Town of Clay - Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment Plant
Notice of Complete Application, Notice of Public Comment Period, Notice of Public Comment Hearing
Applicant:
Onondaga County
1100 Civic Ctr
421 Montgomery St
Syracuse, NY 13202
Facility:
Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment Plant
4300 Oak Orchard Rd
Town of Clay, Onondaga County
Application IDs:
7-3124-00018/00001; 7-3124-00018/02005; 7-3124-00615/00001; 7-3124-00615/00002; 7-3124-00618/00001; 7-3124-00618/00002; 7-3554-00280/00001; 7-3554-00280/00002
Permit(s) Applied for:
Municipal SPDES – Surface Discharge, Environmental Conservation Law (ECL), Article 17 Titles 7 & 8; Freshwater Wetlands, ECL, Article 24, (implemented by 6 NYCRR Parts 663); Water Quality Certifications (401 certifications), Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, U.S.
Project is Located:
4300 Oak Orchard Rd, Town of Clay, Onondaga County
Project Description:
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has prepared a draft permit and has made a tentative determination, subject to public comment or other information, to issue a renewal and modification to the Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment Plant State Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (SPDES) permit (NY#0030317) which discharges treated municipal wastewater to the Oneida River, a class B water. The permit modification includes an increased surface discharge from 10 mgd to 30.8 mgd average design flow at full build out via: Outfall 001 of treated sanitary and process wastewater, Internal Outfall 01A of municipal treatment train (MTT) treated sanitary and process effluent wastewater to Outfall 001, Internal Outfall 01B of industrial treatment train (ITT) treated process effluent wastewater to Outfall 001, Outfall 006 of MTT effluent reuse wastewater to Micron, and Outfall 007 of ITT effluent reuse wastewater to Micron.
Treatment at the facility consists of advanced secondary treatment using a high purity oxygen activated sludge process which includes, aerated grit chambers, automatic screen rakes, primary clarifier tanks, high purity oxygen aeration tank, secondary clarifier tanks, aerated lagoons, disinfection tanks using sodium hypochlorite, and sodium bisulfite for dechlorination. Solids are removed via tanker truck to the Metropolitan Syracuse wastewater treatment plant for further treatment.
DEC proposes to incorporate the following modifications to the SPDES permit: Outfalls 01A, 01B, 006, and 007 have been added. Upgrades to the existing MTT include improvements to the headworks with expanded automated screening and grit removal, addition of two primary clarifiers, new fine screening, replacement of high purity oxygen system with a membrane bioreactor system, replacement of chlorine disinfection with closed-vessel ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, a new biosolids handling facility, and a new effluent reuse facility with reverse osmosis (RO) treatment. Construction of a new ITT includes equalization and diversion tanks, influent screening, biological treatment in mixed anoxic tanks followed by aeration tanks, membrane bioreactors, UV disinfection, centrifugal solids dewatering, effluent reuse with ion exchange resin (IX) and RO treatment. The Permittee will seek coverage under Multi-Sector General Permit for Stormwater Outfalls 002, 003, 005 to the Oneida River, and 004 to Mud Creek. Upgrades to the MTT and construction of the ITT will result in 0.79-acres of permanent impacts to wetlands and 3.29-acres of permanent impacts to its associated 100-foot adjacent area.
The applicant also proposes the construction of a new wastewater/reclaimed water conveyance corridor for the purposes of providing Micron with industrial wastewater treatment and reclaimed water for cooling and ultrapure water for production and sanitary uses. This corridor will be located within a new, 99-foot-wide easement and collocated within the right-of-way of Verplank Rank extending between the WWTP and the Micron. The construction of the corridor will result in 3.7-acres of permanent impacts to wetlands.
Onondaga County and RES Environmental Operating Company, LLC proposes to restore, and enhance wetlands on one property within Onondaga County, and one property within Oswego County, to compensate for the loss of wetlands resulting from the proposed project. The freshwater wetland permits required for wetland mitigation activities are under the following DEC ID #s:
- 7-3124-00618/00001; Youngs Creek Mitigation Site - OOWWTP, 274 Peter Scott Rd (Tax ID: 290.00-02-55), Town of Clay, Onondaga County
- 7-3554-00280/00001; Fish Creek Mitigation Site - OOWWTP, Mud Mill Rd (Tax ID: 048.-01-10.0), Town of Schroeppel, Oswego County
Onondaga County has applied to DEC for a 401 Water Quality Certification associated with the proposed discharges of fill into the water of the U.S. and the associated U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 404 permit application. Under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, a federal agency may not issue a permit or license to conduct any activity that may result in any discharge into waters of the United States unless a Section 401 water quality certification is issued.
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 7(2) of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the Department has requested and received information regarding the project’s consistency with the CLCPA.
