OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon Dr. Thomas Erlandson, a member of the county Board of Health, spoke in favor of the resolution to test wastewater for COVID-19.

By GREGORY BACON

gbacon@observertoday.com

MAYVILLE – A tabled resolution regarding collecting and testing wastewater for COVID-19 was approved Wednesday night after it was modified.

During the Chautauqua County Legislature meeting, lawmakers voted 16-2 in favor of a resolution to set up a fund so grant money can be received for wastewater surveillance. In December, lawmakers originally approved the project but later learned it could be paid for using a federal grant. The resolution was brought up in February but tabled. Chairman Pierre Chagnon, R-Bemus Point said in an interview that some legislators were concerned the resolution did not specify the testing details, even though it was discussed in committee meetings.

On Wednesday, an additional “resolve” clause was added to the resolution. It stated, “pursuant to the Pilot Program work plan, collection of wastewater samples will be limited to the headworks of one or more publicly owned treatment works in Chautauqua County, and the Pilot Program will be completed by July 31, 2022, at which time a written final report will be generated, to include a spreadsheet of all sample results and a description of collection and laboratory procedures.”

Before the vote, two members of the public asked lawmakers to reject the resolution, while two others, who are both members of the county Board of Health, spoke in favor of it.

Ida Golden, who spoke on behalf of the Western New York Freedom Seekers, was one of the ones who opposed it. “The state Department of Health has a larger wastewater surveillance program. The power of the unelected health officials needs to be constrained to protect our basic freedoms,” she said.

However, Dr. Thomas Erlandson said wastewater monitoring is anonymous and shared how he witnessed testing at both SUNY Alfred and in Jamestown. “I understand some individuals have expressed concern that this process will violate their personal privacy. I can assure you there is no way that this collection and analysis process can or will do that. It is not possible,” he said.

Dr. Lillian Ney, who is the president of the Board of Health, agreed. She sees lots of benefits for it, too. “The wastewater treatment plant … gives an early warning sign of a variant of COVID or re-emergence of polio, for example,” she said.

Ney previously was the medical director at WCA Hospital in Jamestown and the vice president of medical affairs. She said during her time there, she would have loved to have something like the wastewater surveillance program, so that the hospital could get its staffing in place or warn emergency medical technicians that problems are emerging. “It’s an early warning system,” she said.

During the debate on the floor, Legislator Elisabeth Rankin, R-Jamestown, who is also a member of the Board of Health, expressed her support for the resolution. “The wastewater surveillance program is an early warning system for managing COVID and to give a community profile, to give us a heads up – not to isolate and quarantine people, but to immobilize staff and resources, first responders, and long-term care systems,” she said.

During the vote, Legislators Bob Scudder, R-Fredonia, and John Davis, R-Frewsburg, voted against it. Neither lawmaker spoke during the debate period.

After the meeting, both were asked why they voted no.

Davis replied, “I had a number of constituents who got in touch with me who were opposed to the resolution and I had some degree of discomfort, so I felt it was appropriate for me to vote no.”

Scudder, meanwhile, is concerned about the program’s accuracy. “In general, I feel that COVID as we know it is sort of behind us. I think we’re kind of testing after the fact. And with all the false negatives and false positives … is this a fool-proof test or are we going to get a result that says we’re positive for COVID but we’re not really sure,” he said.