New York City environmental groups statement on NYS proposal that would allow sewage discharges to continue in Harlem River
April 16, 2025
Riverkeeper Team
New York, NY - On Wednesday, April 16, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) released a draft proposal that would exempt the Harlem River from bacterial water quality standards when it rains. Rainfall triggers combined sewer overflows (CSOs) that discharge nearly 2 billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted stormwater into the river each year, and the proposed exemption would allow this pollution to continue for the foreseeable future.
This proposal runs directly counter to the City’s goal of eliminating CSOs by 2060, and it would set a dangerous precedent for other local waterways.
The groups urge the NYS DEC to require the City to study incremental sewage reduction alternatives, such as green infrastructure that absorbs rainfall, in order to improve water quality, benefiting human health, recreation, and the environment for generations to come. Additionally, the groups urge the State to require the City to consider programs that would relieve the burden of water and sewer service costs for low-income residents, while also securing the funds to make necessary infrastructure improvements.
"The Harlem River has suffered from pollution and neglect for far too long — and now, instead of advancing solutions, this proposal threatens to lock in the status quo of sewage pollution for future generations,” said Mike Dulong, Legal Program Director at Riverkeeper. “The NYS DEC and the City must invest in meaningful, incremental progress toward eliminating combined sewer overflows and protecting public health."
“Since the turn of the century, the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality has fought to make the Harlem River swimmable and fishable, with pollution levels low enough for safe recreation. We asked for a pollution diet, or Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), in the early years and were turned down by the NYS DEC. Then we asked for the river to be designated a ‘sensitive waterbody’ needing extra protection a decade later and were turned down by the NYS DEC. We also asked for a separate Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP) with a separate plan to control CSO pollution as the last plan for the City began, and that was turned down by the NYS DEC. All along these 25 years, residential and commercial development increased sewage in the pipes as climate change caused more frequent and intense rainfall leading to larger sewer discharges,” said Karen Argenti, BCEQ Corresponding Secretary. “Now the agency refuses to allow green infrastructure design standards beyond the old-pipe-limits to infiltrate all existing rainfall levels to the point of stopping overflows. We have some of the smartest engineers in the world. It’s time to get to work and clean the Harlem River — by managing and reducing pollutants and ensuring clean water for both ecosystems and public health."
“NYS DEC had an opportunity here to take significant strides toward achieving a swimmable Harlem River and setting a positive example for other local waterways similarly suffering from poor water quality, including the Bronx River and others in the Long Island Sound watershed,” said Dara Illowsky, New York Staff Attorney at Save the Sound. “Instead, NYS DEC has thrown up their hands and declared there is just not much more they can do, leaving Harlem River communities and likely others in the lurch.”
“The release of this proposal from the NYS DEC also marks the beginning of the public’s ability to provide meaningful feedback to the state,” said Jonathan Narvais-Gwilt, Student Intern at the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic. “In this public comment period, now is the time to act and work with local environmental advocacy groups before the state is no longer required to accept comments on their plan.”
Background
When sewers were built in many older cities and villages, they were designed to carry both household and industrial wastes and street runoff in the same pipes, and these pipes were designed to overflow into waterways around the city when they are overwhelmed by rainfall. These discharges are known as CSOs.
Each year, New York City discharges more than 21 billion gallons of raw sewage from roughly 460 outfalls into local waterways when it rains. These sewer discharges can contain contaminants, including pathogens that can make people sick if they come into contact with the water. The Harlem River watershed is home to some of the most economically disadvantaged communities in the country, and sewer and stormwater discharges worsen the area’s already high pollution burden.
The NYS DEC has proposed to allow the Harlem River a “wet weather exemption,” meaning the water quality must be swimmable during dry weather, but the relevant water quality criteria will be suspended following rainfall, when CSOs are discharging. The proposal is based on New York City’s draft Use Attainability Analysis and Financial Capability Analysis. A decision to assign the river a “wet weather exemption” would allow for CSO discharges to continue at their current rate for the foreseeable future.
The City’s analysis ignores potential cost-effective options (such as green infrastructure designed to absorb or retain rainwater, phased development of the sewage capture tunnel, or water treatment capacity increases at Rikers Island) that would help incrementally and effectively reduce CSOs and improve water quality. The City’s analysis also does not account for ways to pay for infrastructure investment in cleaning up the Harlem River without financially burdening low-income water and sewer customers.
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