Clinton CT WPCC recent relevant articles

The following press articles are intended to offer insights into the substantial progress of the WPCC (in meeting the requirements of the pre-2006 Board of Selectmen, the DEP, Attorney General, EPA, Health officials and Local industries: Unilever and Stanley Bostitch) until 2006 when the new Board of Selectmen seized control of the WPCC plan. Instead of focusing their attention on the primary issue of developing a wastewater solution, they chose to attack individual volunteers serving the people of Clinton on the WPCC.

FRITZ SEEKS TO EXPLORE SEWER OPTIONS
INVITES DEP CHIEF TO DISCUSS USE OF SMALLER SYSTEMS
[1S NEW HAVEN COUNTY/SHORELINE Edition]



Hartford Courant - Hartford, Conn.
Author: DAVID FUNKHOUSER
Date: Jan 17, 2006
Start Page: B.3
Section: CONNECTICUT
Text Word Count: 515



Abstract (Document Summary)



[William "Willie" Fritz] wants [Clinton] to conduct a detailed survey of septic systems and recommend repairs and upgrades where possible using newer technology. That would shift the burden of the problem onto individual homeowners. But Fritz said the town might offer low interest loans to help property owners out. "We'll do what we can," he said.

"I've already told the Water Pollution Control Commission that I would not support taking the property by eminent domain to put a sewer plant up there," Fritz said. He said state engineers have expressed doubt the land is right for the plant.

The smaller systems cited by Fritz rely on new technology that allows wastewater to be treated on site and pumped back into the environment. Such an on-site system is being proposed for the controversial Madison Landing housing project at the Griswold Airport property. That project is currently under review by the DEP.


Unilever May Get $500,000 State Grant

March 29, 2006
By DAVID FUNKHOUSER, Courant Staff Writer CLINTON -- In a landmark compromise, the state may chip in $500,000 to help Unilever Corp. build an on-site wastewater treatment facility, a move that could help Clinton avoid having to build a large-scale sewer plant and save the town millions of dollars.

If approved, the state grant will help Unilever install a system to treat and reuse the 15,000 gallons of wastewater the company produces each day at its manufacturing plant on John Street.

"This is huge for the town," said First Selectman William Fritz, who helped push the deal with the state and Unilever forward. He said if the town had to handle Unilever's wastewater, Clinton would have to build a full-scale treatment plant - and find a place to put it.

For years, the state Department of Environmental Protection has been pressuring Clinton and other shoreline towns that rely on septic systems to better manage their sewage problems as part of a broader effort to clean up the state's waterways and Long Island Sound.

Clinton had been eyeing a large parcel of land as a possible site for a plant. But negotiations with two local families to buy it had stalled, and the town went to court to try to force the families to let engineers test the property for suitability.

Fritz said the new deal "is going to save the town millions of dollars."

Taking Unilever out of the equation would effectively relieve Clinton of the need to install a large treatment plant and sewer pipes. The town instead could help encourage the use of similar "pocket" treatment plants and advanced septic systems around town, Fritz said.

The grant is on the agenda for Friday's meeting of the s State Bond Commission and is expected to be approved, according to state Sen. Eileen Dailey, D-Westbrook, who chairs the legislature's finance, revenue and bonding committee.

Unilever would cover the rest of the estimated $1 million cost of the treatment plant, Dailey said in a statement.

Jim Pease, environmental manager for Unilever, declined to discuss details of the project until the funding wins approval, but said, "It's what everybody wants to do. We all want to do the right thing here."

The company currently discharges its treated wastewater into nearby Hayden Creek. State officials wanted the company and the town to run a pipe to the Hammonasset River, whose greater flow could better dilute the discharge.

Environmental groups, in particular Citizens for a Clean Hammonasset River, object to that plan. The group has been working to clean up the river and worries that any additional discharge would add to the problem.

"My goal is to save that river," said Herb Gram of the clean river group. If the Unilever treatment plant project goes through, he said his group would support it. "That is the solution we have been asking [for] from the day we got involved in this mess," he said.

However, Gram thinks Unilever should pick up the tab. He noted that the company, which produces foods, soaps and other personal and home care products, had a net profit last year of about $4 billion.

"If anything, as a good neighbor to this community [they] should be walking over and handing [Fritz] a half a million dollars," Gram said.

