Misquamicut sewer plans offered

WESTERLY -- Officials studying the possibility of extending the town’s sewer system to Misquamicut hope to deliver their findings next month.

The plans will be discussed during a Public Works Committee meeting scheduled for March 8 at 5 p.m. Officials said the Planning Board and the Economic Development Commission will be invited to the meeting. The plans will later be presented to the Town Council and to the Misquamicut Fire District.

Town Councilor Christopher Duhamel, a member of an ad-hoc group studying the sewer proposal, said current estimates put the cost of the project between $20 million and $23 million, including a 10 percent contingency for possible overruns or unanticipated costs. The cost would be borne by residents of the Misquamicut Fire District and the owners of businesses to be served by the system, Duhamel said.

A lawyer representing some of the business owners said his clients were willing to pay “substantially more” of the cost of the system than what residents would pay.

Town Manager Steven Hartford said that if approved, the town could use a revolving loan fund administered by the Rhode Island Clean Water Finance Agency. Previously, when the sewer system has been extended into new neighborhoods, the cost of a bond issue was split between the town and the affected property owners.

Under the plan being developed for Misquamicut, Hartford said businesses that benefit from the project would pay “a substantially larger share than under conventional methods” to pay off the loan.

This latest proposal to bring sewers to Misquamicut was prompted by a state law and Department of Environmental Management rules requiring owners of property within 200 feet of a coastal shoreline feature, including salt ponds, to install costly denitrification septic systems to replace cesspools, Duhamel said.

Additionally, DEM refused to allow the town to participate in a loan program that would have helped property owners with the cost of replacing cesspool systems, saying the loan program would not be made available because of a town plan which calls for the eventual installation of sewers at Misquamicut.

Since the ad-hoc group started its work, DEM has indicated a willingness to modify the rules, allowing for systems that cost less than the $30,000 denitrification systems. The proposed new rules remain in the draft stage.

Misquamicut falls within the town’s sewer district but residents have resisted efforts to extend the line to the beach area. Voters rejected plans to establish sewers in the area at referendums in 1984 and 2000. Other attempts have also lost steam over the years.

The town’s wastewater treatment plant on Margin Street has sufficient capacity to handle the addition of sewers at Misquamicut, Duhamel said, adding that sewers would play an integral role in protecting the salt ponds from excessive nutrient loading which boosts algae growth and reduces oxygen for fish and plants.

The project’s cost estimates are based on reports by BETA Group, Inc., a Lincoln-based engineering firm that provides sewer consultation to the town, and Pare Corp., a Lincoln-based engineering firm hired by a group of Misquamicut business owners. Duhamel said the two firms have proposed slightly different systems.

If the project gains support, Duhamel said on-going drainage work on Atlantic Avenue would be concluded with a temporary patch to the road, which could be easily removed for the construction of sewers. Once the sewers are in place a permanent cover, which is budgeted as part of the drainage project, would finish the roadway.

Attorney Thomas Liguori represents the owners of the Andrea Hotel, Pleasant View Inn, Maria’s Seaside Café, Breezeway Resort, and the Ocean Blue Motel, all of whom are “willing to accept a larger share of the cost than typical,” he said.

Liguori said he also represents other business owners, who are also supporting the sewer proposal, though he declined to name the others. Additionally, Liguori said another local lawyer represents other shoreline businesses that would be affected by the sewer proposal.

Duhamel has provided periodic status updates on the ad-hoc group’s work to the Town Council. Hartford wrote to property owners affected by the state law and DEM regulations in September, informing them that the town is studying the possibility of extending the sewer system into their area.

dfaulkner@thewesterlysun.com

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Misquamicut sewer plans offered