WATER POLLUTION CONTROL COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2019
7:30PM
TOWN HALL CONFERENCE ROOM
Filed Subject to Approval
PRESENT:
Rich Regan, Chair
Dave Pattee
Amy Atamian
Jim Miller
Kirby Klump
Todd Eubanks
ALSO PRESENT:
Katherine Stauffer, WPCC Administrator; Eugene Burke, Matthew Bernardini, and Carlos Paiva of Veolia Water
Chair Regan called the meeting to order at 7:37PM.
ITEM 1: APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019 MEETING
Mr. Miller said on Page 1, the sentence, “Mr. Pattee approved the minutes of the January 16, 2019 meeting with the inclusion of the edits”, should be changed to, “Mr. Pattee motioned to approve the minutes of the January 16, 2019 meeting with the inclusion of the edits”.
Mr. Miller said on Page 2, the sentence, “He said that some gaskets need to be replaced in the vacuums”, should be changed to, “He said some gaskets need to be replaced on the vacuum side of the permeate system”.
Mr. Miller said on Page 2, the sentence, “Mr. Burke said there is no other Veolia Water site to sell the Analog PLCs to.” should be changed to, “Mr. Burke said there are no other Veolia Water site to sell the Analog PLCs to”
Mr. Miller said on Page 2, the sentence, “Mr. Oatley said that after today’s cleaning, the plant is at full capacity with 60% membrane functionality”, should be changed to, “Mr. Oatley said that after today’s cleaning, the plant is at full capacity with 60% pump speed”.
Mr. Miller said on Page 2, the sentence, “Mr. Benardini said that when the air leaks are fixed, the membranes will be far more efficient and functional.”, should be changed to, “Mr. Bernardini said that when the air leaks are fixed, the membranes will function as expected at a pump speed of 60%.”
Mr. Pattee said on Page 2, the sentence, “Mr. Burke said there is no older Veolia Water site to sell the Analog PLCs to”, should be changed to, “Mr. Burke said there is no other Veolia Water site to sell the analog PLCs to.
Mr. Eubanks said on Page 4, the sentence, “Mr. Eubanks said chasing down $1,029.45 is a waste of time and money”, should be changed to, “Mr. Eubanks said taking legal action to recover $1,029.45 is a waste of time and money”.
MOTION:
Mr. Eubanks made a motion to approve the minutes of the Wednesday, March 6, 2019 meeting with the inclusion of the edits mentioned. Ms. Atamian seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous, and the motion carried.
ITEM 2: REPORT FROM VEOLIA WATER PLANT MANAGERS
Operational and Maintenance Information:
– Weekly power washing of the on-line primary drum screener.
– 20,930 gallons of sludge were removed from holding tank for off-site disposal
– 143,000 gallons of influent/membrane waste were removed for off-site disposal due to membrane cleaning/air complications.
– Membrane recovery dip completed on both trains.
– All influent tank floats replaced.
Regulatory & Compliance Information:
– There were no permit violations for Redding in the month of February 2019.
Health and Safety:
– The plant has completed 17 years with no safety incidents.
Alarms:
– There were no alarms in the month of February.
CBYD:
– There was one CBYD. No mark out was required.
Other Items:
Mr. Bernardini contacted the electrician about the heating unit. He said the electrician (Pure Power Electric) wants to stick with an explosion proof unit. The electrician has looked at three vendors that manufacture explosion proof heating units.
Mr. Burke said there is a solenoid valve on the backup drum screener that is not working. He said that Pure Power Electric will install a new solenoid valve and waive the labor charge. Another drum screener is currently being used instead of this drum screener.
Mr.. Bernardini said the lead time for the heating unit is 12 weeks. He suggested that the WPCC should consider purchasing a heating unit in July.
Ms. Atamian asked about the quote for the heating unit installation. Mr. Bernardini said the estimate is approximately $7,076.
Mr. Burke said he will add installation of the heating unit to next month’s agenda.
Mr. Burke said the Waste Pump Stator has failed. He said he will investigate why this is and update the WPCC accordingly.
Mr. Burke said a Sump Pump in the Valve Room has failed. He said a new pump was brought in and needs to be hard-wired.
Mr. Bernardini said the UV system has been turned on.
Mr. Burke said the Backup Level Sensor for Aeration has been installed.
Ms. Stauffer said Edgerton did maintenance on the boiler. She said they found that two exhaust fans and a blower motor need to be replaced. She followed up with Edgerton about details concerning these items. Chair Regan asked Ms. Stauffer how the WPCC should proceed with the Edgerton quote on the two exhaust fans and blower motor. Ms. Stauffer said the total estimate is $925. Chair Regan said that the repair should move forward.
Mr. Bernardini put together an itemized list of the analog PLC parts. He said Matt Johnson was in contact with a former customer who has an analog plant and may be interested in the parts.