State Rep. Brian O'Connor, D-Westbrook, praised the company for its commitment to the town, and said, "This funding will go a long way toward maintaining manufacturing jobs in Clinton and will allow the town to move forward on its decentralized wastewater initiative."

unilever

Unilever to treat, recycle its wastewater
Published: Wednesday, March 29, 2006

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By Stan Fisher

The plan, which appears to solve major ongoing
environmental and financial issues for the company and
the town, was greeted with relieved jubilation by town
officials.

"It’s huge," First Selectman William Fritz said Tuesday.
"It may be unprecedented."

State Sen. Eileen Daily and state Rep. Brian O’Connor,
both Westbrook Democrats, announced the agreement in
which the state and Unilever will share the $1 million
initial cost of constructing the facility.

The $500,000 state grant, which will be submitted Friday
to the state Bonding Commission, will help Unilever
acquire technology that will treat wastewater from
manufacturing and return it for reuse.

The facility will eliminate the looming pressure on
Unilever to comply with state demands that it find an
alternative for its discharges to Hayden’s Creek.

Unilever plant manager Larry Gibson said the continued
existence of the 116-year-old plant was in jeopardy
should the company be unable to find a solution
acceptable to the state Department of Environmental
Protection and Unilever, the town’s second-largest
taxpayer.

Until now, the only alternative discharge point that was
acceptable to the DEP was the Hammonasset River, and
planning began last year to construct a pipeline to the
river.

But that has been opposed adamantly by the Water
Pollution Control Commission and by environmentalists in
Clinton and Madison. The WPCC urged the DEP, without
success, to extend Unilever’s wastewater-discharge
permit until the plant could be connected to the town’s
forthcoming treatment facility.

"I’m thrilled at the news," WPCC Chairman James Staunton
said. "In my mind, that’s the best thing that possibly
could have happened. … It’s a case where corporate
responsibility really came to the forefront. (Unilever)
showed they are as much stewards of the environment as
we are."

The $500,000 state grant will be followed, Gibson hopes,
by state financing of as much as $1 million of the $2
million to $3 million expense of building the treatment
facility.

In a statement, Dailey said, "This project represents
the best results of a collaborative effort involving the
public and private sectors, because the needs of each
have been met, and the financial burden of meeting those
needs will be shared as well."

O’Connor said the state funds will help maintain
"manufacturing jobs in Clinton and will allow the town
to move forward on its decentralized wastewater
initiative."

Fritz said the plan to recycle Unilever’s wastewater
means "there is no discharge to Hayden’s Creek, no
threat to the Hammonasset, and the town doesn’t have to
worry about Unilever’s discharge."

The company’s facility "saves millions of dollars" for
the town in building its own wastewater treatment plant,
he said.
Panel wants land for water treatment
Stan Fisher, Register Correspondent
10/18/2007
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CLINTON — In a growing rift with selectmen, the Water Pollution Control Commission has voted unanimously to order the purchase of three properties for wastewater treatment.


Monday’s vote was taken under state statutes that purportedly give wastewater commissions the authority to direct such municipal investments. First Selectman William Fritz said the town attorney has said the vote is not legally binding.

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The three properties — comprising 195 acres owned by the Sciongay and Schrempp families — previously had been identified as a potential site for the treatment of wastewater in a "community" ground discharge treatment plan for the Long Hill Road area.

But the town’s ability to test the properties for their suitability was being vigorously contested in court when newly elected First Selectman William Fritz removed them from consideration in January 2006.

Although a walking tour of the property by town engineers, representatives from the state Department of Environmental protection and the WPCC concluded that the acreage was promising, Fritz said the DEP had informed him that it was not suitable for wastewater treatment.

Fritz said Tuesday that DEP official Dennis Greci "told me that they didn’t have enough information to decide whether it was viable" for wastewater treatment. Greci also pointed out that the property was in an environmentally sensitive area and its use for wastewater treatment would be the subject of legal battles for years, Fritz said.

Fritz said Greci has declined to write a letter testifying to his position.

Greci Tuesday clarified the potential use for the Sciongay/Schrempp properties was for the disposal of effluent to the ground — a large-scale septic leaching field — rather than as a site for a wastewater treatment plant.

He said he had told Fritz that the DEP did not have the data to determine whether the property was suitable for effluent disposal. Greci acknowledged that the comment could have been misunderstood.

