Mayor asks governor to step in, By Linda Smith Hancharick West Milford - After looking into complaints from Municipal Utilities Authority users, the state Department of Environmental Protection issued a scathing letter to the MUA, saying its facilities were “in a state of severe disrepair” and blaming the situation on management neglect and lack of oversight. The May 13, 2011 letter was sent to Kelly Love, administrator for the MUA, from Alan S. Dillon from the Bureau of Safe Drinking Water. Dillon said the DEP received complaints from system users, namely regarding iron. “While onsite, inspectors observed that several MUA facilities were in a state of severe disrepair, apparently due to management neglect and lack of active operational oversight,” said Dillon. “The situation presents an immediate public health concern.” Some of the conditions were outlined in the letter and included: flooding at the Awosting plant due to valve leaks, rodent feces and nesting materials on a shelf, rotted building roof soffits. The Olde Milford Estate plant has been operating on auxiliary power for three months, permanent electric line needs replacement, storage tank is rusted and pitted, the generator is leaking oil and the field chlorine residual is inadequate. “The abysmal condition of several of these facilities calls into question whether West Milford Township MUA has a commitment to operating a sustainable water utility with a goal of protecting public health,” said Dillon in his letter. Given that, the DEP issued a notice of violation to resolve some of the issues, but also requested additional information from the MUA including: an evaluation of the existing iron removal treatment equipment at the facilities notification of who will be operating the facilities to assure that chemical feeds are operating properly and all sanitary and facility hazards are removed an asset management plan which identifies all system assets a five-year capital improvement plan that details upgrades planned to rectify existing deficiencies a copy of the MUA’s financial statements a spending plan that incorporates asset management and capital improvement plans to assure adequate operational and capital reserves a description of the existing water rates a detail of the future proposed water rates Mayor enlists governor Mayor Bettina Bieri said she’s felt her hands have been tied regarding the MUA for quite some time. It’s a volunteer board that is appointed by the council alone, yet she fields complaints and concerns from many constituents about the water quality, the rates, and the condition of the plants. Last month she requested the names and addresses of all MUA users via the Open Public Records Act but was denied the information. Receiving the May 13 letter from the DEP, she said, pushed her to go further with her concerns. She compared the West Milford MUA to the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission and the Passaic Valley Water Commission, agencies that were restructured by Gov. Chris Christie causing many to resign, be fired and even arrested. “Please consider this my plea for your intervention and my request that you take action in the same manner against West Milford’s MUA,” said Bieri in her May 22 letter to the governor, which was obtained by The Messenger. “The cronyism needs to stop and the West Milford MUA is in desperate need of restructuring and oversight by professionals, not long-standing political allies lacking the proper qualifications.” Scangarello involved in both The West Milford MUA is chaired by Carmen Scangarello, a former archivist for the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, before Christie came in and cleaned house. He was fired from his $87,000 per year job at Passaic Valley earlier this year along with about 100 others. Scangarello is the Republican County Committee chairman for West Milford. He was recently hired by Passaic County Clerk Kristin Corrado as a confidential aide. Scangarello said that over the past 18 months the MUA board has requested and had three meetings with the DEP. “We reached out to them to help us,” said Scangarello, who said the infrastructure is falling apart not because of management neglect but because the equipment is old. He said West Milford’s MUA is the only one of its kind in the state, being so small with six sewage treatment plants. The MUA services 1,700 homes for their sewage and 2,000 for their water. He said developers came into West Milford, built their developments and put in whatever they had to put in and left. “We came on board and said there’s something wrong here,” said Scangarello. “It’s appalling. We went to the DEP, sat down with them to ask for help and assistance to find the funding.” Nothing has come through yet, he said. “I think they’re going to try to help us as best they can.” The mayor, though, isn’t willing to wait. “Once again, I implore you to initiate a state investigation of the West Milford MUA with the goal of restructuring and ultimately, privatization to a professional organization capable of operating a utility authority that consistently meets or exceeds public health and safety regulations and environmental standards,” said Bieri in her letter. “West Milford residents deserve such service.”
The cronyism needs to stop and the West Milford MUA is in desperate need of restructuring and oversight by professionals, not long-standing political allies lacking the proper qualifications.” Mayor Bettina Bieri in a letter to Governor Chris Christie discussing the West Milford Municipal Utilities Authority