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| WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY MINUTES |
For minutes prior to January 2004, please
contact Judy Archer of Public Works
at 203-854-7791 or jarcher@norwalkct.org
NOVEMBER 14, 2005
ATTENDANCE: John Atkin, Chairman; Jim McInerney; Frederika Bikakis Hajan;
Fred Bondi (5:41 p.m.); Tim Buzzee (5:42 p.m.), Mayor Knopp
STAFF: Hal Alvord, DPW Director; Lisa Bardon, DPW Operations Manager; Ralph Kolb, DPW/WPCA Wastewater Systems Manager;
OTHER: Viktor Huliew, OMI; Kevin Dahl, OMI; Tom Hamilton,
Finance Director
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Atkin called the meeting to order 5:35 p.m.
APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM WPCA MEETING HELD ON OCTOBER 17, 2005 (COPY INCLUDED)
** MAYOR KNOPP MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 17, 2005.
The correction to the minutes is as follows:
On page 6, Under Contract Operations Report, under OMI Report, #3, the 5th sentence, it should read “The total nitrogen performance is 46 points below the look-up value on the table.”
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
FINANCE DIRECTOR REPORT
a. Ytd Revenues
Mr. Hamilton presented his report. He said the sewer use fees are coming in on or ahead of budget. They are projecting $383,000 more than originally budgeted for sewer fees. The sewer use fees are a primary source of revenue. The sewer use fee projection had $809,000 worth of adjustments made. The biggest adjustments that are not in yet are Oak Hills and Devine Brothers.
Mr. Bondi arrived at 5:41 p.m.
B. Appeals Status
The adjustment had been made earlier for Crystal Ice, and several letters
had been sent to him, and it has been resolved.
Mr. Buzzee arrived at 5:42 p.m.
SEPTAGE DISPOSAL
a. Approve update to the Septage Disposal Rules and Regulations
Mr. Kolb distributed the report, which had the minor grammatical changes highlighted. On page 1, the Septage Receiving Station closed on Sundays and holidays. On page 3, they require the Septic Haulers to post Surety Bonds. That information had not been included in the Ordinance or the Rules and Regulations. On page 4, under Septage Receiving Station, they had added Item B, Drivers of registered vehicles are required to bring and use their own hose to discharge into the Septage Receiving Station.
** MR. MCINERNEY MOVED TO APPROVE THE UPDATE OF THE RULES AND REGULATIONS.
Mr. Bondi asked how expensive the surety bond would be. Mr. Kolb said that it depends on the hauler. They would base it on the average month of the previous calendar year. If the hauler discharges 100,000 gallons per month, they would require $10,000. The hauler would most likely pay 8% of the face value of the bond.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
b. Septage Disposal System Issues (letter included)
Mr. Kolb said the alarm system for haulers provided a false read in one case. There was a computer glitch in re-setting the rate, and it can’t be removed from the database. There is now an overage in the report that they want reflected as an overage or writeoff. It doesn’t carry a balance forward because they zeroed it out. For the record, they received this information but will hold off on a decision until they speak to Elemech, Inc.
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR REPORT
a. Sanitary Sewer Collections System Master Plan
Mr. Alvord said they interviewed 5 firms, and Malcolm Pirnie was the best qualified. They found Malcolm Pirnie to be well ahead of the other five firms in developing the GIS that will be used for management and efficiencies in the future, and financing. They will enter contract negotiations with Malcolm Pirnie and come back to the Authority with a recommendation. It will address how to prioritize the schedule of the pipe repairs. The contract is to develop the plan, and it should take approximately one year, possibly 16-18 months.
b. Westport Avenue Service Area Smoke Testing – Completed
Mr. Kolb said that the testing is complete in the Westport Avenue service area, and he is awaiting the report back from NEP.
