Published: Sunday, November 9, 2014 at 4:30 a.m. Last Modified: Friday, November 7, 2014 at 5:20 p.m.

Henderson County's attorney filed a motion Friday asking for permission to move forward with bidding out improvements at the defunct Seven Falls subdivision in Etowah.

The motion is part of a civil lawsuit the county filed in March against jailed Seven Falls developer Keith Vinson, along with roughly 100 lot owners, banks and lienholders involved with the idled Etowah development.

To insulate the county from lawsuits, County Attorney Russ Burrell is asking a Superior Court judge to decide how Henderson County should spend bond money it was awarded after Vinson failed to complete roads, water lines and other infrastructure.

Schematic plans for installing the incomplete infrastructure have been finalized by WGLA Engineering and are ready to go out for bid, Burrell said. Along with drawings, the plans include rough construction estimates.

But Burrell said the county needs to nail down more precise costs for installing water, sewer, electricity and roads along with required environmental work so a judge can choose which elements it can afford with roughly $5.6 million in remaining bond money.

That can only happen with firm construction bids in hand, Burrell said.

"Then we'll have real numbers to show the court 'this person has committed to do this job at this price,'" Burrell said. "We're going to break out the bidding process into smaller projects, so the judge can recombine them in a way they find to be the most efficient way to get the most work done."

It's a legal strategy born out of necessity: Engineers estimated last year that it would cost around $8.1 million to install bonded infrastructure within Seven Falls, about $2.5 million less than is available to perform the work after $410,686 in court-sanctioned erosion control work was completed in the autumn of 2013.

The list of bonded improvements includes building 4.65 miles of road, installing water and sewer (plus wastewater treatment), running electrical lines and performing about $1.13 million in stream restoration and mitigation required by the N.C. Division of Water Quality and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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County returning to court over Seven Falls improvements

A report issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection for the town of Chilmark provides a clearer picture of the health of Chilmark Pond, confirming that further nitrogen runoff will impair the estuarys aquatic ecosystem.

The saltwater pond is generally healthy with no serious habitat damage, but nitrogen levels in the pond are at their limit, according to the report from the Massachusetts Estuaries Project.

As a result, the estuary is beyond its ability to assimilate nitrogen without further impairment, the report said.

Ongoing for the past several years, the MEP program aims to identify the factors contributing to nutrient pollution and habitat destruction in 89 estuaries on the Cape and Islands. MEP reports have already been done on the Vineyard for a large number of ponds, including Edgartown Great Pond, Sengekontacket, Lagoon Pond, Farm Pond and Squibnocket Pond.

The major work of the project involves setting a nitrogen-loading threshold for the ponds. The program does not offer specific recommendations for mitigating the problems at each site, but offers a starting point for communities to begin developing plans of their own.

The Chilmark Pond report saw initial discussion among the town selectmen last week.

The pond has no evidence of eel grass, an important aquatic plant in coastal ecosystems, so the study focused on the health of the ponds benthic animal habitat. The MEP recommended that the nitrogen level in the estuary be reduced from about .74 to .5 milligrams per liter to support aquatic animal life.

The pond is part of a complex embayment made up of a large central basin and several smaller basins. The main basin is maintained by periodic mechanical breaching through a single inlet, as scheduled by the town.

According to the report, the estuary is particularly vulnerable to the effects of nutrient enrichment from the watershed, due to its very limited tidal exchange. More frequent or prolonged openings to the sea can lower nitrogen loads in the same way as relieving nitrogen related habitat impairments, the report said.

The MEP said restoring the benthic habitat and achieving the desired nitrogen level could be accomplished by reducing nitrogen loading from the watershed and by breaching the pond three times per year, including a period in the spring when the breach would remain open for eight days.

The rest is here:
Chilmark Pond at Its Limit for Nitrogen, Estuaries Report Finds

At a recent meeting of the Oak Bluffs Wastewater Commission on October 15, members of the Oak Bluffs Association (OBA), several of them among the towns largest users, expressed their unhappiness with the current rate structure. They also charged that the town had, over a six-year period, mistakenly drawn over $650,000 from the wastewater enterprise fund, money that should have been used to defray system costs, and as a result the largest users paid more than their fair share.

A closer examination of their complaints revealed that several years ago the confluence of dire financial times and the untimely death of town treasurer Paul Manzi contributed to an accounting oversight, in which a one time emergency transfer from the wastewater enterprise fund repeated for an additional four years.

A look across the state reveals that Oak Bluffs has one of the highest sewage rates in Massachusetts. As the town considers additional sewering to address the rapidly declining health of water bodies, business owners who contend theyve already shouldered an inordinate amount of the town sewering costs want to see changes in the departments operation and rate structure.

