For minutes prior to January 2004, please contact Judy Archer of Public Works
at 203-854-7791 or jarcher@norwalkct.org

CITY OF NORWALK
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY
DECEMBER 10, 2007

Attendance: Mayor Moccia
John Atkin, Chairman
Jim McInerney, Vice Chairman
Fred Wilms
Darren Oustafine
Frederika Bikakis-Hajian
Andrew Conroy

Staff: Hal Alvord, DPW Public Works Director
Lisa Bardon, DPW Operations Manager
Tom Hamilton, Finance Director

Others: Kevin Dahl, CH2M Hill OMI
Gregg Higgins, CH2M Hill OMI
Tim Dupuis, Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc.
John Frank
Peter Johnson

1. CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Atkin called the meeting to order at 5:32 PM

2. APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM WPCA MEETING HELD ON NOVEMBER 19, 2007

Vice Chairman McInerney said on Page 5, Line 3, to change “on” to “an.”
Vice Chairman McInerney said on Page 6, Paragraph 4, Line 8, to change “outsources” to “outsourcing.”
** MR. WILMS MOVED TO APPROVE THE ITEM WITH CORRECTIONS
** MOTION PASSED
** THREE ABSTENTIONS (MOCCIA, ATKIN, CONROY)

3. AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRMAN TO EXECUTE AN AMENDMENT TO THE SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 AGREEMENT WITH CAMP DRESSER & MCKEE, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $183,800 TO INCLUDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FACILITY PLAN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SCOPE OF WORK DATED DECEMBER 6, 2007 KNOWN AS FACILITY PLAN

Ms. Bardon said that a capital upgrade is being looked at for wet weather treatment, low-level nitrogen removal, alternative disinfection, and new headworks. She said there is currently a contract with Camp Dresser & McKee in the amount of $700,000 to prepare concept plant for the low-level nitrogen and headworks projects. She said the scope of work that they have put together goes through the checklist of requirements necessary to comply with Clean Water Funding. She said that the DEP has reviewed the scope of work and has verbally approved it. She said that after the Board’s approval it would then be sent to the DEP for official approval. She said it is eligible for grant/loan funding.

Mr. Dupuis said that he had met with the DEP in July 2007, and one of their suggestions was that if the project was to move forward it would make sense to do a facility plan. He said that the tasks that are included in the amendment are all the elements of the DEP checklist that were not included in the original scope of work. He said it includes defining the flows and loads, the handling of disposal of solids, disinfection, ensuring the electrical facilities are up to date, site utililization, and odor control. Ms. Bardon said that the one thing that would not be reimbursable was the site utilization plan.

Mayor Moccia said he would like staff to meet with the Redevelopment Agency to make them aware of the project and to discuss the impact of all commercial and residential property owners. He asked when the report would be finalized. Mr. Dupuis said in approximately six months. Ms. Bardon said there is almost $37 million dollars in the fiscal year 2009 for construction of plant improvements in the draft Clean Water Fund priority list. Chairman Atkin said there is no time frame included in the amendment to the agreement. Ms. Bardon said a time frame of six months would be included in the final agreement. Chairman Atkin asked if any evaluation had been performed on the most recent update of the WWTP. Ms. Bardon said the last update that was performed on the WWTP was in the early 1990’s. Chairman Atkin asked if the odor control system evaluation was originally in the agreement or had it been included since the recent public concern. Ms. Bardon said that Camp Dresser and McKee was not aware that there were issues of odor and that it is part of the normal scope of services that would be contemplated under a facility plan. Mr. McInerney asked if the DEP fully considered Norwalk’s collection system as a combined system. Ms. Bardon said that they do.

