalities outside Orange County Sewer District No. 1 to sell up to one million gallons per day of the expansion capacity.

The county also agrees to expand the plant at some point, said Legislature Chairman Michael Pillmeier.

“With this amendment, it justifies that we have the capacity, and with the capacity improved justified, we also stated that when it became 80 percent filled, the county would look at enlarging the plant,” he said.

In 2006, litigation was commenced against the county by the Village of Kiryas Joel challenging the sufficiency of SEQRA findings with respect to the treatment capacity requirements of the sewer district and in 2008, State Supreme Court enjoined the county from selling capacity outside the sewer district until a determination had been made as to whether sufficient capacity was available to meet the needs of the sewer district.

The county has now completed amendments to the FEIS to include an analysis of the wastewater treatment capacity requirements of the sewer district and concluded those requirements will be met through at least 2014 taking into account the use of up to one million gallons of capacity per day to the five contracting municipalities.