City of Mechanicville, New York
Department of Public Works
May 18, 2007

To the homeowners of the City of Mechanicville:

The City of Mechanicville has been experiencing sewer overflows for many years from several manholes located off the main sewer trunk line that carries sewage to the County treatment plant in Halfmoon.  Due to these overflows, the City is under a Consent Order from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that mandates certain guidelines and actions which must be completed within specific timetables. The first is to disconnect ALL illegal sump pumps that are connected to the City's sanitary sewer system.

From the City Code of Mechanicville:

§ 158-27. Discharge to sanitary sewers restricted. No person shall discharge or cause to be discharged any stormwater, surface water, groundwater, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, cooling water or unpolluted industrial process water to any sanitary sewer.

§ 158-38. Right of entry. The Code Enforcement Officer/Building Inspector and other duly authorized employees of the city bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter upon all properties for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing, in accordance with the provisions of this Part 1.

§ 158-39. Notice of violation. Any person found to be violating any provision of this Part 1, except § 158-37 [which states that it is illegal to tamper with the municipal sewer system], shall be served by the city with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof. The offender shall, within the period of time stated in such notice, permanently cease all violations.

§ 158-40. Penalties for offenses.123EN Any person who shall continue any violation beyond the time limit provided for in § 158-39 shall be guilty of an offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in an amount not exceeding $250 or imprisoned for a term not exceeding 15 days, or both, for each violation. Each day in which any such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense.

The City must abide by this New York State mandate or face a fine by the DEC.  Homeowners are, therefore, urged to seek a qualified plumber to promptly correct illegal sump pump installations.  If the sump pump and it's electrical supply are already installed, it is relatively easy to correct the sump pump drain and run it to the outside of the house.  Note that no cross connections (to both the sanitary and storm sewer systems) will be permitted.

Any questions should be directed to the City Building Department at 664-5001 or the DPW at 664-7171, during regular working hours.

Jack Messore
Commissioner of Public Works