WPCC Chairman James Staunton, in describing three decades of studies of Clinton’s wastewater treatment issues, said each study concluded that the Long Hill Road area was "of foremost concern."

In 1985, with the permission of the property owners, the engineering firm Fuss and O’Neill tested the Sciongay/Schrempp properties, using borings and monitoring wells, WPCC member Ronald Nash said.

Those tests determined that the site, very near the Long Hill Road homes, was feasible, Nash said. Greci said the DEP did not have the data, but "we could take a look at it."

WPCC members noted that selectmen have initiated talks with the Sciongay family for the purchase of the property as open space.

Fritz said of the vote, "I’m not reacting to it at this point."
Septics Are Campaign Issue
Brockett, Fritz Face Off On Property Acquisition
By DAVID FUNKHOUSER Courant Staff Writer
October 19, 2007
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Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Newsvine Reddit Yahoo Print Single page view Reprints Reader feedback Text size: CLINTON - The decades-long debate over what to do with failing septic systems has erupted into a three-way battle between First Selectman William "Willie" Fritz Jr.; his rival in the November election, Timothy Brockett; and the town's water pollution control commission.

Brockett, a 37-year-old Republican running for the town's top job, has accused Fritz of sabotaging the effort to obtain property on the west side of town as a site for some type of sewage treatment system.

"This first selectman has done everything to procrastinate on this issue, has offered no real solutions and now blamed the WPCC for inaction at a recent selectmen's meeting," Brockett said in a prepared statement. "Mr. Fritz is playing `pass the buck.'"

Fritz fired back at both his opponent and the commission: "It's purely political. Going after that property isn't going to help the residents up there. It's going to be tied up in court for 10 to 15 years."

Fritz, a Democrat finishing his first term in the front office, said it's the commission that has been dragging its feet.

The land in question is some 200 acres off Fish Plain Road owned by the Sciongay and Schrempp families. The property was identified in a 1985 study as a feasible location for a sewage treatment facility. Possibly hundreds of homes in the adjacent Long Hill Road area may need help with their septic systems, one of three problem areas in town.

WPCC Chairman James Staunton lashed back at Fritz this week and has asked the state attorney general to step in.

"It's pretty discouraging that the leaders are undermining your own efforts to solve the biggest wastewater problem the town is facing right now," Staunton said.

"For Willie Fritz and the board of selectmen to say we can't use [the property] because we want it for open space and leave no options for Long Hill Road's problems, that's not fair to the people on Long Hill," Staunton said.

The commission went to court a couple of years ago to force the two families to allow engineers to test the land to determine if it could serve as a leaching field for a sewage treatment system. The families have opposed the plan, arguing it would threaten the Menunketesuck River, Chapman Mill Pond and conservation land in neighboring Westbrook.

Fritz agreed. "The negative impact far outweighs the positive," he said.

Fritz halted the effort to test the land after he took office two years ago. Selectmen have since brought in the nonprofit Trust for Public Land to negotiate buying the land for conservation. The land has reportedly been appraised at $2.4 million.

Fritz argues that the town should be looking for smaller-scale solutions. He said he generally opposes sewers. That position puts him at odds with the Clinton Council of Associations, which has rallied hundreds of homeowners to fight a proposed new septic ordinance.

Fritz and other town officials say the ordinance is intended to ensure people properly maintain their systems and will be used to help people bring failing systems up to code. But homeowners are worried the rules could leave them stuck with tens of thousands of dollars in bills for new septic systems.

Richard Dondero, president of the Council of Associations, predicted "the next step is going to be much more restrictive. The bottom line is we're still probably going to have to put sewers in."

In addition to Long Hill, the town is trying to decide what to do about problems downtown and along the eastern shoreline.

The state has been after Clinton for decades to solve the problems. In 1997, the state Department of Environmental Protection ordered Clinton to fix them.


Fritz said the town should find out how many septic systems are failing before committing to any treatment systems. In many cases, he said, on-site improvements or smaller, neighborhood systems will be more appropriate.

Brockett contends the town needs the Sciongay/Schrempp properties and said the town should take them by eminent domain. The land could be used for much-needed senior housing, too, he said.

"Lots of money has been spent to narrow it down to those properties," he said. "Why would we want to waste more money looking for other properties until we can at least verify or exclude [them]?"

