OLEAN, N.Y. — The Seneca Nation is laying the groundwork for legal action against the city of Olean over concerns of untreated sewage being released in the Allegheny River.
According to Olean Mayor William Aiello, the city was served with a notice of claim by the Seneca Nation on Monday.
For the last few months, the Seneca Nation of Indians has highlighted, what they called, persistent problems with the Olean Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The SNI says that on June 21, the wastewater treatment plant discharged 200,000 gallons of untreated sewage into the Allegheny River.
This comes after a discharge of 186,000 gallons occurred in early April.
Aside from the Allegheny River meandering through the city of Olean, the river also runs through the Seneca Nation Allegheny Territory, which includes the city of Salamanca.
Both discharges happened after heavy rain storms in the Southern Tier.
Mayor Aiello did not have a comment Monday night and cited that he still needed to review the claim with counsel.
The Seneca Nation was not available for an interview on Monday either, but said in a previous statement that the nation and its neighbors that utilize the river "deserve more than fruitless conversations and toothless citations."
In 2001, the NYSDEC ordered that the city of Olean upgrade its wastewater treatment plant so that it no longer discharges into the Allegheny River.
After numerous extensions for the project, the city has until 2042 to complete the upgrades.
In a statement, the Seneca Nation says they offered to assist the city of Olean to seek grant funding for the wastewater upgrade, but the according to the nation, the city declined the offer.
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