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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - SC - 02/02/2016 ° - TOWN OF COHASSET t.. } Sewer Commission 41 Highland Avenue Z Cohasset, MA 02025 COHASSET ° N _ ,l ° 781-383-4108 MEETING MINUTES Date: Tuesday, February 2, 2016 Time: 4:00 p.m. Place: Basement Meeting Room,Town Hall Present: Bryan Baldwin, Chairman Wayne Sawchuk William McGowan Others Present: Marc Drainville, GHD Jeff Gregg, GHD Leonora Jenkins, Chairman-Water Commission John Steinmetz-Water Commission Brian Joyce-Director DPW Susan Sarni-Director BOH Harvey Dickstein-Board of Health Chris Senior,Town Manager Purpose: Joint Meeting with Board of Health, Water Commission, Conservation Commission, Dept. of Public Works,Town Manager, and GHD to discuss the progress of the Plan of Study, data gathering by the Board of Health, and recommended next steps. Chairman Baldwin called the meeting to order at 4:20 p.m. Chairman Baldwin thanked everyone for coming. He explained the purpose of the meeting is to decide what steps the Town should take next now that the Plan of Study has been completed. Although the Sewer Commission played a lead role in selecting GHD to provide consulting services, and has coordi- nated their efforts,the study of how excess capacity of the wastewater treatment might be utilized is a town-wide issue. Chairman Baldwin reminded everyone that the Sewer Commission has no authority to expand the designated sewer district, only Town Meeting has that authority. A justification to expand the sewer district might be a recognized health or environmental hazard ema- nating from existing septic systems. While concerns have been raised about the areas of South Main Street and the Aaron River Reservoir/Beechwood Street, no specific data has yet been presented to sup- port those concerns. 1. GHD Plan of Study a. Brief Overview: Marc Drainville and Jeff Gregg from GHD gave an overview of the Plan of Study. They explained that it is not a sewer plan, but is intended to be a framework for an environmental study of specific areas of concern rather than the entire Town which would be at considerable expense. The Plan of Study proposes two (2) options for further action. One option is to initiate a Comprehensive Wastewater Management Cohasset Board of Sewer Commissioners Page 1 Planning process. The other option is to develop a priority list of items that would be prudent to address before initiating the CWMP process. Mr. Drainville explained how they determined the two areas of Aaron River and South Main Street as the areas to look at. Town as derived from discussions with the Board of Health, Water Commission, Conservation Commission, Department of Public Works, and residents that attended a public workshop. b. Questions and comments on draft document dated January 2016: Leland Jenkins-198 Jerusalem Road asked how much excess capacity is available? Chairman Baldwin re- sponded that there is sufficient capacity for the South Main Street area only. Due to the distance from the Aaron River area to the wastewater treatment plant on Elm Street, it would likely be more economical to construction a satellite facility for that area if so de- sired. 2. Board of Health Data for South Main Street a. Summary Information: Director of Public Health Susan Sarni stated that in spite of gen- erally poor soil conditions to support septic systems in the South Main Street area, there was no clear data supporting that this area is currently experiencing a health hazard from failed septic systems. b. List of Properties: A list was distributed of one hundred ten (110) properties from Sum- mer Street to the Scituate town line, bounded by the MBTA tracks to the West and the Gulf River to the East. Data on these properties included type of septic system, date of installation, date of recent inspections, and other information from BoH files. No data is available for approximately twenty-nine (29) properties. 3. GHD Additional Service Proposals a. South Main Street: GHD previously presented a proposal to specifically study this area once the Town had completed data collection on the existing septic systems at a fee of $75,000. b. Aaron River Reservoir/Beechwood Street: : GHD previously presented a proposal to specifically study this area once the Town had completed data collection on the existing septic systems at a fee of$85,000. 4. Potential Recommendations Chairman Baldwin reminded all that GHD has completed its work as contracted, and a decision is required from the Town on how it would like to proceed with further work. He recommended a brief presentation be made to the Board of Selectmen,followed by placing one or more articles for Annual Town Meeting requesting funding for one or both of the additional service proposals. Wayne Sawchuk suggested that the environmental condition of South Main Street must include the impact upstream from Scituate. Town Manager Chris Senior stated the EPA has concerns about nutrient loading of the watershed into the harbor, and so the Town may be required to study South Main Street in the future. George Chamillard-145 Beach Street asked if the purpose of the study was to determine if there was a problem in certain areas and if so perhaps the Town should do water sample testing. Director of DPW-Brian Joyce agreed that the Town should do water sample testing. The group had a brief discussion of water sample testing and the benefits. Mr. Gregg spoke of water sampling and how comprehensive it can be. He stated Cohasset Board of Sewer Commissioners Page 2 that sampling in the Gulf River would be complicated because Scituate feeds into it as well. Brian Joyce suggested key sampling in different types of weather. Mr. Drainville said they would need to know what testing criteria would be used to evaluate the data? MADEP would need to establish criteria. Chairman Baldwin asked if the Gulf River was not proximate to South Main Street would it still be prudent to study the status of the septic systems and their impact? Mr. Senior stated if the Town did a more comprehensive study in the South Main Street area might keep EPA at bay knowing that the Town was being proactive. Mr. Drainville agreed. Town Manager Chris Senior stated that it is unlikely that funding is available for either proposal. Chairman Baldwin noted that Town meeting authorized spending up to $50,000, but the work to date cost only$25,000, leaving$25,000 available for additional services. After some additional discussion the group decided that the$25,000 that is left should be spent on continuing the study and begin water sample testing. Although this may be insufficient funding for complete testing, Chairman Baldwin said the scope could be defined by the budget. He asked Mr. Drain- ville and Mr. Gregg to submit a new proposal within the $25,000 budget. At the conclusion of that effort, something could be prepared to go before Special Town Meeting in the fall. GHD will get a proposal together and provide it to Brian Joyce. The Plan of Study will be posted on the town's website. The group will meet again after sampling is complete. a. Present to Board of Selectmen: Tentatively scheduled for Monday, February 22. b. Articles for ATM warrant: Mr. Chamillard suggested considering an article of$5,000- $10,000 to get a complete sampling scope. The meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m. Documents Distributed and Reviewed: GHD Plan of Study draft dated January 2016 previously distributed to invitees GHD additional service proposals for South Main Street and Aaron River/Beechwood dated 12/23/15 were previously distributed to invitees List of properties on South Main Street and summary information Cohasset Board of Sewer Commissioners Page 3