Fritz has said that the DEP dismissed the Sciongay/Schrempp properties as unusable for wastewater treatment. Staunton and the DEP dispute that.

"We do not have the data in hand to know whether the property is suitable for effluent disposal," the DEP's Dennis Greci said Thursday. But, he noted, the 1985 study could answer that question without having to go back and test the land. If the land were used to disperse wastewater from a treatment plant, there would be less of an environmental impact than with a traditional leaching field.

Fritz said a part of the property near I-95 could still be used for leaching fields. But he said negotiating to buy the land for conservation could put it in the town's hands much faster than going to court.

On Thursday morning, Staunton e-mailed Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asking for help. He charged that Fritz and the other selectmen have stymied the WPCC's efforts to acquire the Sciongay/Schrempp properties and solve what he called "a serious public health threat" from the failing septic systems.

Blumenthal said Thursday the e-mail raised significant issues and that he planned to review it.

"We're not going to be able to work together with this current WPCC," Fritz said. Selectmen appoint the commission's seven members to three-year terms. Asked what he could do about members whose terms have not yet expired, Fritz replied: "You never know what can happen."

The WPCC will hold a public meeting on the issue at 7 p.m. on Oct. 30 in the Green Room at Town Hall.

Contact David K. Funkhouser at dfunkhouser@courant.com.
Friday, December 14, 2007

Posted on Fri, Dec 14, 2007
Fritz apologizes to water control board
By Stan Fisher, Register Correspondent
CLINTON — Confronted by the four remaining members of
the Water Pollution Control Commission in what was to
have been their termination proceeding, First Selectman
William Fritz instead terminated the process and
apologized.

His apology did not necessarily quell the anger
expressed by Chairman James Staunton over the charges
that Fritz had brought against them, calling his claims
“baseless lies” and demanding the opportunity to address
them.

The hearing Wednesday night was to have been the
capstone of two months of squabbling between Fritz and
Selectman David Townsend on one side and the WPCC on the
other about the town’s mandated wastewater treatment
plan.

Fritz and Townsend complained that the WPCC was not
making enough progress in bringing the plan to fruition,
while the WPCC said it had a plan that Fritz essentially
had sabotaged by quashing the possible acquisition of
the land needed to make the plan work.

Bringing the dispute to a head, Fritz charged the WPCC
members with the failure to fulfill their chartered
responsibilities, citing about 10 deficiencies in their
job performance to justify their removal from their
appointments.

But the hearing never got off the ground Wednesday,
after Fritz failed on procedural grounds to hold what he
intended to be an executive session that would allow a
personal discussion with the WPCC.

In a selectmen’s meeting room overflowing with
Republican supporters of commission member Ronald Nash
and others, Fritz said he was “willing to stop this
process, to sit down with the WPCC and talk about what
direction this is going in.”

But the WPCC members objected, saying they wanted to
talk about the charges. “This is not your hearing, this
is my hearing,” Nash snarled. “You have put us through
all of this crap.”

Eventually, selectmen voted to withdraw the charges, and
Fritz offered his apology to the WPCC: “I will issue a
public apology. There’s been a lack of communication on
my part (with the WPCC), on the (Board of Selectmen’s)
part. I appreciate — especially you, James — your effort
and your dedication.”

“My mouth sometimes get me in trouble. ... I apologize
to the members. I’d like to go forward,” he said.

The core issue for Fritz and the WPCC was the town’s
interest in the Sciongay/Schrempp property to use as a
leaching field for a community wastewater treatment
system for the Long Hill Road neighborhood.

Fritz canceled the town’s legal effort to test the
property, but began efforts to acquire it as open space
— a move Staunton described as “absolutely insane” in
light of the town’s state-mandated obligation to solve
its wastewater problems.

As tempers cooled, the two groups appeared to reach an
agreement to work together in a series of meetings, with
Fritz promising to meet on a weekly basis with Staunton
if he wanted.

Staunton, while not shed of what he clearly saw as a
personal and professional insult, said, “We have to move
forward. We have a problem to solve.”

Clinton taking fresh look at wastewater
Published: Monday, July 14, 2008

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By Stan Fisher, Register Correspondent


CLINTON — With development of the town’s decentralized wastewater treatment plan at a standstill for lack of a disposal site, selectmen and town engineers are now looking to evaluate the suitability of every property larger than 5 acres.