**MAYOR MOCCIA MOVED TO APPROVE THE ITEM
** MOTION PASSED
** ONE ABSTENTION (CONROY)

4. APPROVE THE UPDATED SEWER USE RATES, BILLING INFORMATION & APPEAL PROCESS

Ms. Bardon said that revenues are not being collected as they should be because there is no accurate data provided by the First District Water Department for commercial and mixed use accounts that are in individual’s names and not the business name which goes back to 2001. She said that approximately $600,000 is not being billed and that the residential, commercial, and mixed use customers in the Second District are subsidizing customers in the First District. She said she wants to be sure that everyone is being charged equitably and because she is unable to obtain accurate data from the First District she would be relying on the customers to provide their water bill so that they can be billed properly. She said the way that would be done is that an estimated bill would be sent to the customers based on average consumption by the land use code. Mr. Hamilton said that this would only apply to the accounts that the City of Norwalk and the WPCA believe to be commercial accounts, which is at an estimated 468 accounts out of 23,000 accounts. Mayor Moccia said that it should be included in the letter that this is an estimated bill and if they bring in the actual bill it would be adjusted. Ms. Bardon said that in early January 2008 a letter would be sent out stating that they would be receiving an estimated bill and if they want to provide the data prior to receiving the estimated bill they can do so. She said the estimated bills would be going out in late February 2008. Mr. Wilms asked how the appeals process would work. Mr. Alvord said that the customer could either provide their consumption data or they can authorize the district to release the consumption data. Ms. Bardon said that under the State statute that if an assessment is going on a tax bill that for clerical errors and omissions the bill can be appealed for up to three years. Ms. Bardon said she has updated the section in the “Sewer Use, Billing and Appeals Policy” on Page 4, C. Chairman Atkin asked if a clerical error or omission would include the customer being billed when there is no sewer connection. Ms. Bardon said it would.

**MR. WILMS MOVED TO APPROVE THE ITEM
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

5. ACT ON ST. JEROMES R.C. CHURCH SEWER APPEAL

No action needed.

6. CLEAN WATER FUND DRAFT FY 08 & 09 PRIORITY LIST

Ms. Bardon said for fiscal year 2009 that Norwalk has the highest priority points in the state for the low-level nitrogen removal at the treatment plant. She said the $14 million dollars has been allocated to this project and is eligible for 30% grant money and that 70% would be a 2% low interest loan. She said the other priority project is the CSO construction and $22.75 million dollars has been allocated on the draft list. She said these are funded projects and this is allocated money and that is why it is so critical that design is completed fast track and be able to go out to bid by June 2009.

Mr. Alvord said that the DEP would be having a public hearing on December 18, 2007, which Ms. Bardon would be attending. Mr. Hamilton asked if anyone would be performing an evaluation moving forward in terms of the financial evaluation of selling nitrogen credits versus buying them. Mr. Dupuis said that would be done as part of the facility plan. Ms. Bardon said the low-level nitrogen study would also do a breakpoint and cost analysis between buying and selling nitrogen credits. Mr. Wilms asked if there was a possibility that Norwalk could be bumped off the priority list. Ms. Bardon said that was a possibility at the public hearing and that is why she would be attending to make them aware that Norwalk would be meeting the construction schedule. Ms. Bardon said that in the reserve for planning there is $ 6 million dollars reserved for Norwalk CSOs, denitrification, and alternative disinfection. Chairman Atkin asked if it would be important for the WPCA to either make an appearance at the public hearing or to send a letter. Mayor Moccia said he would provide a letter.

7. REPORTS

a. FY 07-08 Revenues/Expenditures Report

Mr. Hamilton said the revenues appear to be on track. He said the Wilton billing would occur in December and that the fund balance for the WPCA is significant. Mr. McInerney asked if the Wilton contract is scheduled to be renegotiated in 2008. Ms. Bardon said that it was. Mr. McInerney asked if there would be more insight as far as the flows. Ms. Bardon said she is not concerned that they are not receiving the flow numbers because Wilton meters at the town line. She said when the inter-local agreement is negotiated she suggested putting limits in for deleterious waste and flow.

b. Sewer Connection Fee & Use Bill Appeals/Adjustments

1. Status Update

Ms. Bardon said that the appeals have been incorporated into the revenues and that the Norwalk customers include adjustments for the appeals and was in the same range as reported last month, which was approximately $ 100,000.
c. Information Copies

1. Bi-partisan Holiday Celebration on Dec. 11th at City Hall, 3rd Floor

No discussion.

