Two options are under consideration: a joint land-application solution with Sussex County or ocean outfall, which the city would undertake independently along with Dewey Beach, North Shores and Henlopen Acres, which send their wastewater to Rehoboth’s treatment plant.

At the Friday, Sept. 18 commissioners meeting, Mayor Sam Cooper said, “I would hope to come out of this meeting tonight with a plan to arrive at a decision before the end of this year and a process to do that.”

Setting a course

John Schneider of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control said the Clean Water Advisory Council and the department favor land application and water reuse.

“Where the Clean Water Advisory wants to go is to reuse water in the state,” Schneider said.

Cooper said, “Are they willing to fund the difference? We’ve asked and asked and asked the council about the money and they say, ‘Bring us a project. Bring us a project.’ I would be happy to look at their scientific data that says spray irrigation is better than ocean outfall. I haven’t seen it.”

In addition, the Delaware chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, with members in the audience, also supports land-based application. The foundation has posted a letter to the commissioners on its website, surfrider.org/Delaware, in support of a land-based solution.

Commissioner Stan Mills said the city should wait until the county finalizes its report on a joint land-based solution to include supporting documentation.

He said the city should select an alternative before it refiles its notice of intent with the Clean Water Advisory Council, which has been pegged as a major source of funding for a Rehoboth project. The council has ranked Rehoboth as a top-priority project for funding.

In addition, Mills recommended hearing further educational outreach from a panel from the University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean and Environment.

Mills acknowledged the city needs to move independently and should have a final vote after a hearing.

“I do think we need to break away from the county, that we need to be independent and just do our thing at this point,” he said.

For the meeting’s structure, Cooper and Commissioner Dennis Barbour both endorsed a 15-minute presentation to clarify the city’s plan. Commissioner Willis Sargent suggested creating a document that lays out the city’s rationale and providing it to the public.

Sargent suggested providing all the data to the public would be overwhelming. A summary of the city’s rationale would be more helpful.

He said the city has enough data to make a decision with the information it has already.

Barbour said, “Ultimately, we have to fish or cut bait. At some point we have to do our jobs and stand up and say, ‘This is what we are going to do, now what do you think about that.’”

Commissioner Kathy McGuiness said because of the project’s cost, she favored giving the public a say.

“It’s so much money; this is such a big deal. This is huge. It can give a black eye to the city for not listening, and I also think if we don’t approach it properly and spin it properly, it can be detrimental for our county, whatever decision we go with,” she said.

County proposals

On Aug. 18, the county released a report assessing a joint land-application project. The county proposed five alternatives, four of which involved land-application disposal at either the Inland Bays wastewater facility or a private provider, and the city doing ocean outfall on its own.

The total costs for land application ranged from $114 million to $127 million. The most expensive option for the city would be to pump raw wastewater to the county’s Wolfe Neck facility with disposal at the Inland Bays water treatment plant – $68 million for Rehoboth, $59 million for the county.

The cheapest land-application option listed is pumping treated effluent to Wolfe Neck with disposal at a private provider – $32 million for the city, $82 million for the county.

Ocean outfall has an estimated total cost of $115 million, with the city paying $35 million and the county paying $79 million. Under this proposal the city would use ocean outfall, while the county would pump to the Inland Bays facility.