“The idea that there are only two solutions is out the window,” said First Selectman William Fritz in describing the new initiative.

The comment was a reference to the insistence of former Water Pollution Control Commission Chairman James Staunton that the only places in Clinton that could accept volumes of treated wastewater are the large tracts of undeveloped land owned by the Sciongay and Schrempp families, or the Hammonasset River.

Instead, the idea is to determine if a number of small treatment plants and small disposal sites could be utilized for wastewater treatment, rather than one large plant.

Enabled by recent state legislation, the town is pursuing a plan to address its wastewater problems by stringent on-site treatment everywhere conventional or computer-aided septic systems can function, and with a “neighborhood” wastewater treatment plant for those areas that cannot sustain septic systems.

The concept now being explored is somewhat of a further decentralization of treatment as envisioned in the use of the Sciongay/Schrempp acreage, and is driven by the lack of large tracts of suitable land and the opposition of the Sciongays and Schrempps to the use of their property.

In a June meeting called by state Department of Environmental Protection official Dennis Greci, town engineers were asked to determine whether land disposal sites, either singly or in combination, could be used to satisfy the town’s wastewater needs.

Greci also noted that the DEP, town, and federal officials do not favor discharge to the river, preferring a land-based solution.

Fritz said work will begin immediately to evaluate properties “never looked at or considered” as disposal sites, either for their small size or for social issues.

Leading the list will be town-owned properties, including school athletic fields where large volumes of wastewater treated in a small plant, perhaps in a different location, could be dispersed beneath the surface.

Such use of the property would have no more adverse consequences than those posed by a conventional septic system at a residence, he noted.

And the treatment plant — or plants — could be located on small properties other than those used for subsurface disposal, he noted.

“If there’s any potential at all (in town properties), it’s a huge savings to the town,” he said.

Regional health Director Mary Jane Engle called for a re-evluation of more than 60 properties identified in previous studies using newly developed criteria.
Water panel chooses new leader
Published: Thursday, July 31, 2008

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By Stan Fisher

CLINTON - Lynn Pinder, a local lawyer who selectmen appointed to the embattled Water Pollution Control Commission in January, has been named the commission's chairwoman.





She succeeds ousted chairman James Staunton.





In a special, but tension-filled meeting last week to elect new officers, during which the five commission members present managed to elect the chairwoman, they did not choose a vice chairman or secretary, and those positions will be taken up at the next regular session.





Ronald Nash, a long-serving WPCC member and its vice chairman, was nominated for chairman by fellow Republican and commission veteran William Walter, but the nomination failed to receive a second from Pinder or the group's two other recent appointees.





When Nash asked if anyone else was interested in the job, Pinder volunteered, and was nominated by commissioner Christian Giuliano, named to the WPCC in May.





As chairwoman, Pinder asked for nominations for vice chairman, and Nash was nominated by Giuliano and seconded by Darby Hittle, who joined the commission in July.





But Nash declined the nomination, as did Walter, after Nash proposed his candidacy. The pair remained silent throughout Pinder's attempts to solicit further nominations for vice chairman and secretary, and she finally asked that the matter be tabled.





Fritz and Pinder both said they had not conspired to deny Nash the needed second for his nomination.





Staunton and Nash were seen as the commission's leading figures in a contentious disagreement with selectmen over the past two years about the manner in which the town will proceed to the mandated resolution of its wastewater treatment problems.





At one point, selectmen were prepared to remove the entire commission - and the commission members prepared to vigorously defend their continued service - but First Selectman William Fritz recanted, saying he had overreacted.





But after Staunton continued to accuse Fritz and selectmen of a conspiracy that would force the town into big sewers or the use of the Hammonasset River for wastewater disposal - both of which the town is trying to avoid - selectmen did not reappoint Staunton when his term expired this month.





Pinder, who manages her law practice, a family, and a long list of civic and school affiliations, including Youth and Family Services, said she hoped the two boards could be brought together to work in harmony on what is arguably the town's most important task.





"I hope from now on we can work together with the Board of Selectmen, and I thought it was something I could help do," she said in explaining her willingness to serve as chairwoman. "We need to reach a solution to the problem."





