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The Rehoboth Beach commissioners unanimously approved putting together a request for proposals for both spray irrigation and ocean outfall in an effort to move forward with selecting a wastewater disposal alternative.
At their meeting on Monday, April 21, the commissioners put out the request to solicit bids from vendors to find a solution for disposing of Rehoboth’s wastewater. The city is under a court order to cease dumping effluent in the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal by December 2014.
City officials have so far heard proposals from Artesian Water Co. and Tidewater Utilities to be part of a spray irrigation project. The city is also looking into an ocean outfall project, either on its own or together with the county.
The request for proposals (RFP) was put forth in order for the city to move forward on at least putting some numbers on the table. The main source of contention among the commissioners is whether an RFP can be put out for ocean outfall.
Mayor Sam Cooper said he would be in contact with engineers Sterns and Wheler to get updated figures to a possible ocean outfall project. However, Cooper said the city could not get a completely accurate figure on ocean outfall until it knows what the project will be.
Commissioner Paul Kuhns, who made the motion to put out the RFP, said he wanted to get numbers on the table to help the city make a decision.
Commissioner Kathy McGuiness said, “We have to choose. And we’re all still sitting here talking about it. Why haven’t we gotten estimates from people who construct these things? What can we do to move this process forward?”
Sterns and Wheler, in 2005, recommended an ocean outfall project would cost about $30 million if the city went in alone and around $14 million if the went in with the county.
However, negotiations with the county have fallen through, after the county asked the city to chip in $10 million more than the estimate, bringing the city’s cost to $24 million.
Commissioner Ron Paterson said, “The county has had plenty of time and they have not really moved very fast in saying whether they are coming aboard or not. Who’s going to move first, us or the county? We’ve waited for the county to move; I think it’s about time for us to move and then maybe they will.”
The Sterns and Wheler report had initially discounted spray irrigation as an option because the cost of land was deemed too high. However, Tidewater and Artesian have since come up with proposals for land-based application.
Tidewater has proposed leasing land off Route 24 and pumping treated effluent to farmland there. Artesian has proposed the city pump treated or untreated effluent to its Northern Sussex Regional Wastewater Facility, which will be up and running in September 2009, off Route 16 in Milton. While Tidewater has yet to provide a definite price, Artesian has said the project could cost the city $18 million to $24 million, depending on how the city wants to deliver the wastewater.
Cooper had prepared a presentation on both irrigation and ocean outfall; however, McGuiness objected, saying what was in the presentation was not part of the agenda and could violate the Freedom of Information Act. City Solicitor Glenn Mandalas agreed with McGuiness and recommended the presentation should not be shown.
Contact Ryan Mavity at ryanm@capegazette.com
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