A state official tells News 12 that a meeting between state lawmakers, the Department of Environmental Conservation and Bloomingburg leaders was held last week to discuss problems at their sewage treatment plant that is allegedly dumping millions of gallons of wastewater into the 47-mile Shawangunk Kill stream.

Assemblyman Brian Maher, who represents several nearby communities where the stream runs through, says he and other state officials met with village leaders last week after News 12’s story about the sewage leak aired.

The official says Mayor Russell Wood claimed during the meeting that the village was unaware of the severity of the problems which are allegedly causing 120,000 gallons of wastewater to be discharged into the stream that feeds into the Wallkill River, even though the DEC reports the agency issued several violation notices since the problems were first found in Nov. 2022.

“The mayor claimed he didn’t receive some of the notices from the DEC, so the DEC brought all of the violations with them and physically handed them to the mayor and village clerk,” says Maher.

Maher says state officials also provided information on how the village can apply for emergency aid to help pay for damaged and clogged equipment at the sewage treatment plant that the DEC says are due to an overload of non-biodegradable wipes.

“It’s important for us to fix the problem and make sure there’s no sewage exiting that sewage treatment plant,” says Maher. “What we are mostly interested in right now is getting this fixed.”

News 12 was told a second state meeting is scheduled with Bloomingburg officials this week. Village officials have not returned News 12's repeated inquires for information.

The DEC says its enforcement efforts are ongoing but hasn’t said what that entails. A 2023 DEC violation notice obtained by News 12 indicates the municipality was cited for 11 violations last November and could face daily fines of $37,500 per violation.