To that end, Pinder said she sees as the WPCC's most important and immediate job, the examination of town-owned properties and other parcels that apparently were set aside in previous studies as potential wastewater disposal sites.
Clinton OKs $265G to identify wastewater treatment sites
Published: Friday, June 12, 2009

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By Stan Fisher, Register Correspondent

CLINTON — A packed town meeting Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a $265,000 appropriation that will start the town on a major step toward complying with state mandates to remedy its wastewater treatment problems.

The approval will fund an evaluation by town engineers Camp, Dresser, and McKee of all properties in Clinton of 5 acres or more that potentially could serve as ground discharge sites for treated wastewater from a neighborhood treatment plant.

The vote was regarded as a critical and positive moment in a process that for 30 years has fitfully stumbled toward a resolution, and its importance was underlined by the presence of Dennis Griese, the veteran official from the state Department of Environmental Protection who has prodded the community toward its mandated goal.

By a show of hands, the expenditure was approved in a count of 80 to 19, with those in favor — many of them from Clinton’s beach communities — besting the opposition raised by a small group of school parents who have been campaigning against the inclusion of the town’s school properties as possible test sites.

First Selectman William Fritz said of the result, “I thought it went well. I think the residents understand we have to move forward.”

Unable to acquire a large plot for a large-scale plant and leaching field, the Water Pollution Control Commission turned the envisioned treatment facility into smaller portions, hoping to use one or more smaller properties for ground discharge from a plant that may be located elsewhere.

Because the town owns the school properties, because they are well situated to areas of town that will need treatment, and because their soil types may have potential, they offer an important economy in the cost of the overall system and cannot be ignored, town officials say.

But parent Kathleen Skoczen and others in her group insist that the dispersal of treated wastewater beneath school grounds presents an intolerable threat to children and will not be allowed.

CDM engineer Tim DuPuis explained that the firm first would do a “desktop” analysis to identify all properties in town of 5 acres or more, with and without structures. From those, sites with suitable soils and meeting other criteria would be selected, and the most promising of that group tested with soil borings that would indicate how much effluent the land could process.

Engineers are anticipating that 250,000 gallons of treated wastewater would have to be discharged to one or more ground sites every day.

Dick Dondero, president of the council representing all of Clinton’s beach associations, said the group supported the expenditure. Residents near the beaches and areas of town identified as unable to meet state codes for wastewater treatment have demanded the construction of sewers, even as others in town have opposed them.

But Dondero asked that engineers “put emphasis on sites other than the schools.”

Addressing Griese, Skoczen demanded to know whether “the state mandates the use of school properties.”

He replied, “Your mandate is to find suitable locations to discharge wastewater.”

He also pointed out, should the measure fail approval, that “The town is under a consent order they no longer are in compliance with. If this falls apart, I go back to (state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal) and take the town to court.”

____________________________--

Revised Clinton wastewater plan OK’d
Published: Tuesday, June 2, 2009

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By Stan Fisher, Register Correspondent

CLINTON — Town and state officials have approved a seventh revision of a plan for wastewater treatment, and a $265,000 investment for the studies necessary to get it under way.

The plan is the latest change to the town’s contract with engineering firm Camp, Dresser, and McKee to create a wastewater treatment system that will satisfy state mandates.

Drafted by the Water Pollution Control Commission and CDM, the document has been approved by the WPCC, the state Department of Environmental Protection and selectmen.

It calls for a two-phase evaluation of how to implement a decentralized wastewater management program.

The program would serve certain neighborhoods with small treatment plants discharging treated wastewater to the ground and others through an enhancement of conventional septic systems.

It deviates significantly from previous plans — and eliminates what had been a major roadblock to implementation — in that it hopes to use several parcels for the ground discharge of treated wastewater, rather than one large parcel.

Engineers plan to evaluate town-owned properties — three school properties already have had preliminary testing — and all properties of five acres or more, including those with structures, said WPCC Chairwoman Lynn Pinder.

“The first phase is to do a preliminary desktop review of available properties,” she said. “After prioritizing them, the second phase would involve testing.”

A town meeting is scheduled for June 10 at 8 p.m. in Town Hall to approve the $265,000 expenditure. The town would be eligible for state reimbursement of 55 percent of that amount — to pay for the “first phase analysis of sites and, not knowing how many sites may be viable, enough money to complete testing of five properties,” Pinder said.

The plan also calls for further evaluation of the school properties — strongly opposed by a group of school parents — because preliminary tests have shown they are viable and because they could provide the necessary discharge location at no cost to the town.