Availability of Application Documents:
Filed application documents, and Department draft permits where applicable, are available for inspection during normal business hours at:
- NYSDEC Region 7 office located at 5786 Widewaters Parkway, Syracuse, NY 13214. To ensure timely service at the time of inspection, it is recommended that an appointment be made by calling (315) 426-7401.
- Onondaga County Central Library, 447 South Salina St., Syracuse, NY 13202-2494
- Northern Onondaga Public Library (NOPL) Cicero Branch, 8686 Knowledge Lane, Cicero, NY 13039
- Northern Onondaga Public Library (NOPL) North Syracuse Branch, 100 Trolley Barn Lane, North Syracuse, NY 13212
- Northern Onondaga Public Library (NOPL) Brewerton Branch, 5440 Bennett St, Brewerton, NY 13029
The draft SPDES permit with fact sheet are available online at https://dec.ny.gov/fs/projects/draftpermits. The draft permit files are contained within regional folders and named by the SPDES number contained in this notice.
Electronic copies of the application material are available at: https://onondaga.gov/wep/public-review-documents/
State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) Determination:
New Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment Plant industrial treatment train, industrial wastewater/reclaimed water conveyance corridor, wetland mitigation:
SEQR Lead Agency: Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA)
SEQR Lead Agency Determination: Positive Declaration
The Proposed Project, and associated connected actions, are subject to review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This project is a Type 1 action for SEQR, and a SEQR lead agency was coordinated.
On June 25, 2025, OCIDA, as joint lead agency with the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Program Office (CPO) created by the United States Department of Commerce, accepted for public review and comment the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the proposed Micron New York Semiconductor Manufacturing Project. The Notice of Acceptance of the Draft EIS and a link to the Draft EIS, can be found by accessing DEC’s Environmental Notice Bulletin: https://dec.ny.gov/news/environmental-notice-bulletin/2025-06-25/seqr/town-of-clay-micron-new-york-semiconductor-manufacturing-project
Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment Plant municipal treatment train upgrades SEQR:
SEQR Lead Agency: Onondaga County
SEQR Lead Agency Determination: Negative Declaration
The proposed project was subject to review under the SEQRA. This Project is a Type I action for SEQR, and a SEQR lead agency was coordinated. A Negative Declaration is on file.
State Historic Preservation Act (SHPA) Determination
Pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, the Department of Commerce is the lead federal agency consulting with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation as well as potentially affected Tribal Nations for the proposed Oak Orchard wastewater treatment plant, conveyance corridor, and connected mitigation sites. The USACE is the lead federal agency for the proposed wetland and mitigation sites and is evaluating the undertaking for effects to historic properties as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
Coastal Management:
This project is not located in a Coastal Management area and is not subject to the Waterfront Revitalization and Coastal Resources Act.
DEC Commissioner Policy 29, Environmental Justice and Permitting (CP-29):
It has been determined that the proposed action is not subject to CP-29.
Public Comment Hearing:
Persons wishing to comment on the permit applications will have the opportunity to make a statement at public comment hearings. Two virtual public comment hearing sessions will be held before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), beginning at 2:00 p.m. on December 16, 2025 and 6:00 p.m. on December 17, 2025. The virtual hearing sessions will be conducted electronically via the Webex Webinar platform as indicated below. Attendees wishing to comment must register using the registration links below, which are also available on the NYSDEC website at https://dec.ny.gov/regulatory/hearings/hearing-notices.
Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment Plant Public Hearing – December 16, 2025, 2:00 p.m.
Registration Link: https://meetny-gov.webex.com/weblink/register/reec375f5c69ce52b3792f04e2cc3a844
Webinar Number: 2820 669 5667
Webinar Password: Welcome1
Join by phone only: Call (415) 527-5035. Enter access code 2820 669 5667 and password 93526631.
Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment Plant Public Hearing – December 17, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Registration Link: https://meetny-gov.webex.com/weblink/register/r82d6bfbf9a9849aed4f307223b958deb
Webinar Number: 2819 477 8050
Webinar Password: Welcome1
Join by phone only: Call (415) 527-5035. Enter access code 2819 477 8050 and password 93526631.
Written Public Comment:
Individuals and parties may mail written comments to the Contact Person listed below or may submit comments electronically to [email protected].
All comments submitted by mail must be postmarked by December 23, 2025. All comments submitted electronically must be received by 4:45 p.m. on December 23, 2025. EQUAL WEIGHT IS GIVEN TO WRITTEN COMMENTS AND STATEMENTS MADE AT PUBLIC COMMENT HEARINGS.
Trendon Choe
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation - Region 7
5786 Widewaters Parkway
Syracuse, NY 13214
