BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has filed a lawsuit against the Buffalo Sewer Authority, alleging massive sewage violations that have been impacting neighborhoods on the west side with odors and environmental concerns.
The 19-page lawsuit filed Tuesday claims the Buffalo Sewer Authority has discharged 2.9 million gallons of untreated sewage and runoff annually into the Niagara River and other waterways, creating significant public health and environmental concerns.
"It's definitely impacting the quality of life of our neighborhood," Nikki Ronan said, who lives on Buffalo's west side just blocks from the Niagara River and Bird Island Pier, where the wastewater treatment plant is located. "The Bird Island Pier is one of our favorite places to walk as a family, and it is also the smelliest place to walk in Western New York right now, so we haven't gone all year."
The DEC states the sewage discharge impacts waterways used for drinking water, fishing and recreational use.
The lawsuit also alleges the Buffalo Sewer Authority has failed to meet project deadlines and committed permit violations, including unauthorized dry weather bypasses that discharged between 11 and 78 million gallons of sewage in past years.
The sewer authority previously told 7 News there were major troubles within their primary sewer tanks, which date back to the 1930s and will cost about $80 million to repair.
"I almost wish the DEC had taken action sooner on this, because really, we have to take care of these waterways," Ronan said. "It's an important part of what we're stewarding here in Western New York."
In response to the lawsuit, the Buffalo Sewer Authority issued a statement saying it has launched a 15-year, $1 billion initiative to upgrade the wastewater system. The authority said $250 million is being used to improve the Bird Island wastewater treatment facility to include odor control.
The Buffalo Sewer Authority's full statement reads:
"Since 2014, Buffalo Sewer has been working in conjunction with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in enacting a long-term control plan (ITCP) to mitigate combined sewer discharges into area waterways. Over the past decade, it has become clear that some projects in the 2014 lTCP could not be constructed as envisioned and that the water quality goals would not be met through its completion.
At this time, we are implementing an effort announced in October 2024 – the Queen City Clean Waters Initiative – to improve our wastewater treatment and combined sewer overflow (CSO) systems to reduce these discharges to meet those water quality goals. The Queen City Clean Waters Initiative is a 15-year, one billion dollar-plus effort to make various infrastructure improvements at over fifty sites across our service territory.
The Bird Island Wastewater Treatment Facility alone is in the midst of $250 million in infrastructure improvements that go above and beyond the requirements of the 2014 ITCP to include odor control as well as water treatment improvements. We remain resolute in our mission of protecting the public health for our approximately 550,000 customers across our service territory and fulfilling our obligation in meeting all state and federal quality water standards."
BUFFALO SEWER AUTHORITY
WATCH: DEC files lawsuit against Buffalo Sewer Authority over raw sewage discharge
Ronan said the sewer authority owes it to residents to act quickly on the environmental concerns.
"The sewer authority, I think they owe it to the citizens of Buffalo who are taking care of this neighborhood, who are living and investing in this neighborhood. They deserve to be taken care of. Our environment deserves to be taken care of, and I believe we need to move as quickly as we can to make sure this happens. There's no more foot-dragging. We need to make sure that this is a livable community and that it's safe for the waterways," Ronan responded.
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