July 12, 2021

A new wastewater pretreatment system to be installed at Pratt’s Paper Mill enhances their credentials as a leader in sustainable paper production while easing pressure on DEP’s Port Richmond Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today joined with Pratt Paper (NY), Inc., a division of Pratt Industries to announce that the company will install a wastewater pretreatment system at their facility on Staten Island. The Pratt Paper Mill is the largest industrial manufacturing facility in the city, and it contributes a substantial amount of organics to the wastewater stream that is cleaned at DEP’s Port Richmond Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) on the North Shore. Once operational, the pretreatment system will ease pressure on DEP’s Port Richmond facility and help enhance the level of treatment for all the wastewater produced in the community.

“I applaud Pratt Paper for making the investment necessary to be a good neighbor and protect our shared environment while remaining an important part of the Staten Island business community,” said DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza. “I also want to recognize the hard work of our team at DEP which has worked closely with Pratt to come up with a plan that allows Pratt to continue their important business while not overburdening our infrastructure.”

“Recycling paper is one of the many ways that the City of New York works to reduce its environmental impact,” said Sanitation Commissioner Edward Grayson. “As part of our efforts to fight climate change, we have to make that recycling process itself as sustainable and efficient as possible. Our partners at DEP and Pratt Paper share our commitment to a sustainable New York, and I want to congratulate them on this important step.”

“We are pleased to be able to help DEP address the issues at its Port Richmond facility while at the same time preserving the viability of closed loop paper recycling that is such an important cornerstone to achieving New York City’s sustainability goals,” said Muneer Ahmad, General Manager of the Pratt’s Staten Island mill. “We commend the team at DEP for their constructive efforts to identify a feasible solution and look forward to continuing to work with the City’s Department of Sanitation to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions by recycling the paper it collects.”

“I commend Pratt Paper for continuing to be a great partner and leader in the effort to improve recycling operations, and combat against Staten Island’s longtime self-inflicted litter problem. With this upgraded wastewater treatment facility, we have the opportunity to provide an even better quality of service to thousands of residents,” said Staten Island Borough President James Oddo. “I also want to thank DEP for striving to find better, more efficient solutions for Staten Island that will have a lesser environmental impact on generations to come.”

Since 1997, Pratt’s Paper Mill on Staten Island has been the primary destination and processor for recycled paper collected by the City’s Department of Sanitation. Among the attractions of the Staten Island location was the ability and willingness of the City to accept and process wastewater from the mill at DEP’s Port Richmond WRRF. As a large paper recycler and the largest industrial manufacturing facility in the City, the Mill contributes a substantial amount to the total organics processed by the Port Richmond facility. The wastewater from paper recycling is consistent with the characteristics of regular wastewater, however it also typically contain high levels of biodegradable organics that must be converted to clean water by DEP before it is returned to the surrounding waters.

Two decades later, with populations increasing and the Port Richmond WRRF facing tighter environmental requirements, DEP worked collaboratively with Pratt to consider pre-treatment of the mill’s effluent, before entering the sewer system, that would help to alleviate operational challenges, while at the same time increasing Pratt’s green energy production.

Pratt Industries is implementing a pretreatment system for its industrial wastewater stream that will use anaerobic processing to convert most of the readily biodegradable organic material in its wastewater to a green energy biogas. The biogas will either be consumed at the mill as a renewable fuel, or be provided to National Grid as a renewable fuel available to be used in place of natural gas. The pretreatment facility will also provide an opportunity for Pratt to increase the mill’s efficiency and paper quality by introducing treated wastewater into the manufacturing process.

Construction of the new pretreatment system by Pratt Industries will also increase wastewater treatment process efficiency at DEP’s Port Richmond WRRF, as the reduced organic load will reduce operating and capital costs at the facility, and at the same time reduce the facility’s greenhouse gas emissions. Pretreating the wastewater stream at the Pratt site will eliminate the need to truck and dispose of almost 4,000 tons of processed biological residuals annually, and reduce electrical consumption by more than 8,000,000 kWhr per year, almost $1 million in electricity costs alone.

The Port Richmond WRRF serves roughly 200,000 residents covering a nearly 10,000-acre drainage area in northern Staten Island. The facility manages wastewater influent flows of up to 60 million gallons per day during dry weather flow and more than twice that amount during a rainstorm.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing approximately 1 billion gallons of high quality drinking water each day to more than 9 million residents, including 8.3 million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 in the upstate watershed. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program, with a planned $20.1 billion in investments over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.