$8.9M environmental bond on ballot Experts see far greater needs ahead for wastewater treatment facilities

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AUGUSTA – Clean water experts concede that with $270 million worth of wastewater treatment improvements facing Maine over the next five years, the $8.9 million environmental bond on the Nov. 8 ballot falls far short of reaching the state’s immediate needs.

“This bond is better than no bond, but the need for investment in our wastewater facilities is much greater,” said Matthew Davis, an advocate for Environment Maine, in the organization’s fall report. “We had problems all summer with bacterial contamination at beaches, but the Legislature failed to implement one solution: state assistance to improve the worst treatment plants in the state.”

To make a dent in the looming problems with associated sewage treatment infrastructure upgrades and clean water sources, voters will be asked to approve Question 3 on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The three-pronged proposal would provide:

. $3.6 million for the construction and upgrades of large water pollution control projects and to provide funding to solve small but serious pollution problems in rural communities, administered through the state Department of Environmental Protection.

. $3.5 million for drinking water improvements in 17 communities administered through the Department of Health and Human Services.

. $1.8 million for farm irrigation and water source projects, along with the funding to renovate barns at the University of Maine, administered by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Resources.

The combined $8.9 million bond is expected to draw down an additional $31 million in federal matching funds. David Littell, deputy commissioner of the DEP, said that, in addition to protecting the environment and basic public health, the infrastructure upgrades are critical to the expansion of any type of economic development.

“I’ve seen it before when a company comes and wants to know if they can locate in a particular area, and if they’re the type of company that generates wastewater, it’s either a green light or a red light,” he said.

Unlike road designs or curb cuts, manufacturing companies do not have time to wait for the state or a municipality to build or upgrade a secondary wastewater treatment plant to meet their needs. Planning, engineering and actual construction of such facilities can take three to five years.

“And companies just aren’t going to wait that long,” Littell said. “So they come in and simply want to know: ‘Can we do it or not?'”

Likely candidates for wastewater treatment improvements under the DEP’s State Revolving Fund include:

. Baileyville: Reduction of excess wet weather flows that are causing effluent violations at the wastewater treatment plant.

. Belfast: Separation of storm water from the sewer to reduce untreated discharges.

. Brewer: Construction of a sand and salt shed to stop contamination of groundwater from an uncovered sand and salt pile.

. Camden: Upgrades to a pump station to replace worn-out equipment.

. Dover-Foxcroft: Improvements to wastewater treatment plant operations.

Under the DHHS portion of the grant, assistance would be extended to Maine cities and towns with drinking water systems that are so old they cannot meet the demands of their growing communities. Other towns have problems with contaminants such as arsenic or lead. Some of the communities targeted for drinking water improvements under the bond include:

. Washburn Water Department: $404,657 to purchase nitrate removal equipment.

. Newport Water District: $510,000 to fund a project that will investigate construction of a groundwater well to replace or augment the existing water supply.

. Eagle Lake Water and Sewer District: $357,000 to fund a project that will investigate the construction of a groundwater well to replace or augment the existing water supply.

. Mars Hill Water District: $231,688 to fund a project that will investigate construction of a groundwater well to replace or augment the existing water supply.

. Charleston Faith School of Theology: $158,518 for installation of arsenic removal equipment, a new pump station structure and clear well improvements.

. Passamaquoddy Water District: $900,000 for replacement of old asbestos and cement water mains in order to provide customers on Redoubt Hill in Eastport with ample supply and good-quality water. The project also will replace old lead joint cast-iron pipes.

. Aqua Maine, Camden-Rockland Division: $255,000 to complete the replacement of 2,600 feet of old 6-inch and 8-inch unlined cast-iron water main and services on Route 1 (High Street) in Camden in conjunction with the state highway reconstruction project. The new main will be 12-inch ductile iron to improve operating pressure, fire flow capacity and water quality.

. Aqua Maine, Camden-Rockland Division: $382,500 to replace approximately 4,000 feet of water main and 70 service connections during the city of Rockland’s reconstruction of seven streets.

. Winter Harbor Water District: $1,007,000 to replace old cast-iron water mains on Main Street and Beach Street. The deteriorating pipes cause significant flow restriction in the downtown portion of the water system.

. Castine Water Department: $901,500 to replace an old, undersized water main with new 12-inch ductile iron mains. This project would eliminate serious pressure fluctuations in the downtown area and at Maine Maritime Academy.

. Winterport Water District: $224,200 to replace 1,430 feet of 4-inch cast-iron water main installed in the early 1900s with 10-inch ductile iron pipe. This project will be constructed in conjunction with the state’s reconstruction of Route 1A.

. Franklin Water Department: $182,000 for construction of a backup well and pump station controls.

The $1.8 million portion of the bond administered by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Resources includes $1 million to fund agricultural water source development and infrastructure improvements. The remaining $800,000 will enable the J.F. Witter Teaching & Research Center at the University of Maine to conduct the maintenance, repairs and upgrades at its livestock facility necessary to meet federal specifications for research and teaching.

Question 3

“Do you favor an $8,900,000 bond issue for purposes related to agriculture and the environment in anticipation of approximately $31,000,000 in federal funds to be used for sustainable water sources and irrigation system development, loans from a wastewater state revolving fund, grants from a small community grants program, support of public water system improvements and repairs and improvements to a veterinary technician facility at the University of Maine?”