Oswego official admits to sewage discharge

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WWNY) - A former Oswego city official has admitted he allowed raw sewage to be dumped into Lake Ontario.

Sixty-one year old Gary Hallinan pleaded guilty in federal court in Syracuse Thursday to charges he violated the Clean Water Act when he was superintendent of Oswego's wastewater treatment plant.

Hallinan admitted he took no action after equipment broke down that removes sewage from the plant's wastewater.

Raw sewage was discharged into the lake on three different occasions in 2015, one in March and two in June.

One discharge, officials say, was 60 times higher than the allowable limit.

Hallinan faces up to a year in prison and a fine up to $100,000 when he’s sentenced in September.

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