“We chose to test the town sites first, but we always had the intention of looking at all properties five acres or more and we’re now including properties with structures just to make sure we’re thorough,” Pinder said.

First Selectman William Fritz saw the approval of amendment seven as important for the town.

“We’re committed 100 percent not to discharge into any body of water, but to subsurface disposal, and to use multiple disposal sites. Now that we’re at the point where we all agree we can move forward,” he said.

Clinton WPCC History (before 2008)

The following Chronology was prepared for a Water pollution Control Commission (WPCC) public informational meeting in 2007, but remains a good historical reference.

Clinton WPCC Special Meeting, Public Informational Meeting, 10/30/07

The following Chronology captures the key facts/events/documents that helped to formulate the current WPCC Plan to minimize sewers, wastewater collection and the subsequent expenses required to construct, operate and maintain these facilities. A land based wastewater disposal site (ie the Schrempp & Sciongay properties) remains the keystone to this plan and the most cost effective way to ensure that genuine problem areas can be remedied with an offsite solution, where required.

60’s Clinton wastewater problems began (per reference in 7/28/86 letter)
65-66 Clinton establishes Planning & Zoning regulations (per 7/28/86 letter)
60’s to 70’s Clinton loses court decisions to limit Long Hill area density (per 7/28/86 letter)
4/72 Maquire & Associates, Inc. recommends development of multi-town large scale wastewater treatment plant
1/73 Flaherty & Giavara & Associates study identified the Long Hill area as “in immediate need of sewage collection and treatment”
75-76 Malcolm Pirnie hired by DEP to study regional wastewater treatment, but residents and officials believed problems could be solved with community systems
10/82 Malcolm Pirnie reports describe Long Hill area as “having severe disposal problems requiring an immediate structural solution”
84-86 Fuss & O’Neill reports identified 2 areas (within the current Sciongay/Schrempp properties) and included borings, baseline groundwater quality analyses, hydrogeologic investigations concluding that either conventional subsurface disposal or rapid infiltration would be “capable of solving the identified problems in the Long Hill area”
7/28/86 Letter from Mr. Lustig, Dir. of Health to Mr. Huggins, WPCC Chairman, whereby WPCC and Economic Development Commission select the subsurface groundwater discharge option at the current Sciongay/Schrempp properties
6/90 DEP Tri-town plan to have regional plant in Old Saybrook
7/22/97 McCusker signs DEP consent order, which remains pending until Clinton implements a solution. Fines of up to $25,000/day can be recommended by DEP and ordered by the CT Attorney General
5/8/02 WPCC Minutes, CDM, Clinton Consulting Engineers, reports on 63 potential discharge sites, reduced to 12 whereby the Elliot School ball fields were again rejected
3/19/03 DEP issues conceptual approval of CDM & WPCC de-centralized Plan
8/3/03 Long Hill Rd area study of 351 homes completed by CDM
11/7/03 Letter from Mr. Staunton to DEP Commissioner Rocque requesting that Unilever implement an onsite solution for their wastewater deficiencies rather than introduce a new discharge to the Hammonasset River as supported by DEP officials
2/10/04 WPCC Minutes motion to acquire Schempp/Sciongay properties after months of discussion
4/23/04 After BOS vote, McCusker issues letter supporting WPCC efforts to acquire the properties and requests that Attorney Bennett pursue access to the properties for testing
Also, Soil-Air vendor reports unsuccessful attempts to remedy excessive groundwater and poor soil conditions at Jefferson Circle property
4/14/04 Isaccson moved to authorize First Selectman to proceed with counsel and to instruct counsel to take necessary action for the town to enter Sciongay property for testing and possible acquisition by eminent domain.
4/23/04 Nash addressed the Selectman's meeting that land acquitsition was the most important item now. McCusker is presently moving forward on this issue with Town Attorney. It was noted that if this plan proceeds and is successful, the property in question would be Open Space with no indication that there was a wastewater treatment in use.
7/12/05 Attorney Bennett advises Mr. Staunton, WPCC, that Wallingford v Werbiski case will be a substantial help as it provides that Towns can enter property before a taking to do responsible planning.
9/6/05 Mr. Dupuis, CDM advises WPCC of discussion with Mr. Greci, DEP, who thought the site had some promise, following his participation in the site visits
9/13/05 CDM Memorandum documents successful non-invasive site visits (Sciongay/Schrempp) with DEP as encouraging and recommend invasive tests as next step.
