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Select Board approves polymer replacement and authorizes CSO tank cleaning as sewer-permit work continues
Summary
The Select Board approved a $18,855 expenditure to replace a polymer feed unit and authorized up to $30,000 to clean and inspect a combined-sewer-overflow (CSO) tank as the town works with engineers and lawyers to rewrite its sewer ordinance and draft a discharge permit for a local factory.
The Select Board voted to approve the replacement of a failing polymer “make down” unit for the wastewater dewatering system and to waive the routine quote process for cleaning and inspecting a town CSO tank as part of ongoing work to align local sewer rules with a state discharge permit.
The equipment replacement — not to exceed $18,855 from the pollution control capital reserve account — and the CSO cleaning and inspection authorization, an amount not to exceed $30,000, passed unanimously. Town staff said the steps are tied to a pending permit and long-running combined-sewer overflow upgrades.
Town public works staff described the need in detail. “We are obligated by the e DEP to issue that permit and to hold them responsible for any discharges outside of our sewer ordinance,” a staff member said, describing work to draft permit language that will require pretreatment and align town ordinance language with state expectations.
The staff member said the existing polymer unit that conditions sludge prior to dewatering dates to 02/2004, that the vendor Polyblend is no longer in business, and that a full replacement is recommended because retrofit or rebuild options are not available. “I recommend a complete replacement,” he said, and the board approved the purchase, with the staff member recommending the BERT Process Equipment polymer machine.
The board also authorized up to $30,000 from the pollution control capital reserve account — $25,000 to Vortex Service for tank cleaning and $5,000 to Grama Water Management for a flow-regulator inspection and possible repair report. Staff said the CSO tank has not been fully cleaned since it was installed, that its hydraulic flushing gates have not been operating correctly with the town’s SCADA system, and that cleaning will require closing the adjacent parking lot for about a week.
“We haven’t been able to get those flushing gates to sequence with our SCADA system, so we have to get in there,” the staff member said. He added that Grande, the original installer of the regulators and gates, still exists and will assist with specialized inspection work.
Board members and staff emphasized the connection between this work and a draft permit for an industrial discharger in town. The staff member said the factory will be required to monitor and control biological-oxygen-demand (BOD) loads and fats, oils and grease, and that the permit will obligate pretreatment “so the town is held harmless for what they do to us.”
Staff said the CSO Phase 6.2 separation work will include Millburn Street and Michael Street, separating stormwater from sanitary lines and affecting about 15 houses; the aim is to reduce reliance on overflow tanks and pumps.
The votes were unanimous. The board’s decisions fund immediate repairs and inspections while staff and the town’s engineers continue drafting permit language and revising the sewer ordinance to align fees and enforcement with current costs and regulatory expectations.
