TOWN OF
WATER
POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
OLD
The Town of
The meeting was
called to order by Chairman Robert Powitz at
WPCA Secretary,
Also in attendance were; Peter Grose of Fuss & O’Neill, Don Lucas, WPCA Coordinator, Robbie Marshall, WPCA Recording Clerk, and members of the public.
III.
Approval
of Minutes
The WPCA
reviewed the Regular Meeting minutes from the
A motion was made by Doris Zumbroski to
approve the Regular Meeting minutes from
IV.
Open
Forum
No comments from the public.
V.
Chairman’s
Comments and Correspondence
Chairman Powitz said the most important item he needed to cover was the meeting with the DEP today. As a result of the letter from Betsey Wingfield, Michael Pace asked for a meeting with the DEP. In attendance from the DEP were Betsey Wingfield, Jennifer Perry, and Dennis Greci; from the WPCA were Doris Zumbroski, Pavel Wilson, and Chairman Powitz, along with Selectmen Michael Pace and Bill Peace, Attorney John Wertam, and Attorney Michael Cronin. Michael Pace made some opening comments about the need for the meeting and then 6 points were discussed.
The first was Amendment 5, which was received from Fuss & O’Neill. It was sent to the WPCA electronically and will be considered for approval later in the WPCA meeting. There was a discussion about the engineering report which Amendment 5 will facilitate. He will forward a copy of Amendment 5 to Dennis Greci tomorrow.
The issues discussed were
delegation of authority, the
Chairman Powitz described a
situation in which a bank would not approve a mortgage unless the septic system
was upgraded. They would not accept the grandfathering
of the system and required $11,000 worth of upgrades. This is the second one he has heard about and
although
They spoke about the need for unified information and future needs. Basically they are thinking about the engineering report that Fuss & O’Neill is working on, and needs to be done. The DEP was told that Amendment 5 was being completed and the engineering report is in progress.
They looked at the sequencing of
events which includes the Town infrastructure; like drainage, gas service, and
the roads. Wherever we are going to
require the septic upgrades, the Board of Selectmen want to do everything at
once. Two items mentioned were the water
over Plum Bank and
AT systems were discussed at length, particularly RIDEM’s program (Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.) Dennis Greci was not pleased with RIDEM’s model, but was non-committal about another model.
The next item discussed was financing of the project. Mr. Pace said upgrades would be paid 50% by the Town and 50% by the homeowner. The Clean Water Fund will provide 25% as a grant and 75% as a low interest loan. There is 1 million dollars set aside for the engineering study. So it is not going to be onerous on the homeowners and will increase property value. There will be more details provided later.
They discussed the Attorney General’s letter that was sent to Mrs. Castagno. There were 2 issues that Attorney Blumenthal was in error on. They decided it was best to leave it alone. Betsey Wingfield couldn’t do anything about it. The DEP is willing to present the picture from the courts and other items.
The engineering plan was the fourth item. There was an attempt to propose a delegation and when it is going to happen. The best resolution on the engineering plan was Dennis Greci’s agreement to ANSI NSF 246 which is the standard for 50% nitrogen reduction. So any company that is NSF certified can do the work. That eliminates the worry, continual testing and proof, and it is an ANSI standard.
There was concern about the WWMD. During the mediation Chairman Powitz had said that he’d like to see the entire town as a WWMD and Pavel Wilson said this at the meeting. But the DEP said no during the process and wanted to hold the town to the Wegman report (30-years ago.) They were reminded that there has been a huge demographic change; build ups and knock downs. So the door has been opened to re-evaluate and renegotiate some things. He brought up Mr. Lutz’s issues with Saybrook Acres where there are very few properties that require upgrade.
Finally the deliverables were the 5 points made in the letter which include; the development of an economic model, implementation of a WWMD, engineering plan with the cost of upgrades versus sewer plan, Amendment 5; the schedule for implementation, which will be agreed upon, finalize the technical standards as agreed upon in mediation, prepare a facilities plan and submit for review to the DEP and DPH (part of the engineering report), and hold public meetings to find out and respond to concerns. The WWMD ordinance will be put in a final format and vetted by Mary Jane Engle and others. Michael Pace will handle the financial aspects. The DEP has committed to funding assistance via the Clean Water Fund. Mr. Pace was emphatic about finding out the questions before getting in front of the public to provide answers. The DEP agreed that there were a lot of things required before the public is approached. The DEP said you need to find out what they want. Chairman Powitz said, we know what they want; they don’t what to pay anything and they don’t want to do anything even though the court says we have to. This will be part of the public information session. Dennis Greci said he would give a presentation and be the guy with the black hat.