2. WPCA Contact List Update

Mr. Alvord said that Mr. Bondi has named an alternate but did not have that information at this time. Mayor Moccia said to contact Mary Roman for that information.

3. NACWA Newsletter

No discussion.

8. CONTRACT OPERATIONS REPORT

a. Public Works Director Report
1. WWTP Odor Management
Mr. Dahl said that Clean Air Partners, which is the company that installed the ionization system at the dewatering building which has not worked as guaranteed and they are now going out to bid to a subcontractor and will update the Board as that progresses. He said that Carus Chemical is a company that provides sodium permanganate, which is an odor control additive, and they would be doing a trial in January 2008. Chairman Atkin asked how long a trial would take before results were known. Mr. Dahl said approximately a week. Mr. Dahl said the belt press was down last week but he did not receive any odor complaints. He said since the last WPCA meeting he has received two direct complaints and he had issued a memo to his staff to be mindful of open doors and anything else that may become an odor concern. Mr. McInerney asked if the two complaints that were received had been investigated. Mr. Dahl said that one of them was received four days after they had smelled the odor and he was unable to investigate and the other was made internally by DPW staff and the odor was discovered between the Dispatch Building and the Main Building and he had attributed it to the Secondary Building at the treatment plant. He said that he had spoken with the solids disposal contractor regarding the cake pick up schedule that was discussed at last month’s meeting and the schedule that they are on now is pickup between 2 AM – 4 AM and 10 AM - 11 AM, he said they cannot guarantee that schedule but would try their best to keep that schedule. He said he would now be having the operator log the times that they are actually there. He said he is also looking into an atomized masking agent spray for when the doors are opened on the dewatering building and would hopefully perform a trial on that before next months meeting. He said he has also starting investigating the existing scrubber at the primary building and will have more to report on that at next months meeting. Ms. Bardon said she has posted an odor complaint link on the home page of the city’s website and still has not received any odor complaints. She said there was a DEP inspection from the air management bureau on November 30, 2007, and they seemed satisfied and has not heard anything additional from them. Mr. Alvord said some of the things that have been mentioned are going to be more than just effectiveness and the decision to employ the sodium permanganate compound have some safety concerns and may be effective but they may choose not to use them due to the safety concerns. He also said if there is anything that will have a huge cost associated with it that it would be brought before the Board before it is implemented.
Mr. Frank said that he had launched an odor complaint in November 2004 and the problem at the time was caused by an open door at the dewatering building. Chairman Atkin said the problem is trying to be addressed and are clearly moving in a positive direction. Mr. Johnson said that he has lived in East Norwalk for over ten years and the complaints that he has made have not been followed through. Chairman Atkin said that this will continue to be on the agenda and will also be examined in the facility plan.

2. Contract Operations Status
No discussion.

b. OMI Report
1. Monthly Operating Report- October 2007 (copy included)
Mr. Dahl said there were a couple of performance guarantee issues in October as related to the incident described last month from September. He said there were four bypasses reported and that nitrogen fell into the expected operating range.

2. Collection System and Pump Station MRR Accounts (copy included)
Mr. McInerney asked what the GP stood for on the graphs. Mr. Dahl said it stands for the general permit.

9. SCHEDULE OF WPCA MEETINGS FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2008 (SCHEDULE INCLUDED)

No discussion.

10. ACTION ON ANY ITEM DISCUSSED HEREIN

Mr. McInerney said regarding item 5, it was decided at last months meeting that the adjustment would be go back to 2001. Ms. Bardon said that it would go back three years, which is all that they had been charged.

11. ADJOURNMENT

** MAYOR MOCCIA MOVED TO ADJOURN
**MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

The meeting adjourned at 6:30PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Dilene Byrd

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