Archive: Opinions

Letters to the EditorThe Lansing Sewer Committee has cried over and over again that septic systems inLansing are inadequate and they are causing harm to the environment. But they don't have the facts to back them up, and they have spent lots of taxpayer moneytrying to find a smoking gun.

Apparently the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) also has found very few problems with Lansing septic systems. If the DEC felt that there was a general problem with septic systems contaminating the lake or harming ground water, they would issue a Consent Order for those properties to fix the malfunction. If the owners didn't fix it, the DEC would then issue an Enforcement Action, as they did for the lake front properties in the Village of Fairhaven in Cayuga County.

Fairhaven is installing a sewer district, but they didn't force it upon the entire town as the Lansing Sewer Committee is trying to do. What appears to motivate the Sewer Committee is the desire to push development in Lansing, which will result in a huge cost to the average taxpayerfor the next 38 years and will benefit only a small handful of developers and landowners. This includes the proposed Portland Point development, with its banquet hall, locker rooms and marina. It is unlikely the owners will get the HUD monies they want to develop the point without a taxpayer-funded sewer.

Recently, Ladoga Park flooded, and Lansing Sewer Committee member Mr. Farr was quoted as saying "What's going into this lake has got to stop. What does that water look like right now? Who drinks it?"

What is going into the lake? Does Mr. Farr have some new information that he'd like to share with the citizens of Lansing? Or is he reflexively echoing the baseless claims in the Engineer’s Report that the Sewer will "improve groundwater and surface water quality in the Town of Lansing and adjacent areas", or again in Committee’s USDA loan application when they state that the Sewer will "eliminate ground and surface water pollution that is currently caused by inadequate on-site sewage disposal systems."

The bottom line with lake front properties is that many of them were built decades ago as summer cottages, when smaller septic systems met code. Now, many of the owners of these properties want to turn them into year-round residences. Dye testing by the Tompkins County Health Department revealed no septic system failures in Ladoga Park, and the DEC has not imposed a Consent Order or Enforcement Action on these properties. Yet the Sewer Committee wants to tax Town of Lansing residents at least $850/year for 30 years or more, with the primary beneficiaries being lake front property owners and developers. Certainly, places like Ladoga Park may need a sewer district at some point, but they should follow the Fairhaven example and not try to force it upon the Town.

There have also been arguments made by the Sewer Committee and Town Board members that affordable housing in Lansing is dependent upon a sewer. This is inaccurate. I have an acquaintance that owns an apartment building in the Town of Lansing that charges residents about $650/month for one and two bedroom apartments. If this sewer project goes through, a sewer tax of $10,000 per year will be assessed on the property. To cover the hook up fees, removal of septic tanks and the sewer tax, rents will have to go to about $800/month. How is this helping to make those apartments more affordable?

I have talked with some folks that want the sewer because their septic systems need repair, and they think the sewer will be a less expensive option. Installing a new distribution box, laterals and gravel costs about $7,000. The sewer will cost you $5,000 in just the first  year to hook up, remove your septic tank and pay the first year's sewer fee. That means that if you plan on staying in your house more than 3 years, you would be better off repairing your septic than paying $850+/year for a sewer system. In 10 years, a sewer will cost you $6,000 more than repairing your septic, and the costs keep adding up.

As I've said before, a 7 year septic system inspection program (every 2 years for lake front properties) as Cayuga County has implemented should be considered for ensuring adequate operation of Lansing septic systems. A sewer project should not be shouldered by the Lansing taxpayers for the benefit of the few.

From: Hugh Bahar
Lansing, NY 14882

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