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Citizens question Artesian facility

Company plans spray-irrigation operations in early spring
January 22, 2019

Artesian Water Co. officials were met by a skeptical public at a Jan. 19 public information session in Milton about the company’s Sussex Regional Recharge Facility. A second session is scheduled 6-8 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 22, at Milton fire hall.

The 1,700-acre spray-irrigation facility will accept treated wastewater from Allen Harim’s Harbeson chicken processing plant, to be sprayed on cornfields outside Milton off Route 16. The planned facility has  a 90-million-gallon storage lagoon and will have spray rigs for open fields and solid-set sprinklers in the woods surrounding the property. Dave Spacht, CFO and treasurer of Artesian, said there are 100-plus-foot buffers between the spray fields and wells that serve neighboring homes. 

Spacht said Artesian is close to finishing its application for an operations permit, and he expects operations to begin in early spring. Artesian still faces a Tuesday, March 12 appeals hearing before the state Environmental Appeals Board on a complaint brought by citizens group Keep Our Wells Clean. 

“What we are trying to make sure gets done here is that our operations are done efficiently, effectively and safely,” Spacht said. “Safe for the environment, safe for the wells, safe for the water that we are going to access down the road. This is the best and most efficient use to get rid of the wastewater, recharge the aquifer and assure quality uptake of those nutrients.”

Artesian came to the public information session with officials and a crew of employees to explain the project to the public. Following the presentation, many who attended remained skeptical. They questioned the facility’s effect on wells, the security of the lagoon and monitoring of the treated effluent for pollution.

Keith Steck of Milton asked what would happen if the lagoon were to breach. Spacht said the lagoon has 22-foot-high retaining walls and would only be breached in the event of “a tremendous act of God.” He said the lagoon has also been designed to prevent mosquitoes from breeding, to minimize odors and has a 45-day storage capacity.

When asked about nutrients such as nitrates, Spacht said the crops will help take up nutrients and keep them from getting into the groundwater. Anthony Scarpa, a principal of Keep Our Wells Clean, asked why the neighboring Clean Delaware facility was not mentioned in Artesian’s environmental reports. Scarpa said Clean Delaware has a history of environmental problems with pollutants getting into the drinking water of nearby homes, and he contends the addition of Artesian’s spray fields will push more contaminated water into nearby homes. 

Spacht said Artesian has monitoring wells, including in the field across from the Clean Delaware facility. He said Artesian will monitor nitrate levels in the groundwater before spraying begins. In addition, Spacht said, testing will be done in and around the property. 

“We’re not supercharging the groundwater. We’re spraying it like rainwater,” Spacht said.

When asked about the effects of the Artesian facility on aquifers, Spacht said, “We’ve been business for 110 years. We want to be in business 110 more. We don’t get there by destroying an aquifer and not doing what we’re supposed to do.”

Steck asked about Artesian accepting wastewater from residential customers. Spacht said within the next five years, Artesian plans to build an on-site treatment plant that would accept wastewater from residential homes.

When asked who will be in charge of monitoring the pipe taking treated wastewater from Allen Harim to the spray fields, Spacht said Artesian will monitor the water. For his part, Scarpa was not convinced. He said Allen Harim has a history of environmental violations 

“They’re trying to sell the project to the public,” he said. “This facility, in my opinion, was misrepresented. They say this is going to be the best thing since sliced bread. We don’t believe them.”

While they can’t stop the facility from going forward, Scarpa said Keep Our Wells Clean members hope the Environmental Appeals Board hearing will result in Artesian not being allowed to spray on the field across from the Clean Delaware site and that the Department of Agriculture will monitor the fields for diminished crop yields.  “We’re going to be watching them,” he said.

Kelly Cannon of Milton said, “I’m not going to overreact to anything. If the quality of what they are doing is going to make things better, I’m all for it. It sounds like they are making it better, but we just have to keep an eye on it so they do what they’re supposed to do.”

Spacht understood the skepticism from the audience.

“We understand the proof is in the pudding. We can say all we want here in these forums, but until it’s in operation, it’s a little difficult to say, ‘Trust me.’ We understand that, so I’m very anxious to get going and show that the process works,” he said.

 

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