Mr. Burke said the door opener broke on the door for the SCADA room. He said Accurate Lock & Safe fixed this issue, but their invoice is very expensive for the parts used. Mr. Miller suggested that Ms. Stauffer should consider escalating this and speaking with the First Selectwoman to see if this vendor is charging the Town so much for all other services.
Chair Regan asked Mr. Burke about the flow at the plant. Mr. Burke said the Flow Meter is not attached to the Influent Line. He said the numbers provided are not accurate, and that the effluent number is correct.
Mr. Bernardini said that the Town should jet-clean the sewer lines. He said that it has been almost 10 years since this was done. He suggested that the WPCC get in contact with Matt Johnson about pricing.
Chair Regan asked how large the sewer system is. Mr. Burke said the system is 0.6 miles long.
Mr. Bernardini said the State is using CMOM (Collection Management System) to keep track of when municipalities are cleaning out their sewer lines.
Mr. Miller asked Chair Regan if the State ever notified Meadow Ridge about their leak. Chair Regan said he hasn’t gotten any notification. Mr. Burke said that Ridgefield Plumbing should be inspecting Meadow Ridge’s sewer lines.
Mr. Pattee said he works in Weston and an Environmental Science teacher asked him to see if there is a plant in the area that would host her class. He asked Veolia Water if they’re comfortable with high school students visiting the plant. Mr. Miller said it’s fine if the school has liability insurance.
Veolia Water left at 8:28PM.
ITEM 3: MODERNIZATION PROJECT UPDATE
Mr. Miller said the as-built drawings will be prepared by an outside inspector. He said the final invoice will be sent when Matt Johnson feels comfortable that the project has been completed to his satisfaction.
Mr. Eubanks asked if the Voltage Filter issue has been resolved. Mr. Miller said this has not been resolved. Discussion followed about the installation of a Voltage Filter.
ITEM 4: ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Chair Regan said that Ms. Atamian is interested in taking over the Chair position. He said that Mr. Eubanks is interested in the Vice Chair position.
Chair Regan nominates Ms. Atamian for the position of Chairman and Mr. Eubanks for the position of Vice Chairman.
MOTION:
Chair Regan made a motion to nominate Ms. Atamian for the position of Chair. Mr. Pattee seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous, and the motion carried.
MOTION:
Chair Regan made a motion to nominate Mr. Eubanks for the position of Vice Chair. Mr. Pattee seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous, and the motion carried.
ITEM 5: REVIEW AND COMMENT – LETTER TO GRANITE CONSTRUCTION
Mr. Pattee said the spelling of the word Xenon needs to be corrected to Zenon.
Mr. Pattee said on page 2, second paragraph, the words “replacing all analog devices with digital devices” should be added to the end of the first sentence.
Mr. Pattee said on page 3, last paragraph, first sentence, “you leadership” should be changed to “your leadership”.
Ms. Atamian asked if it is necessary to include the cost of the project. Mr. Miller said he will take this out, but he feels the information is public knowledge and that Layne was part of this cost. Ms. Atamian said stating this information doesn’t help the Town’s case.
Mr. Miller will make the suggested edits and send the edited version to Ms. Stauffer. Ms. Stauffer said she can make the changes discussed. Mr. Miller said he will discuss with Ms. Stauffer about this.
ITEM 6: DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON INVOICES AND FINANCIAL STATUS
Ms. Atamian asked Ms. Stauffer to analyze the Frontier bill to get an explanation of various charges.
MOTION:
Chair Regan made a motion to pay all bills except for Accurate Lock and Safe, Veolia Monthly March, and Veolia Reimbursable February. Mr. Eubanks seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous, and the motion carried.
The bills to be paid are as follows:
Eversource, $6,008.84
Frontier, $307.03
Hocon, $903.14
Hocon Industrial Gas, $15.00
Oak Ridge Hauling – March, $160.37
Pullman & Comley, LLC, $50.00
Veolia Monthly – February, $28,245.42
Veolia CBYD – Feb 2019, $15.00
Veolia Reimbursable – January 2019, $8,488.04
ITEM 7: COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS
Mr. Pattee came across an article in the Wilton Bulletin about the Georgetown Saloon. He said the article includes a variety of information that the WPCC was not aware of and will influence the rates will be for the building. Chair Regan said that the owner should visit the WPCC to discuss the changes. Ms. Stauffer said she can contact the owner.
Mr. Miller asked Ms. Stauffer about 18 Main Street. Ms. Stauffer said the letter has been sent and that the owner has until April 1st to make a payment.
ITEM 8: PUBLIC COMMENT
Chair Regan opened the floor for Public Comment. No members of the public were present for Public Comment.
ITEM 9: ADJOURNMENT
MOTION:
Mr. Miller made a motion to adjourn. Chair Regan seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous, and the motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:59PM.
Submitted by,
Zachary Smith