Doris Zumbroski was asked if she
wanted to add anything. She said she was
shocked by Mr. Greci’s attitude towards
Chairman Powitz said they don’t
like
Mr. Wehrly said that explains why there hasn’t been any attendance by DPH and DEP at the URI classes.
Mrs. Zumbroski said they also agreed that we could choose some systems and send them a list. Chairman Powitz said that will go with the ANSI 246, we can just go online and use that list; those are the ones that comply. Then let Peter Grose pick the ones that are appropriate for the property.
Mrs. Zumbroski said in order to approve the systems she would think that someone has to go to URI. Chairman Powitz said they weren’t very hopeful that DPH would step up to the plate unless they got some funding.
Pavel Wilson said he was really pleased with Old Saybrook’s presentation. They asked that the project be put together with everyone’s help and it seemed like the DEP was agreeable.
Robert Hansen wanted to confirm
that we don’t have their approval on any systems from
Mr. Wilson asked for clarification on Dennis Greci’s question about the number of hours. Chairman Powitz replied it was 3 months, but that could be one person. The DEP wants the WPCA to be as aggressive as possible. Fuss & O’Neill will put as many people on it as necessary. There is no option to do nothing, or we will have to go back to court and pay a fine. So we will capitulate. There will be money and there is a plan. A lot of questions have been answered and John Wertam also had a meeting with Ms. Wingfield and that was sent out via email. Their major concern was the WWMD ordinance. They need that to give us funding. He asked what years were good for funding requests. Mr. Wilson said that 2008 and 2009 were good years. The way the economy is going, 2009 and 2010 may not be so good. The money is there now. Ms. Wingfield said the WPCA is almost beyond getting any money back, but she had been proactive and there is money set aside. There is 1 million dollars for the engineering. That will be forthcoming and the DEP was very pleased with the grant. So things are coming together. There was continued discussion about the tone of the meeting.
Mr. Hansen asked if anything was cast in concrete. Chairman Powitz said we have to do the 5 deliverables; the rest is up to Fuss & O’Neill.
Mr. Wehrly asked if Bill Peace had anything significant to present at the meeting. Chairman Powitz said Mr. Peace said Old Saybrook is a green community and we are looking at other issues; the drainage into the River and open space. He made an editorial statement on the direction of the Town. This was an introduction for Michael Pace on the Town’s infrastructure. If there is going to be any disruption there will be just one.
Mr. Wehrly asked if there were any concerns that the moving target may rear its head again; we go in one direction and then the DEP says it’s not acceptable. Chairman Powitz said the black box is fine as long as it meets the standards; there are still issues with the water once it exits the black box. There is a difference of opinion. We are just going to use the RIDEM model and let Mr. Grose provide the information. We had agreed in mediation that the WPCA would embrace any new technology that comes along. He felt they could get around the footprint which is far too large for some of the homes. There will be dialog throughout the entire process so that once it is submitted, they won’t say no and it won’t be a moving target.
Mr. Wehrly asked if the WPCA is still being held to July 15th to hold the information sessions. Chairman Powitz said it is yes and no. The yes if for Amendment 5, but the 15th is taken off the table. We made it clear that we cannot be prepared for July 15th; the engineering report won’t be done. The funding won’t be completed. All we can do is go before the Town will conceptual things and that won’t suffice.
Don Lucas said it appeared to him based on the history of the last 15-20 years with the moving targets that it would be prudent to summarize and formalize the results of the meeting. Chairman Powitz said that Attorney Wertam had taken copious notes of the 2 ½ hour meeting and would provide a summation.
Chairman Powitz reminded the
members about the URI training class on Thursday. The attendees should meet at Town Hall at
Mr. Wehrly said he and Pavel Wilson met with the new clerk/Inspector and Mary Jane Engle and reviewed the procedures. The records were located and the clerk will input the information. Chairman Powitz said that Mr. Greci made a positive comment about the Carmody system, so that is a step in the right direction.
