Mount Vernon stands up to Bronxville and issues violation to Bronxville Field Club

With $150 million of state environmental funding on the line, and a federal consent order demanding action, the city of Mount Vernon has issued a first violation to the Bronxville Field Club for an illicit discharge into its stormwater system.

The violation was posted to the club’s front door on Dec. 12, just days after Mount Vernon officials insisted, on a separate matter, that the village of Bronxville obtain permission from the city before connecting a new stormwater conveyance system to its downstream pipes.

By early January, Mount Vernon, which since 2022 has operated under an “environmental water emergency with its sanitary and storm water systems," has yet to grant that permission. The city feared that the new stormwater system, designed to alleviate flooding up the hill in Bronxville, could inundate Mount Vernon neighborhoods. The city's already undersized stormwater system could overflow if it's hooked up to Bronxville's new line.

Mount Vernon spokesman Tim Allen said that compliance with the consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Department of Environmental Protection was a top priority for the city.

"If feasible within the established consent decree, the city will require Bronxville to submit an application to connect to the MS4 in accordance with Chapter 154-13 of the Mount Vernon City Code," he said in a written statement. "We are actively reviewing this proposed project to assess the impact of water flow on our stormwater system."

More: Posh Bronxville club keeps growing while Mount Vernon neighbors see floods

These two issues are the latest in the battle over flooding in the two neighboring municipalities at the opposite ends of county’s economic continuum – the affluent, predominantly white village of Bronxville and the predominantly minority city of Mount Vernon, with some of Westchester’s poorest neighborhoods.

City flags tennis court materials in catch basins

The Bronxville Field Club, one Westchester’s preeminent private racquet sports clubs, uses a Bronxville address and has hundreds of Bronxville members but is located wholly within the city of Mount Vernon. City residents south of the club complain about increased flooding during heavy rains, which they say is caused in part by the club's unpermitted connections to the stormwater system.

The first violation, which the club has challenged, cites the discovery in catch basins of material that covers its green clay, Har-Tru tennis courts. Residents of Raynor Avenue, downhill from the club, say their flooded backyards get coated with the green pebbly material after the water recedes.

“This must be cleaned out and (sic) develop a design so that this does not continue,” the Dec. 12 violation stated. The club has until Jan. 29 to comply or face further legal action, including fines of up to $1,000 a day.

Prohibited pollutants include a broad range of substances, including “cement, gravel, sand, silt, mud, other soils, and noxious or offensive matter of any kind,” according to the city code.

The club, which argues that the material is not a pollutant, intends to comply by Jan. 29, but only if it deems action to be necessary.

“The club intends to pursue a two-pronged approach: that Har-Tru is not a pollutant; and that prior to the Jan. 29, 2024 date set by the city, to investigate and implement further measures to address the Har-Tru, if necessary,” said club counsel Kathy Zalantis.

Meanwhile, a city of Mount Vernon emergency sewer truck and a truck from a private engineering firm, along with several workers, conducted inspections throughout the Bronxville Field Club facility on Tuesday. A federal consent decree calls on the city to crack down on illicit connections to the stormwater system.

Allen said the city public works officials were there to observe the work of the Field Club's engineering firm, which was conducting a video inspection of its entire drainage system. The club lacks a permit to connect to the Mount Vernon stormwater system.

City law requires that any connection to its storm sewer system have a city permit or is recorded on a drainage plan approved by the city engineer. That includes connections made before the law went into effect in 2009.

"Anything that connects to our stormwater system, we have to approve," said Allen.

More: Only in Westchester: Bronxville battle rages on over planned crosswalk for Route 22

A report from a city contractor in September found that pipes from the club emptied into a structure that drained into the stormwater system. A plan by the club to expand its paddle tennis facility remains on hold as the city explores the club’s underground network of drainage pipes.

Bronxville's new system to empty in Mount Vernon

The village of Bronxville project would create a new stormwater system through a low-lying neighborhood with flooding issues that abuts the Mount Vernon border by Route 22. The Bronxville Village Board approved the $8.5 million project in December.

The village’s engineering consultant and Village Manager Jim Palmer described the plan at a Nov. 20 meeting. That night, village officials said they were prepared to do a walk-through with contractors before Thanksgiving, with contract awards planned by year’s end.

The village would piggy-back on an emergency contract in place, with three contractors already vetted to do drainage work. The new system would increase the stormwater capacity by 400% while keeping the old line in place.

The new stormwater line would alleviate flooding among the high-priced homes on Hamilton and Sussex avenues, just north of Pondfield Avenue. The excess run-off would be drained into a new line that would connect to the Mount Vernon stormwater system at Locust Lane – across the street from the Bronxville Field Club.

The system design included a flow control device that would shut off the water flow during heavy rain storms to prevent what was called "excessive flooding" down the hill in Mount Vernon. The village's engineer, Arshad Jalil, said the system had an overflow chamber, which when full, would allow the excess water to flow down Bronxville streets.

"The flood will be confined to the streets," he said.

Palmer, in a Jan. 3 email, said the new line, with its increased capacity, should be viewed as a repair to its aging infrastructure.

“The Village is not adding any new developments or impervious surfaces which would adversely impact our neighboring communities but ensuring the proper maintenance of the system we already own,” he said. “That being said, the Village’s project will actually include improvements which will only divert the stormwater entering Mt. Vernon in the vicinity of Locust Lane.”

Palmer on Nov. 20 said the village was meeting regularly with the town of Eastchester staff, but had yet to contact Mount Vernon officials to share its final plan for a system that would empty into Mount Vernon's lines.

“We’re meeting with Eastchester on a regular basis,” said Palmer. “I’m not sure Mt. Vernon has seen the final plans.”

Viewing the meeting online was Mount Vernon homeowner Gabriel Thompson, who has spearheaded opposition to the Bronxville Field Club’s expansion.

“My head exploded,” recalls Thompson. “The next day, I went to city engineer Curtis Woods’ office to tell him what Bronxville was about to do. His head snapped back. He told me: 'They can’t do anything. It’s our system. They need our permission.' ”

By Dec. 6, Mount Vernon Public Works Commission Damani Bush had met with Bronxville officials.

“Definitely out of left field and there was significant lack of communication,” wrote Bush in an email to Thompson on Dec. 11. “Nonetheless, I am aware now and moving forward to protect our sewers and residents.”

Palmer said the village has responded to questions from city engineers. He insisted the new line should provide no problems for Mount Vernon residents fearing more flooding from Bronxville.

“Our systems are already connected,” he said. “The Village’s project does not include any construction outside of the Village but improvements and repairs to our existing infrastructure."

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David McKay Wilson writes about tax issues and government accountability. Follow him on Twitter @davidmckay415 or email him at dwilson3@lohud.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Mount Vernon issues stormwater violation against Bronxville Field Club