On Chris Coons, Development Options And Unloading Costly Waste

What is going on with HB 442 (Click HERE) - the controversial --GIVE ARTESIAN AND SO-CANAL LANDOWNERS WITH DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS WHAT EVER THEY WANT --EVEN THOUGH THE PSC AND THE COURTS AND THE COUNTY HAVE ALREADY DENIED THEM bill? Like whiny little babies, these vested interests are trying to force the rest of us to allow them the privilege of building residential sub-divisions while we suck up the costs of all the impending infrastructure....and add onto the already alarmingly HUGE STATE DEBT [Delaware State Legislators Must Get A Grip On The "Hidden Cost" Of The Development Industry ].

(WNJ) Aaron Nathans and Chad Livengood reported ~ Bill would drop NCCo's sewer control

The county now controls service in the unincorporated area south of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, but has built only the first phase of a southern sewer system. A group of landowners who want to build houses outside the county service area have been struggling to find a solution for years, and recently turned to [State] lawmakers and Artesian.

Artesian has proposed building a private sewer system that would initially serve 250 homes, and later expand -- if the law is changed to wrest away the county's sewer rights. Rep. Robert E. Walls, D-Milford, has introduced a bill that would allow a utility company to build a sewer system in that area if New Castle County doesn't have its own infrastructure in place five years after a landowner requests service.

I spoke with Rep. Bob Walls, yesterday who said he and co-sponsor, Senator Bunting, were coming from their respective Agriculture Committee Chair perches: they didn't want to see more septic tanks servicing Delaware sub-divisions, a view Artesian shares (snark alert) ~

If the county doesn't provide service, developers could have to rely on septic systems, which pollutes the groundwater Artesian needs to provide drinking water, [Artesian vice president and general counsel, Jack] Schreppler said. County Attorney Gregg Wilson said the county recently made an offer to provide service to the two landowners seeking service -- Gary Warren [NCC Farm Bureau VP] and the Lester family, including Public Service Commissioner Jaymes Lester-- but no decisions have been made. Neither could be reached for comment. The land in question is north of Augustine Creek and east of U.S. 13, Schreppler said.

...County officials say their experience with a failed system at Lea Eara Farms has made them more cautious about private sewer systems. County ratepayers are now on the hook for nearly $1.5 million in costs associated with fixing and maintaining the abandoned wastewater treatment plant built by its developer.

Rep. Walls had a hard time paying attention to my telling him about the alarming infrastructure-related debt that sprawling residential development has incurred. (Senator Ennis, on the other hand, is perfectly attuned to the problem and is poised to do something about it, or so he implied when a I spoke with him last week).
Sadly, the WNJ neglected to add that none of the bill's sponsors LIVE IN New Castle County besides Quinton Johnson. I left one message on his home phone so far-- but I suspect his reason for sponsoring HB 442 will be aligned with his senior reps on the AG Committees. News Journal article comment ~

toomuchtraffic wrote: So why would a Milford representative sponsor a developer related bill for New castle county area? Oh, that's the Delaware way, the same path when two Brandywine area councilmen move to rezone a huge chunk of southern New castle County last October, allowing up to 27 units per acre. It's whatever the developers want, and like Greg Wilson stated on the Lea Era article, the taxpayers foot the bill.

Now whose pocket got lined on this deal again? And what is the short sighted business model that relies on building "just houses" , everywhere? And who pays for the roads and schools again? The infrastucture issue is such that the voting public is starting to understand so the local politicians avoid "just houses' and outsiders come to the develoipers' rescue. Thank you Rep. Walls! Let's see how many members of the legislature sell out again!!

The partnering WNJ story [NCCo ratepayers to pay for wastewater pumping] was culled from a New Castle County Committee meeting and resulting, as fate would have it, with Chris Coons now publicly owning this highly embarrassing and expensive admission of ineptititude ~

New Castle County ratepayers are facing another $945,000 bill to pump treated wastewater from Lea Eara Farms' lagoon this winter and truck the effluent to Middletown.That's on top of $545,328 the county already has spent fixing a leaking lagoon and poorly maintained spray irrigation system since taking over the facility in September 2008 when developer Bass Properties Inc. abandoned the operation. The latest bill brings the total cost to about $1.5 million.