Chairman Powitz discussed delegation of authority. He initially had considered resigning as Chair due to his work commitment and travel schedule. However, it was decided that he will meet with a few members and discuss assignments. He cannot ask Mr. Lucas to pitch in as he has still not been appointed Coordinator officially. He did thank Mr. Lucas for providing document review. The meeting will determine who will get information out and how coverage will be provided when the Chairman cannot attend a meeting. So he will remain as Chair but rely on everyone else. Mr. Wehrly said we are all willing to step up; let us know.
VI.
Old
Business
a. Status of the new pump out ordinance: Chairman Powitz said the
definitions have been redrafted and the ordinance was sent to Attorney
Wertam. When it returns we will approve
it and send it to Ms. Engle and Attorney Cronin. DEP won’t be interested in that.
b. Saybrook Commons: Peter Grose reviewed the costs and comments on the agreement text received and John Wertam will contact Attorney Andrew Lord to set up a meeting.
c. Small Cities Grant: Mr. Wilson said a meeting will be held next Tuesday. There are a few State requirements that will be provided. Attorney Cronin has approved the document and will provide a letter to this affect.
d. Status of Coordinator and Clerk: Discussed under New Business.
e. Public Information Session: Nothing will happen until we have
the questions and some answers; in particular the financial part and the
systems. We agree that we have to hold
them, but we don’t know the shape and content.
John Claffey asked how we are going to get these questions. Chairman Powitz said we have to rely on
information provided by the engineering report (cost of sewer system and
upgrades) and work that Mr. Grose and
Mr. Hansen asked what advice do we give people who are building a new house so that the systems are not obsolete in few years. Chairman Powitz said they need to be code compliant; adhere to the Public Health Code. Mr. Lucas said they should get 20 years out of a system. Chairman Powitz said AT systems are not for new construction. If it does not fit on a lot, it can’t be put in. AT systems are for repairs only. On the waterfront they just need a black box (for nitrogen reduction) if the system is code compliant. So it is not onerous for the homeowner.
f. WWMD: Don Lucas had forwarded some comments on
the proposal. They will be reviewed and
all comments will be put in PDF. After
review and discussion it will be sent back
to Attorney Wertam and then to Ms. Wingfield and Ms. Engle.
VII.
New
Business
a. Amendment 5: is the scope of work and schedule. Mr. Grose said the original contract was prepared in 1996. Amendment 4 was executed in 2004 and this is intended to bring us up to date. When we prepared it the intention was to get through the facilities report but then we hit some roadblocks with DEP. Then came the mediation process. That last arrangement did not include the mediation process, so we have reached back and included it in Amendment 5. There were other changes due to; the new WWMD legislation, different neighborhood classification, and deletion of the community wastewater treatment facility which impacted the amendment. Parts that were added, besides the mediation process, include; central sewer and decentralized costs and the comparison of alternatives, environmental assessment, preparation of report, and public participation assistance. There is a summary of the amount of time spent; over 3000 hours have been spent from 2002 through March 2008. Beyond that, there should be approximately another 650 hours to be able to go before the Town for the WWMD vote. This is important because the DEP needs to review and approve it for funding. It is approximately another $100,000 of engineering time. It is saying let’s set aside this money. The planning grants are 55% for approval of facilities. Costs are submitted as they occur and are paid as long as they were approved. There was a discussion on the money spent and process over the last 6 years.
Mr. Wehrly asked when Fuss & O’Neill anticipates the Facilities Plan to be completed. Mr. Grose replied that he expected the draft to be submitted to the WPCA in June. Changes will add to it; however it makes sense to get the draft together the way things are now (neighborhoods etc.) It can be revised. Chairman Powitz said the feeling at the meeting was to just get the Plan submitted. Mr. Wilson said the DEP promised a prompt reply on the Plan. Mr. Wehrly said the next WPCA meetings are scheduled for June 9 and June 23.
Mr. Grose said typically these reports stay a draft until the public participation process starts. Chairman Powitz said from here on out anything we do (including the minutes) should be a draft until it is approved.
A motion was made by
Mr. Grose will send an electronic
copy to Dennis Greci and Michael Pace on Wednesday (
b. Review and Pay Bills
There were none.
Chairman Powitz summarized the dates of upcoming meetings and classes.
VIII.
Adjournment
A motion to
adjourn was made at
Respectfully Submitted,
Old Saybrook Water Pollution Control Authority
Robbie A.
Marshall
Robbie A. Marshall
WPCA Recording Clerk