Nov. 17--LAKE GEORGE -- The Department of Environmental Conservation will fine the village $10,000 for spilling what the state agency said was 30,000 gallons of raw sewage into Lake George on July 5 when a pipe burst at a pump station in Shepard Park.

The fine is one of a list of actions imposed on the village by DEC in an "order on consent," a document issued after the violation of environmental law.

The order also represents the culmination of the DEC's investigation into the spill.

Despite the suggestion by the Fund for Lake George and the Lake George Waterkeeper that the DEC order a moratorium on new connections to the sewer system, the document does not mention such.

"While the village acted expediently to contain the discharge of sewage by locating a temporary holding tank near the pump station and hiring a septage hauler to transport the wastewater away, nearly 30,000 gallons of sewage was discharged into Lake George," states a letter from the DEC,

Mayor Robert Blais maintains it was 8,000 to 10,000 gallons of sewage that flowed into the lake -- not 30,000.

"Thirty thousand came out of the pipe, but not all of that went in the lake," he said. "They agree with us."

DEC spokesman David Winchell said the agency could not comment on the document until a final draft -- signed by both the DEC regional director and village officials -- is released.

Blais said much of the sewage that spewed from the pipe remained in the pump station, and only 8,000 to 10,000 gallons flowed into the lake when a worker opened the dry well's door and discovered the spill.

Regardless, the DEC's Consent Order maintains the spill broke laws about discharging pollutants into state waters and assessed the village a $10,000 fine.

But $5,000 can be suspended, the document states, if the village takes steps to correct its sewage issues in a timely manner.

According to the draft of the consent order obtained by The Post-Star, those steps involve putting together an Asset Management Plan with a schedule to inspect and repair any and every component of the village's sewer system, including pumps, pump station equipment, pipes and manholes.

That inventory should be done by the end of 2010, according to the document.

And by Sept. 30, 2011, any necessary repairs should be done.

The village has already taken some steps, including installing an alarm in the dry well where the spill happened and inspecting and repairing pipes at the Shepard Park pump station.

At their Monday night meeting, officials took another step toward complying with the order by hiring CT Male Associates to put together the Asset Management Plan at a cost of $5,000.

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