LEWISTON—A proposed local law that would impose stricter regulations on any industrial wastewater, treated or untreated, being put into the town sewer system has drawn the ire of officials from both Modern Landfill and Chemical Waste Management.

Both companies called the law discriminatory and the Town Board chose not to act on the proposal Monday night following a public hearing. Instead, board members discussed it privately in executive session.

During that session, the board modified the law slightly and will hold another public hearing Dec. 14.

“This law might as well have been drafted with Modern’s name on it,” Richard Palumbo, an attorney for Modern Landfill, told the board about the proposal.

“There is a fundamental unfairness about this,” Palumbo said.

Palumbo also noted that Modern was a very substantial taxpayer in the community.

Chemical Waste Management, which currently does not use the sewer system, submitted a letter from Michael Mahar, the company’s district manager. He said the town’s “property owner and taxpayer” opposed the law “because there was no rational basis for discriminating against any source of industrial wastewater that otherwise meets the existing requirements for the sewer code.”

Mahar said the town code already includes standards mandated by the federal Clean Water Act, and every industrial user must demonstrate its ability to meet those discharge limits.

Amy Witryol, of Lower River Road, told the board that industrial waste should be evaluated.

Witryol said CWM is not using the public sewer system now, but would not be able to go forward in their proposed plans for expansion without doing so.

“This is where the amendment to the sewer code becomes very, very important. It does not appear that there is enough storage to handle the industrial wastewater,” Witryol said.

She said where Modern is concerned, it should not affect their current business.

“I urge the board to move forward [in passing this law],” Witryol said.

Village Board member Ronald Winkley told Town Board members that the law sounded like a “shotgun law,” aimed at a specific interest. He said he doubted it would hold up in court.

In another matter, Water Foreman Robert Nablo said water pits/vaults — concrete chambers which hold valves that slow water flow — are in bad shape and are leaking and causing loss of water pressure problems and breaks in water lines. Some of the vaults date back to the 1960s. Nablo also said the 13 vaults themselves also are dangerous for workers to work in and don’t meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards.

Each vault could cost up to $20,000 to repair and replace. Town Engineer Robert Lannon Jr. said replacing all the vaults could cost as much as $300,000.

Lannon and Nablo will meet and give the board estimates of costs at a future meeting.