Punitive rates Oak Bluffs wastewater customers are billed on an ascending scale, meaning the price per gallon goes up as usage increases. OBA board director Terry McCarthy said the ascending scale places an undue burden on the larger businesses, especially restaurants and hotels, that already contribute considerable excise tax revenue to town coffers. From a big users point of view, the ascending scale is punitive, Mr. McCarthy, a former state representative who has harborside commercial interests, told The Times. They say its to make people conserve, but I think that argument is a little specious. With a flat rate, you pay more if you use more, so that incentive is still there. This is particularly hard on restaurants and hotels. If you run a large hotel, what do you do? Make people take shorter showers?

The ascending rate structure is endorsed by Department of Environmental Protection because it encourages people to save water, wastewater commissioner and selectman Gail Barmakian told The Times. Some very big users have saved considerable amounts of water, and saved themselves a lot of money, so it does work. Also, you have to consider that being hooked up to wastewater has allowed some businesses to expand and become more profitable. Thats a service to the town as well, but it gives them an advantage. About one third of Massachusetts communities bill on an ascending scale, according to the 2012 Tighe and Bond Massachusetts sewer rate survey.

Oak Bluffs property owners are charged a penny a gallon for the first 40,000 gallons used per annum and the rate goes up in 40,000 gallon increments until it tops out at 2.8 cents a gallon for 360,001 gallons and above. There is no difference between commercial and residential rates. Usage rates have not increased since the system went into operation on April 1, 2002.

According to the Tighe and Bond survey, the average yearly charge for sewage in Oak Bluffs was $1,020. The state average was $646. Only 12 percent of communities in the survey averaged $1,000 or more per year. Comparatively, the Edgartown annual average was $520, with an additional $65 per drain charge. Tisbury, was not listed in the survey, but according to the town website, the department of public works charges a flat fee of 3.1 cents per gallon.

Sludge is costlyLisa Merritt, an Oak Bluffs wastewater department administrator and lab technician whos been with the department since its inception, told The Times there are many reasons why Oak Bluffs sewage rates rank among the highest in the state. We have to ship our sludge off Island, which costs over $80,000 a year, she said. We run a sequencing batch reactor plant (SBR), which is expensive because it requires over 300 grinder pumps, working 24/7, and they need maintenance 24/7. An SBR plant has the smallest footprint and its the cheapest to build, but its also the least cost-effective in the long run. Another reason is our effluent the treated water is pumped under Ocean Park, which is extremely expensive. Edgartown uses open pits.

Ms. Merritt said that the Edgartown system is almost entirely a gravity collection system, which is more expensive to install but is much cheaper to operate in the long run. Less than a quarter of the Oak Bluffs system operates on gravity collection. Additionally, Edgartown has a filter press, so the sludge they ship is dewatered andless expensive to sendoff-Island. They also have a septage receiving component which generates ancillary revenue from septic pump-outs from septic haulers from all over the Island.

Burdensome bettermentsIn addition to usage fees, Oak Bluffs wastewater customers pay betterment fees, which cover the actual cost of installing the sewering and thereby bettering their property. Betterment fees were initially $10,000 for residences and $20,000 for businesses. In 2007, betterment fees were recalculated based on usage, again hitting the biggest users the hardest.

See original here:
Oak Bluffs business owners question wastewater department policies

10/30/2014 - West Side Leader

At the Oct. 27 Norton City Council meeting, City Council President Rick Rodgers (Ward 1) said saving taxpayer money will be the primary factor in determining whether to use a gravity or vacuum system when the city converts the Nash Heights area from septic to sanitary sewer.

The city is getting prepared for Phase II of the Storm Water Management Program and Sanitary Sewer Project to comply with an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandate that required action of abating pollution and correcting the unsanitary conditions in the Nash Heights area.

While the citys commitment to conversion is clear, the type of sewer system that will be used is still murky. City officials are grappling with the decision to install gravity or vacuum systems in the area.

Rodgers said the city is looking for the most cost-effective solution.

All were trying to do is save the people as much money as we can, he said.

The city is looking at both the gravity and vacuum systems despite gravity being the traditional and most common preference in most parts of the state, according to city officials.

At Mondays meeting, however, some residents urged the city to select the gravity system, arguing that it may be cheaper to maintain over time as opposed to the vacuum system.

My recommendation is gravity, said resident Mary Ann Driscoll, an engineer who has had prior experience in designing sewer systems with a private firm.

She told Council that maintenance on a vacuum system could lead to higher costs over the long run opposed to the gravity system.

Original post:
Cost will determine sewer system type in Norton

New Hanover County and Cape Fear Public Utility Authority will hold a public, pre-construction meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Myrtle Grove Middle School, 901 Piner Road in Wilmington, to discuss their joint effort to replace failing septic systems in the Marquis Hills area.

