WATER POLLUTION CONTROL COMMISSION
Regular Meeting
Town Hall Hearing Room
July 17, 2019 – 7:30 p.m.
Present: Richard Regan, Amy Atamian, David Pattee, Kirby Klump, Rich Regan and Jim Miller
Also Present: Katherine Stauffer WPCC Administrator, Geno Burke and Carlos Pavia of Veolia Water. Jason and Annie Stevens of 23 Brookside Rd
Amy Atamian called the meeting at 7:31pm in the Hearing Room of the Town Hall Building.
ITEM 1: APPROVAL OF the MINUTES of the June 19, 2019 meeting.
In item 5: “Chair Regan made a motion to pay all bills listed except for Veolia Monthly June.” ‘Chair’ should be removed and corrected to: “R. Regan made a motion to pay all bills listed except for Veolia Monthly June”
MOTION: Approve the minutes from June 19, 2019 meeting, T. Eubanks (motion), D. Pattee(second). Passed unanimously.
ITEM 2: REPORT FROM VEOLIA WATER PLANT MANAGERS
Veolia reported:
E. Burke thanked Carlos for presenting at last month’s meeting
Health and Safety
Veolia Water monthly safety training topics conducted in April 2019 included:
• Hearing Conservation
• Discussion on plant safety and any items for repair
The project has completed 17 years with no safety incidents.
Noteworthy Operational Information / Maintenance and PM
• Weekly power washing of the on-line primary drum screener
o Geno noted that there are pink and green gloves and sturdy towels. K. Stauffer did send out a glove and rag letter with the bills. He would like to have the “chewer” looked at to see if the teeth are dull and not macerating everything before it gets to the drum screener.
o Says this is most likely not coming from Meadow Ridge because their waste goes through a macerator and drum screener before even getting to the plant.
o Backup drum screener solenoid valve was replaced and there seems to be a rotational problem. Geno has called the manufacturer to have somebody come out. It could just need an adjustment. Discussion followed.
• Wasted 60,741 gallons of sludge from recycle wet well
-Geno noted that this is more than normal but it only because with the addition of PAC, it may create more sludge. This is normal.
• Edgerton replaced the fresh air fan in the boiler room
Regulatory & Compliance
1. There were no permit violations for Redding in the month of April 2019.
Alarms
• None
CBYD
• Covenant Lane – No Mark-Out Required
• Redding Rd – No Mark-Out Required
• 52 Old Georgetown Rd – No Mark-Out Required
Points for Discussion
• Heater Replacement
o Only one quote has been received so far because very few companies can make explosion-proof heaters. A decision needs to be made because it can take up to a month to build
• Transfer Pump Replacement
o There are 2 pumps. One that thickens the sludge, and one that transfers it onto the truck to be hauled away. The replacement cost is about $14,000.00. Geno has asked vendors if there may be a less expensive version. Discussion followed.
PAC Correlation:
• Members of the commission asked why there was a peak in the graph comparing the in-house vs. outside lab testing for PAC. Geno explained that the outside lab takes a 24-hour sample while the in-house testing is just a grab sample done once a day.
• The commission asked that Geno add another column to show the rolling average.
• K. Stauffer will make sure the graph is colored.
• The plant is still well under the permitted amount of 1.08 lbs/day. Discussion followed.
ITEM #3: ANNIE STEVENS FOR 23 BROOKSIDE RD HOOKUP TO SEWERS
• House was built in 1840 so there is a hand-dug well in the basement. There is a septic system that is on the verge of failing. The septic system failed inspection when they bought the house.
• 23 Brookside Rd is one parcel outside of the district created by the State of Connecticut.
• The family is planning to turn their attic into 2 bedrooms and a bathroom.
• There is a manhole cover a little bit down the road from them. It is downhill from the house.
• They are wondering if before they install a new septic system, if there is any way they could hook up to the sewer system.
• Mr. Stevens stated that because the house is so close to a stream, he is not even sure if they would be allowed to install a new septic system. D. Pattee confirmed that it needs to be 75 ft away. Discussion followed.
• A. Atamian will call CT DEEP to find out the process to expand the district. R. Regan will check the regulations. R. Regan stated that there may need to be a public hearing because the home sits right outside of the district. Discussion followed.
• The commission advised Mr. and Mrs. Stevens that this would be costly and may take a long time. Issue tabled for next month when more information has been gathered.
ITEM #4 DISCUSSION ON STRUCTURAL CRACKING PROPOSAL FROM MILONE AND MACBROOM
• The proposal was for $13,000 but that did not include the possibility of borings. The as-built drawings still need to be looked at in order to figure out if boreings are present. Amy asked Milone and Macbroom for a ballpark and they came back with about $15,000.
• Typically what happens is they would put additional footings exterior to the building to add structural support.
• J. Miller asked if they would be creating specifications to go out to bid as the Town will require 3 bids before doing the work. Eubanks asked if it is worth it to spend the $13,000 to scope out the job and then another $15,000 to have the work done by another company. Discussion followed.
• K. Stauffer pulled old specification books in the WPCC records that A. Atamian and R. Regan would look over after the meeting to see if there are any borings.
• J. Miller suggested that instead of creating specifications, they do an investigation to see what needs to be done to avoid the cost before going out to bid. Discussion followed.
• The Commission is waiting for Milone and Macbroom to get back with their findings.
ITEM 3: DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON INVOICES AND FINANCIAL STATUS
MOTION:
R. Regan made a motion to approve all invoices (except Veolia Monthly July: $28,245.42) subject to fund availability. T. Eubanks (second). Approved unanimous.
Commission will approve the following:
1. Aquarion Monthly: $453.90
2. Aquarion Meter Readings: $67.51
3. Edgerton: $684.15
4. Eversource: $5,293.22
5. Frontier Communications: $303.06
6. Hocon Gas: $15.00
7. Oak Ridge Hauling: $160.37
8. Redding Town Clerk: $80.00
9. Veolia Monthly: June: $28,245.42
10. Veolia Meter Readings: $480.05
11. Veolia Reimbursable – May 2019: $4,359.17
• K. Stauffer will be conducting a usage review at next month’s meeting. All allocations will be reviewed.
• K. Stauffer discussed sending delinquent accounts to Attorney Adam Cohen for collection. The commission asked which accounts are being considered. K. Stauffer explained that any account that is sent will need to meet a criteria that is set. Discussion followed. Issue tabled for next month’s meeting.
ITEM 5: COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS
• There was an Eversource representative at the Board of Selectmen Meeting who was there to listen to any problems citizens may have. Jim mentioned the overhanging trees on the driveway at the Sewer Plant. She said that she will look into it.
• Katherine received a phone call from the owner of 18 Main St explaining that he had filed a continuance as he was still waiting on supporting evidence to arrive. The court date was originally set for July 18, now it has been rescheduled to August 29th.
ITEM 6: PUBLIC COMMENT
NONE
ITEM 7: ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: J. Miller (motion) T. Eubanks (second) Approved unanimous
9:00pm
Submitted by Katherine Stauffer