Citizens weigh in on Rehoboth outfall
Opponents of Rehoboth Beach's ocean outfall project continue to argue the outfall would have an adverse impact on wildlife and the public.
At an Oct. 19 public workshop, Rehoboth resident Laura Hanson-Reynolds asked, "How could the city of Rehoboth consider such a thing?" She said Florida banned ocean outfall in 2008, and she called Rehoboth's moving treated effluent from the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal to the ocean, "a wrong to correct a wrong."
John Schneider of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said Florida has coral reefs, which do not react well to nutrients, and the state has more drinking-water demand than southern Delaware. He said the effluent quality at the old Florida plants does not compare to the level of treatment at the Rehoboth plant.
The workshop offered an opportunity for the public to ask questions about the project before a formal public hearing in November. City officials aim to secure necessary permits by February and to put the project out for bid in summer 2017. Work on the project could begin in fall 2017.
The outfall project entails three projects in one: $10 million in upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant; a force main that will pump the treated effluent towards the ocean; and the outfall itself, which will take treated effluent 6,000 feet off Deauville Beach. The outfall will be a 24-inch diameter pipe terminating in a 100-foot long diffuser that will disperse the effluent into the ocean.
Brandon Gott, engineer with GHD, said construction on the pipe will close down the parking lot at Deauville Beach for six months, from Oct. 1, 2017, to April 2018. He said the force main will run along the north side of Henlopen Avenue – there is a water line on the south side – with 80 to 100 linear feet of construction planned per day. The outfall pipe route will run from the treatment plant along the canal using trench-style drilling, meaning a trench will be dug and the pipe will be laid. Gott said to get the pipe underneath Rehoboth Avenue to Grove Park, contractors will use a jack-and-bore drilling, in which a pit is dug on each side and the pipe is drilled in under the roadway.
Rip Copithorn, the GHD engineer who has worked on the project for close to 10 years, said land application was considered, but land was both too expensive and difficult to come by. Copithorn said GHD's modeling showed the dilution of the treated effluent will not affect swimmers on the beach or have an adverse impact on wildlife.
Kelvin George, project manager for GHD, said treatment plant improvements will be divided into two phases: upgrades to the plant's effluent filtration system will be fast-tracked as a result of a system failure in July, causing sludge to be discharged into the canal.
George said phase 2 of the improvements will improve the plant's reliability by upgrading outdated equipment and installing a backup generator to ensure the plant runs in the event of a power failure. George said phase 2 should be under construction in September 2017.
Speaking about a required subaqueous lands permit, Jim Chaconas of DNREC said there is no impact to state-regulated wetlands, but a subaqueous lands lease is required to install the pipe and the diffuser in the ocean, which requires dredging the ocean bottom. Chaconas said the lease will impose conditions on construction, such as time of year of construction to avoid harming flora and fauna in the area.
John Weber, president of the Delaware chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, said sampling of the ocean bottom was acquired illegally without a subaqueous lands permit. Chaconas said the city had authorization from the state to conduct sampling and that sampling is required for dredging permits.
The outfall project has its roots in 1998, when the state imposed limits on nitrogen and phosphorus reaching the Inland Bays. Rehoboth agreed to a court order to cease dumping effluent in the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal by 2014 – later extended to June 1, 2018. The city spent four years studying alternatives, including land application and ocean outfall, with ocean outfall being the final choice, in part because it is less expensive to build, meaning lower costs for users.
The city will pay for the $52.5 million project through a state Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund. Rehoboth had to submit an environmental impact statement as part of the funding, which was approved by DNREC Secretary David Small in 2014. In June 2015, Rehoboth voters narrowly approved – by a 637-603 margin - a referendum granting the city commissioners authority to borrow the money. The referendum was challenged in federal court, with the city finally prevailing, paving the way for the project to begin taking shape.
A public hearing on the permit applications will be held at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 15, at Rehoboth Elementary School, with a decision from Small expected in January. Speakers will have five minutes to speak and are encouraged to preregister. Public comments on the permits can be submitted to DNREC up to Friday, Dec. 2. For more information about submitting comments or preregistering to speak, visit http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Admin/Pages/Rehoboth-Wastewater-Projects-I... or email Rehoboth_Wastewater_Comments@state.de.us.
The city is submitting applications for five permits for the outfall:
A National Pollutant Discharge Permit for the wastewater treatment plant to operate
A subaqueous lands lease and water quality certification to drill in the ocean
A coastal construction permit to drill the pipe on Deauville Beach
A wastewater facilities construction permit to build a pump station at the plant as well as the force main and outfall pipe.
Project manager Kelvin George said the plant has not been upgraded in 20 years, with much of the equipment at the end of its useful life. The effluent filtration system upgrades will include improvements to the clarifiers, which filter solids out of the effluent, and new microscreens, which further filter out sediments. The clarifiers and the microscreens were the primary pieces of equipment that failed, resulting in the July sludge discharge.
