Sussex council approves Artesian plan
Artesian Wastewater Management can move forward with plans to add 52 acres of land to its Sussex Regional Recharge Facility northwest of Milton.
At its April 13 meeting, Sussex County Council voted 5-0 to approve a conditional use providing for amendments of a conditional use approved in 2007 for a sewage treatment facility. The total parcel along Isaacs Road and Reynolds Pond Road is now 127 acres. Another 1,700 acres of farmland and woods in the vicinity had previously been approved for spray irrigation.
The 52-acre parcel, which is adjacent to an existing 90-million-gallon lagoon and the yet-to-be-built treatment plant, will be used for treated wastewater disposal, either through spray irrigation or rapid infiltration.
David Hutt, the applicant’s attorney, said the project complies with the county's comprehensive plan by providing a coordinated approach to central sewer services. “A regional wastewater treatment facility is far superior to individual septic systems,” he said.
Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously March 25 in support of the application.
Hutt said Artesian's plan, in the works for two decades, has been delayed by permitting, legal challenges and studies. The original conditional-use approvals for the plant and spray-irrigation fields date back to 2007 and 2008.
Amendments to conditions
• Addition of the words storage and treatment to better define the process taking place at the facility
• A modification of the location and density of a landscaped buffer from a 30-foot, high-density buffer around the perimeter of the property to a 20-foot, medium-density buffer along a section of Isaacs Road fronting a berm around the lagoon and behind residences on Reynolds Pond Road; Hutt said no buffers are planned along farm fields used for spray irrigation
• A modification requiring any motorized, non-vehicular equipment within 600 feet of a dwelling to be located in a building to reduce noise
• All buildings will have an agricultural appearance.
At the request of District 3 Councilman Mark Schaeffer and District 4 Councilman Doug Hudson, council voted to amend another condition to ensure that the buffer will be maintained by the landowner for the life of the project and that any dead trees or shrubbery will be replaced in a timely manner.
Facility will serve wide area
The facility will serve a 94-square-mile area extending north and east of Milton, south to the Long Neck area and west to Delaware Coastal Airport and Business Park near Georgetown.
Artesian officials said they hope to have the plant operational by summer 2022. The plant will have a capacity of 625,000 gallons per day.
The plant is part of a phased plan for the 127-acre site. Phase 1, approved a year ago, included a 90-million-gallon storage lagoon and spray-irrigation acreage for Allen Harim Foods' pretreated wastewater. A pipeline from the poultry processing plant in Harbeson to the spray-irrigation fields has already been installed. The system is scheduled to go online as soon as Allen Harim’s operational permit is approved by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for up to 1.5 million gallons per day.
Daniel Konstanski, Artesian's principal engineer, said treated wastewater from the Allen Harim plant will be mixed with treated wastewater from the Artesian treatment plant and pumped into the lagoon prior to spray application.
Phase 2 includes an on-site wastewater treatment facility with a capacity of 625,000 gallons per day.
When all phases are complete, the facility will have a permitted capacity of 2.25 million gallons per day.
Effluent will be spray applied to more than 1,700 acres of farm fields and woodlands.
Water resource protection areas
At planning and zoning commission and county council hearings, Milton resident Keith Steck questioned why the public record on the application did not include information pertaining to wellhead protection or excellent groundwater recharge areas, which is required under the county's source water protection ordinance.
Hutt said the information is included in a detailed report presented to Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control officials for review. He acknowledged that most of the 52-acre parcel is within an excellent recharge area, as are sections of some of the spray-irrigation fields, but there are no wellhead protection areas in proximity to the parcel.
Hutt said because the 52-acre parcel is in a recharge area, it's an ideal location where treated wastewater can be absorbed.
Sussex County Planning and Zoning Director Jamie Whitehouse said, according to county regulations, the applicant must calculate the amount of impervious cover – buildings, paving, etc. – in the recharge area and include it on the final site plan. There are limits to how much impervious cover is permitted in recharge areas.
Hutt said the parcel would not have any impervious cover and would remain a farm field.
Concerns about project
Reynolds Pond Road resident Stephanie Coulbourne expressed concerns about drainage onto her property adjacent to the parcel. “The elevation map shows drainage to our area and our well. I'm not sure how that will be protected,” she said.
In addition, she said, there are seven reports not completed pertaining to discharge. She said she would address her questions to DNREC officials.
Steck said council did not have enough information to make a decision. He said getting all of the information pertaining to environmental issues can't entirely be under the jurisdiction of DNREC. “You can't pass it off. All of this work should have been done prior to the commission hearing,” he said. “It's a dangerous precedent to pass it on; it's up to the applicant and the county to present this information.”
