Carroll County PSA authorizes staff to respond to DEQ consent order, eyes ~$680K in plant upgrades

The Carroll County Public Service Authority on July 6 authorized staff to negotiate and respond to a draft consent order from state environmental regulators that cites monitoring results and includes a civil charge of $22,791.13. Mike, a staff member who presented project updates, told the board the draft lays out a compliance schedule and monthly reporting requirements and that the authority must respond by the 17th.

The consent order, Mike said, points to recurring E. coli exceedances and requires operational changes and capital work to reduce discharges. ‘‘There is a civil charge of $22,791.13,’’ he said, adding the order recommends flow-equalization, automated screening, additional testing, staff training, and either a disc or drum effluent filter.

Why it matters: staff told the board that short-term fixes and installation work — a control timer and related work — were estimated at about $77,000–$78,000, but that needed capital upgrades to install an automated mechanical screen and an effluent filter were each roughly $300,000, producing a near-term compliance estimate of about $680,000–$685,000. The board discussed whether to invest to bring the existing plant into compliance or pursue a longer-term connection with Mount Airy, N.C., which staff said would require permitting and construction and could take years.

Mike told the board the plant is currently rated for about 20,000 gallons per day and that moving above a 40,000-gallon threshold would require additional operator staffing and regulatory obligations. He provided engineering-level expansion estimates the board discussed: about $2.4 million to reach 50,000 gpd, $3.5 million for 100,000 gpd and roughly $6.1 million for 200,000 gpd. Mike cautioned that those upgrades also depend on finding an acceptable discharge location and meeting permitting requirements.

Board members also raised who would assume long-term maintenance liability for any cross‑state sewer line to Mount Airy and whether major commercial users could be required to pretreat high-strength flows. Staff noted the authority currently surcharges users for volumes above a threshold and said pretreatment and surcharge options would be explored before committing to large capital spending.

After discussion the board voted unanimously to give staff the authority to proceed with negotiating and responding to the consent order and to pursue options to achieve compliance, including exploring funding and pretreatment measures. The motion passed with all present board members voting yes.

Next steps: staff will review the draft consent order in detail, prepare the formal response due by the 17th, and return to the board with recommended, costed options for compliance and potential funding mechanisms.