As the project approaches its construction phase, affected residents are invited to listen to a presentation detailing the work and schedule for the project.

The county and CFPUA will provide the public with contact information to relay questions during the course of the construction and information about what will occur following construction, including the mandatory connection process.

Marquis Hills area homes have historically had the highest rate of septic tank failure in New Hanover County.

The county, in partnership with CFPUA, received a low-interest loan from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources to install sewer into the area and permanently remove the need for septic systems. The project is expected to take 24 to 30 months.

Lydia Coutr

New Hanover County and Cape Fear Public Utility Authority will hold a public, pre-construction meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Myrtle Grove Middle School, 901 Piner Road in Wilmington, to discuss their joint effort to replace failing septic systems in the Marquis Hills area.

As the project approaches its construction phase, affected residents are invited to listen to a presentation detailing the work and schedule for the project.

The county and CFPUA will provide the public with contact information to relay questions during the course of the construction and information about what will occur following construction, including the mandatory connection process.

Marquis Hills area homes have historically had the highest rate of septic tank failure in New Hanover County.

The county, in partnership with CFPUA, received a low-interest loan from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources to install sewer into the area and permanently remove the need for septic systems. The project is expected to take 24 to 30 months.

Lydia Coutr

View original post here:
New Hanover, CFPUA to hold septic systems public meeting

The future of a neighborhood in north Spokane County has become one of the most debated topics in this years race for CountyCommission.

Al French and his fellow Republican Commissioner Todd Mielke say expanding the urban growth boundary to include the area along U.S. Highway 2 is necessary to protect the Little Spokane River from sewage runoff seeping from aging septic tanks. The extension of the growth boundary, a designation that enables governments to extend services such as sewer lines, would solve a problem before it gets out of control, theysaid.

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The future of a neighborhood in north Spokane County has become one of the most debated topics in this years race for CountyCommission.

Al French and his fellow Republican Commissioner Todd Mielke say expanding the urban growth boundary to include the area along U.S. Highway 2 is necessary to protect the Little Spokane River from sewage runoff seeping from aging septic tanks. The extension of the growth boundary, a designation that enables governments to extend services such as sewer lines, would solve a problem before it gets out of control, theysaid.

This is the difference between being a leader and reacting to a situation, Frenchsaid.

But Mary Lou Johnson, a Democrat who is challenging French in the November election, says commissioners are using the ecological issue as a smoke screen to enable commercial development. Expanding the growth boundary also enables zoning changes that could bring in denser development, which Johnson would prefer to see within citylimits.

Attorney Rick Eichstaedt, who has represented in courts and legal hearings a coalition of neighborhood members who consistently challenge the county on its land-use policies, said the environmental concerns raised by Mielke and French are an attempt to explain a decision thats already beenmade.

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Spokane County Commission candidates at odds over urban growth boundary - Thu, 23 Oct 2014 PST

By ANDREW MARTINS

Staff Writer

PLUMSTED An amendment to the New Egypt Redevelopment Plan that was recently approved by the Township Committee seeks to ensure that homes will be built on a specific parcel even if a major element of the redevelopment plan never comes to fruition.

Officials approved the plan on Oct. 1, allowing for the potential construction of about 100 homes on a 150-acre tract on Province Line Road.

According to Plumsted Land Use Board and Plumsted Municipal Utilities Authority Chairman Walt Bronson, the construction of those homes would hinge on whether the sewer system proposed in the redevelopment plan receives state approvals.

This is really to put Plan B into effect so we can keep Plan A on the table, Bronson said.

Since 2005, municipal officials have been trying to have what has been referred to as an age-targeted and empty-nester development built on the 150-acre tract on Province Line Road.

At that time, downtown New Egypt and the property on Province Line Road were designated as redevelopment areas.

Since then, there have been several attempts to get the development plan underway with builders, but those attempts have not panned out.

Officials have said that by allowing the construction of homes, they are trying to add to Plumsteds tax base without adding children to local schools.

Original post:
Issues with sewer system delay Plumsted redevelopment plan

By Trevor Warner Assistant Managing Editor

twarner@paradisepost.com @TrevorWarner3 on Twitter

Micheal Zuccolillo is challenging Paradise Town Council incumbents Jody Jones and Scott Lotter. Contributed photo

(This is the first article in a series about the Paradise Town Council candidates. An interview with Jody Jones will appear in Saturday's issue of The Post)

Despite an injury that caused him to miss three important election functions in a row, Mike Zuccolillo is still in the race for Paradise Town Council, running against incumbents Jody Jones and Scott Lotter.

