Is South Blooming Grove to blame for Airport Park odor?

In recent weeks, the longstanding issue of a foul odor in and around Airplane Park in the Village of Monroe has resurfaced. And while officials believe they know the cause of the problem and how to solve it, getting there is proving easier said than done.

“This has been an issue since I was playing in Airplane Park as kid many years ago,” Village of Monroe Mayor Neil Dwyer said. “It stinks and everybody knows about it.”

At the heart of the matter, according to Dwyer and others, is a confluence of underground sewer lines from nearby municipalities that meet underneath the park before flowing to the sewage treatment plant in Harriman. This causes hydrogen sulfide to emanate up through the manhole covers near the park, causing an odor of human waste.

“The effluent is coming from the Moodna pump station in Chester and one in South Blooming Grove,” said Dwyer. “An oxygenation system called Anue was installed at both plants a few years ago and it seemed to solve the problem. Moodna continues to use Anue, but the Village of South Blooming Grove has stopped using it and that is why we have the smell.”

‘We thought we solved the problem’

As a member of the Orange County Sewer District No. 1 Advisory Committee, Orange County Leg. Peter Tuohy has been working on the issue for years.

“Chester uses Anue and South Blooming Grove uses chemicals,” explained Tuohy. “In 2022, we had a company hook up an oxygenation unit to South Blooming Grove for a week or so and the odor was eliminated. We ran a cost analysis and determined South Blooming Grove would save money by installing the Anue system instead of using the chemicals.”

To that end, Tuohy said, South Blooming Grove passed a resolution in December of 2022 to purchase the Anue system for approximately $350,000.

“We thought we solved problem, but then in 2023 the county sued South Blooming Grove because they clear cut trees to make a roadway at Gonzaga Park, which is county owned, without permission,” Tuohy said. “I remember South Blooming Grove administrators telling me they would purchase the Anue system the day the issue of the road goes away. At that point, I became less optimistic that something would be done.”

Isaac Ekstein, an aide to South Blooming Grove Mayor George Kalaj, told News12 the village would be amenable to installing the Anue system when the lawsuit ends.

”If the county is ready to settle that litigation, we are ready to implement the new system at our own cost,” Eckstein told the regional news outlet.

Richard Golden, the county attorney, told News12 the county would reject such a proposal.

Emails and phone calls to Mayor Kalaj, South Blooming Grove trustees and the village attorney have gone unreturned.

Air quality

Tuohy said air quality tests in the manholes and in the open air at the park show hydrogen sulfide gas levels do not violate Department of Environmental Conservation’s standards and Golden told News12 there is not enough evidence to issue South Blooming Grove a notice of violation of Orange County’s sewer use law.

In an update given at the Sept. 2 Monroe Town Board meeting, Tuohy said the county is thinking of getting a more sensitive testing device and may check commercial businesses in the area.

Dwyer and Tuohy said stakeholders at all levels government will continue to explore ways to mitigate the problem.

Attempts to reach the DEC and Orange County Sewer District No. 1 were unsuccessful as of press time.