9/22/05 Attorney Bennett advises Mr. Staunton, WPCC, that Ms. Scully, CT Attorney General’s office, suggests eminent domain rather than access and testing to expedite the schedule and avoid AG action against Town. Ms Scully further stated that the Sciongay property could not be removed from consideration.
11/22/05 Fritz took office
12/7/05 Fritz advised that Dennis Greci of the DEP had called him to review the WPCC & sewers. The new DEP commissioner is in favor of decentralized sewers, and it is possible that this could be done in Clinton. It is also possible that the "grey water" could be used as it is at Foxwood Casino.
12/14/05 Isaacson resigned as liaison to WPCC; Townsend accepted appointment.
There is no notation of any discussion or motion by the BOS re Sciongay property & WPCC.
There are also no executive sessions prior to the month of January that the WPCC fact sheet designates as time of Willie's announcement that the Sciongay property is off limits to the WPCC.
1/17/06 Via press release in Courant Mr. Fritz announces that he was removing Sciongay/Schrempp properties from consideration for the WPCC Plan without consulting with the WPCC
2/1/06 Townsend asked about getting some updated info from the WPCC & was advised that the WPCC chairman will be attending the next meeting with the Director of Health to be invited."
2/8/06 James Staunton noted that members of the WPCC have felt for some years that Clinton's waste water problems could be managed with on-site systems & where this could not be done, piped to an offsite location. He explained that some residential density in some parts of town does not permit proper systems.
2/14/06 WPCC Minutes Mr. Staunton advises WPCC that Mr. Fritz and Townsend are in negotiations, Chamberlain, WPCC, states that BOS have taken over acquisitions process
3/14/06 WPCC Minutes Mr. Townsend advises WPCC that many properties were being discussed but could not reveal specifics, WPCC motions to request BOS to update the WPCC on how they are proceeding with potential properties for off-site location of wastewater
4/11/06 WPCC Minutes Mr. Staunton, WPCC, reminds Townsend that there is still no site to discharge, Mr. Townsend, advises that BOS are in discussions with “other” property owners.
4/17/06 WPCC letter to Mr. Greci, DEP, documents town adoption of decentralized wastewater management districts
7/10/07 Open Space Advisory Committee Minutes indicate Sciongay land is in negotiations by the Trust for Public Lands on behalf of BOS
9/6/07 Mr.Fritz letter to Staunton requesting resignations of WPCC unless 2 meetings per month are held
9/11/07 Open Space advisory Committee Minutes agree that wastewater takes precedence over open space
9/11/07 WPCC Minutes motion for BOS to continue pursuit of the properties, Mr. Townsend stated that in a recent meeting with DEP he remembered the DEP higher ups stating that the Sciongay/Schrempp property was not suitable. DEP Officials have refused to confirm Townsend’s assertions. D. Townsend stated that BOS & BOF had agreed to allow negotiations to be initiated between the Sciongay property owners and Trust for Public Land for Open Space (not WPCC remediation and Long Hill ).
10/9/07 Fritz fails to have regular meeting agenda properly posted, WPCC cannot vote
10/15/07 WPCC Special Meeting Minutes motion to direct BOS to acquire 3 properties
10/30/07 WPCC Special Meeting held to provide the facts to residents of Long Hill area

In summary, the Town of Clinton has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars studying and documenting the problems that have been known to exist for over 40 years. The relatively simple solution (groundwater discharge on land with better soil conditions) was developed in 1984 and independently re-established by a new engineering firm and WPCC in 2003. Once the land and solution are secured, the WPCC can work with the Health Director to refine the site by site evaluations necessary to determine if properties require the offsite solution. Homeowner’s can then be assured that their solution is genuinely available. Without public support for the WPCC plan, the leaders of our Town will continue to prevent the solution from being implemented and the wastewater problems will be allowed to persist in your community. What is presented is a Long Hill area solution. The results of WPCC efforts in this area will potentially be the model for other Community system installations in Town where needed.

James Staunton for Selectman in Clinton CT

James Staunton is running for a Clinton Selectman seat in the 2009 election. Recent press bias requires a forum for voters to get real facts to help formulate their opinions on the issues. Although posts will document the past, the goal of this blog is to focus on the future and what Clinton can be with the right leadership.