Zuccolillo was part of an effort to take supplies to Weed, which sustained severe fire damage. Last Monday, while attempting to unhitch the supply trailer, the trailer came loose and its tongue fell on his right leg causing a compound fracture above the ankle.

Emergency crews showed up and he was taken to Feather River Hospital for treatment.

His first thought was whether he was going to be in a cast for the meet and greet.

"The firemen were laughing at me because I kept asking, 'Am I going to make it (to the event)?'" Zuccolillo said.

He didn't make it to the meet and greet and didn't have surgery until the next day, which was when the League of Women Voters scheduled its candidate forum.

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Injured Zuccolillo not quitting council run

Concrete Concrete tanks are the most common type of septic tank. The cost to install a septic tank made out of concrete is in the average price spectrum. These tanks are susceptible to cracking or separation, but are usually durable for a couple of decades. It's important to get these manually inspected regularly to ensure that cracks or runoff isn't occurring so that it can last as long as it should. Steel Steel septic tanks are the least durable and least popular tanks. They have covers that can corrode, which can lead to an unsuspecting person falling through the cover. The covers can be replaced separately, however, so that is something to consider. If you move into a home with an older steel tank, make sure to inspect the entire tank system. Fiberglass Fiberglass and plastic tanks are less vulnerable to the rusting and cracking of the other materials. The lower weight makes it more susceptible to structural damage, however, and it can shift in the soil. Size The cost to install a septic tank will depend a lot on the size of the tank. The bigger the tank, the higher the price will be because that means more digging and preparation for the tank. Preparation The cost to install a septic tank will increase depending on the amount of digging that needs to be done to prepare. This project usually requires a fair amount of excavation and can affect landscaping. Keep in mind, you may need to replace landscaping after the project. Red tape You might need to get a building permit for installing a septic system depending on the location and the complexity of the installation. This will increase the cost to install a septic tank, but will ensure everything is done according to code. Labor It's important to note that the labor is often as expensive, if not more, than the price of the tank itself. Working with a professional will certainly increase the cost to install a septic tank but is absolutely necessary to ensure that everything is correctly installed. Septic tank installation is a complicated process and one that could lead to a lot of damage and extremely pricey repairs if done incorrectly.

Overall, the cost to install a septic tank will largely depend on the pro you choose, and the type and size of tank you pick. Make sure to talk to at least three professionals before choosing someone to work with on your septic system.

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Septic Tank Installation Costs | Average Price to Replace ...

A main sewer line directs all wastewater to a septic system or municipal sewer system and is an essential component of every buildings plumbing. Installing and replacing sewer lines is a significant project that should be completed by a qualified professional. The characteristics of your property are important factors in the cost of installation and replacement.

Installation procedures for sewer lines are generally similar for residential and commercial properties, but material and installation standards may vary with municipal codes. Sewer line installations at homes cost an average of $1583 in the U.S., with costs often affected by the presence of a septic tank versus public sewer services. It may cost $2497 to set a line at an apartment facility and $3201 for a business property, where larger diameter lines are typically required.

Installing a new sewer line during construction is generally uncomplicated, since access to systems is simple and groundwork is unfinished. New installations cost an average of $2076, though the amount of earth work involved or other preparation may affect the expense of the job. Replacing damaged or faulty sewer lines can be a complex job, since excavation is usually required and the removal of existing pipes can increase the time and manpower needed for the project. Replacement typically costs about $3196, though related repairs and clean up may increase overall expenses.

A number of problems can result from faulty sewer lines, and the nature of issues can help determine the extent of repairs for your home or building. Your contractor can determine if repairs may resolve drainage issues or if replacement is necessary, but in general it may cost $2817 to manage waste water backing up in drains and $1462 for backups in dishwashers, while it may cost $1533 to resolve slow draining throughout a home, and $1109 for issues with toilets. Repairing problems that lead to foul odors from drains could averages $1448, while resolving obvious leakage of waste water in a yard could cost $4208.

The distance between your home and sewer or septic system is an important factor in the cost of sewer line installation, since the time and material requirements of the job increase with its scale. Fitting and laying a line less than 100 feet typically costs about $1463, compared to $2519 for one 100 to 200, $3802 for one 200 to 300 and $5532 for a run over 300 long. Though the distance between a building and the street or septic tank is a good indicator of the jobs requirements, any earthwork needed to create the proper pitch for drainage or repairs made to existing lines or structures may increase the costs of your project.

Your sewer line installation may be an essential aspect of new construction or a necessary repair task. Regardless of the application, a number of factors will contribute to the expense of the job. Discuss with your contractor how the features of your property and the condition of existing lines and landscaping may affect the project.

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Sewer Line Installation or Replacement Cost | Redbeacon