Suffolk Seeking Mobile Home Park for Wastewater Grant
Suffolk County has announced a new grant program to help a mobile home park install an advanced septic system to help protect the Peconic Estuary.
The county is offering a competitive grant for mobile home communities to install an advanced wastewater treatment system.
This project would replace the existing septic systems at a mobile home community with an advanced treatment system, which removes harmful chemicals and dramatically reduces nitrogen overload.
There are 19 mobile home parks located within the Peconic Estuary Program watershed.
The manufactured home wastewater treatment program is being funded by $1 million from the New York State Regional Economic Development Council and approximately $240,000 from the county – including $100,000 from the Suffolk County Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund.
The winning community will receive an advanced treatment system, and the mobile home community would be responsible for the cost of operation and maintenance of the system.
“This project will protect the Peconic Estuary by replacing older septic systems or cesspools which leach nitrogen directly into our water with an advanced system which treats these pollutants,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.
The Mobile & Manufactured Home Wastewater Treatment Demonstration Program is a new component of the County’s Septic Demonstration Program, designed to improve the region’s water quality by reducing nitrogen effluent through the placement of advanced on-site wastewater treatment systems.
The Suffolk County Department of Health Services estimates the project will remove up to 1,343 pounds of nitrogen each year, depending on which mobile home park is selected.
Mobile home park owners can download the application online here or email septicdemo@suffolkcountyny.gov for more information. Applications are due Friday, April 22, 2016.
Minimum requirements for park owners applying for the program include:
- Mobile homes must be served by public water
- Mobile homes must have a septic system or cesspool
- Mobile homes cannot be connected to a public sewer or located in a sewer district
- Properties must be located near surface water area contributing in the Peconic Estuary
- Properties must have year-round residents
This new program is part of Suffolk County’s Reclaim Our Water initiative, which was launched in 2014. Since County Executive Bellone declared water quality as his administration’s number one priority, the county has selected 19 homeowners to receive a free advanced wastewater treatment system on their property and is in the process of conducting a second lottery to install more advanced systems.