Freezing temperatures during the January and February snowstorms prevented the county from spraying treated wastewater on a field near the 238-home development, said Regis Yurcich, facilities chief for New Castle County. He said the county had to pump 1.9 million gallons of treated water into trucks to keep the lagoon from spilling over into nearby yards, which are within 50 feet of it.

County officials also appear to have had a misunderstanding with the state over whether the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control would fine them for spraying on frozen ground during the harsh winter -- instead of spending nearly $1 million to dispose of the wastewater. Middletown, which processes sewage for some southern New Castle County users, billed the county for treating the wastewater, which Yurcich said totaled $860,000. A private hauler made three trips -- at a total cost of $85,000 -- transporting the wastewater 3.3 miles to a pump station run by Middletown, Yurcich said.

Appearing before a County Council committee Tuesday, Yurcich acknowledged the $945,000 cost may have been avoided if the trucker had driven another eight miles to a county-run pump station, Yurcich said. But at the time, county officials were trying to prevent the lagoon from overflowing and didn't consult the Middletown contract before dumping the water, Yurcich said." We didn't know [about] the capacity charge," Yurcich told the council's special services committee. "

We did not notify Middletown because the flow rate is so low?????? And then this????

The costly spike in usage in Middletown's sewer system comes with one positive -- it reserves future capacity for the county to add more homes to the system, said Angie Basiouny, spokeswoman for County Executive Chris Coons. The county had to pump the water from the lagoon because officials believed DNREC inspectors would have fined the county for spraying on the snow- or ice-covered field, said Dorey Cole, attorney for the county's Special Services Department. "You can't spray on frozen ground," Cole said.

Excuse me, they didn't have to EMPTY THE LAGOON did they? Why is Basicoonsie so excited about 'discovering extra capacity in Middletown'? They didn't know this? Didn't the Middletown Mayer level with the county about the capacity of their facility? (BTW, Middletown's Mayor works for Artesian if anyone hadn't heard that little tidbit...) How much waste can 238 homes unload in a month anyway? And why the heck is DNREC allowing spray irrigation facilities at all if it is ineffective in freezing weather?

But a DNREC official said the agency notified the county that it would not fine the county because harsh winter conditions prevented regular spraying. Both DNREC and New Castle County officials turned over to The News Journal the same Jan. 6 e-mail between the two parties, which each side interprets differently. DNREC meant the e-mail to convey that the county could spray on frozen ground without fine if it gave advance notice of noncompliance. "The gist of it was, work with us through this difficult winter," said Ronald Graeber, program manager at DNREC's Division of Water Resources.

Come on WNJ, give your public the email!!!! Where's the pdf link? I want to see it!

But the county interpreted a sentence that stated "a formal Notice of Violation will be issued" to mean the county would still get fined for spraying, Yurcich said. When temperatures warmed in March and the snow melted, the county resumed regular spraying of the lagoon water on the 13.5-acre field at Lea Eara Farms, Yurcich said.

The story gets much, much worse at this point ~

The Delaware Public Service Commission has fined Bass Properties for the county's cost of repairing the facility and plugging a hole in the lagoon thatwas causing groundwater contamination. The county voluntarily assumed responsibility of the Lea Eara Farms facility under protest "because we needed to protect the residents in that area," Cole said. County Council members met in closed executive session Tuesday afternoon to discuss legal options. An attorney for Bass Properties has said the PSC fine would send the development company run by Joseph L. Capano Sr. into bankruptcy.

BOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO...what happened to clean hands and accountability, Chris, Paul and the rest of y'all?

New Castle County Attorney Gregg Wilson said the county is willing to take over the facility permanently if Bass Properties would turn over both the wastewater treatment facility and the underlying land. So far, Bass has said it would sign over the title to the facility but balked at deeding the county the underlying land, Wilson said. "Bass is seeking to have their cake and eat it to," Wilson said. "And we objected to that."

How about the rest of the county objected to paying this 1.5 million bill, folks? Lots of great comments HERE.



Submitted by Nancy Willing and Cross-Posted at Delaware Way