1) DEP letter to owner of 6 Gwendolyn Street (copy included)
Mr. Kolb said that Ms. Margaret Peterson is the homeowner that was directly impacted by the testing. He said that the DEP doesn’t believe that they will take action against the City or OMI at this time. He said that there had been an occasion when the Fire Department had been called to a residence as a result of the smoke and dye testing.
c. Collection System Issues – General: None
Mr. Kolb said that as of this afternoon, OMI identified a by-pass on Main Avenue between the Marriott and the Getty. It’s right beneath the new O&G line. They are repairing it this evening. No one is directly affected.
d. Industrial Pretreatment Program
1) Fats, Oil and Grease General Permit and Fact Sheet (copy included)
Mr. Kolb said the FOG general permit was issued. He included a copy of the
general permit and the fact sheet. This follows last month’s presentation. The
Health Department conducts the 100-point checklist inspection, mandated by the
State Health Department. A food establishment has to get a score of 80 to stay
open and keep their license. A grease trap is worth 1 point. They can continually
fail grease traps and grease disposal and not have it impact their business.
They will have to be diligent and work with Mr. Callahan and the Health Department
to enforce the rules.
e. 3rd Taxing District Generator Proposal Status
Mr. Alvord said they will have a meeting on the 21st. The alternatives have been laid out for them to analyze.
f. Information Copies:
1) Draft General Permit for Nitrogen Discharges (Permit Re-issuance)
Ms. Bardon said that there are differences from the original permit. It had been bumped from 878 lbs/day to 1,044 lbs/day for year 2006, which won’t be a problem, but subsequent years might be a problem. They will be looking at low level nitrogen removal within the next year. The current 12-month rolling average is 823 lbs/day.
2) Guidance on Peak Wet Weather Flow Diversions (copy included)
Ms. Bardon said this is more of the policy that EPA is coming out with, and it could have an impact on Norwalk. The changes, and what is allowed and not allowed, are things that should be kept in mind for the future with regard to capital planning.
CONTRACT OPERATIONS REPORT
a. Public Works Director Report
1) Bi-Monthly Group Meetings
Ms. Bardon said the bulk of the work will take place in the Spring, with the annual inspections. They will have bi-monthly meetings starting in the next few weeks. The contract is in place.
b. OMI Report
1) Keeler Brook Consent Order Update/Construction Schedule/Impacted Areas (project pictures included)
Mr. Kolb explained the processes involved through the pictures provided in the report. Mr. Dahl said the overall project for Keeler Brook was completed on Friday. North Main Street is the change order to the project that is still outstanding. They are looking at different alternatives for the repairs. The first invoice for All State Power Vac was paid at $208,000.
2) Monthly Operating Report – September 2005
Mr. Dahl said that there were 156 work orders completed for the month. There is a backlog of 121. There were some permit violations, one being a fecal contamination. The sample came back well within limits.
Mr. Atkin said that Mayor Knopp wanted to thank the members of the WPCA for their service. Mayor Knopp said that all the members had worked hard to turn things around. He particularly thanked Mr. Alvord for his work involved with operations, and the City’s relationship with OMI, etc. He thanked Mr. Huliew and Mr. Dahl from OMI, and Ms. Bardon, Mr. Kolb, and Mr. Hamilton. He presented the four Board Members with a gold City emblem pin. Chairman Atkin thanked Mayor Knopp for his foresight.
3) Collection System and Pump Station MRR Accounts
Mr. Dahl said there were three reports filed. The one on September 1st was an error. There was a secondary lift pump foam reported on the 10th, which was corrected immediately. An overflow report came in on the 15th from 6 Gwendolyn Street. There was one reportable safety incident. There were no changes in personnel. The total nitrogen performance was 28 points below the look-up value on the table.
ACTION ON ANY ITEM DISCUSSED HEREIN
None.
The next meeting is scheduled for December 12, 2005.
ADJOURNMENT
** MR. BONDI MOVED TO ADJOURN.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
The meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn Marr
Telesco Secretarial Services
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