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Town explains lost BRIC award, lagoon decommissioning and MS4 obligations
Summary
Town officials said Rising Sun lost a $5.5 million BRIC award after federal program cuts; staff described how decommissioning a former lagoon, an underground spring and MS4 nutrient-reduction requirements interact with plans to create a wetlands buffer to prevent overflows.
During the May 13 meeting the Town Administrator provided a staff report on BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities) funding, the town’s decommissioned lagoon, and the town’s unfunded MS4 stormwater-nutrient reduction obligations.
The administrator said Rising Sun had been awarded $5.5 million in BRIC funds to decommission an old lagoon, create a wetlands buffer and rehabilitate stream areas so the town could meet state MS4 requirements to reduce its nutrient footprint. The town said the funds were later rescinded after changes in federal funding priorities; the administrator said the town would seek other solutions and work with federal partners.
The administrator clarified that the town’s newer wastewater treatment plant (completed around 2016) is functioning and meets environmental standards, while an older lagoon was decommissioned conceptually but remained on the landscape. After decommissioning the lagoon’s effluent pipe was blocked; staff said an underground spring and runoff from surrounding farm fields now raise lagoon levels and require pumping back into the treatment plant, which increases equipment and electricity use.
Town Administrator described how storm events in 2021, 2022 and in recent months caused runoff to enter the lagoon and at times overflow, sending unsanitary material into local streams. The BRIC funds were described as intended to stop overflows by converting the lagoon footprint to a wetlands buffer and rehabbing adjacent streams. The administrator emphasized the BRIC award was rescinded when the federal program was cut and said the town supports federal efforts to reduce wasteful spending but seeks targeted solutions to prevent sewage overflows and comply with MS4 deadlines.
Town Administrator also addressed a community misperception that BRIC funding had been sought to expand wastewater treatment capacity for new development. He said the grant was not for increasing capacity but for preventing overflows and meeting MS4 nutrient-reduction requirements.
No formal action was taken at the meeting; the administrator said the town is pursuing alternate solutions and communicating with federal authorities.
