Cheshire Water Pollution Control Authority Approves Five Applications in Record Meeting Night

Water Pollution Control · Meeting of March 26, 2021

CT CHESHIRE — Cheshire's Water Pollution Control Authority approved five sewer connection applications Thursday, capping the night with a conditional green light for the long-stalled Stonebridge Crossing development near Interstate 691. Chair John Perrotti called it among the busiest application nights in years, with the authority working through projects ranging from a seven-unit South Main Street residential complex to a new 20,000-square-foot Counterweight Brewing Company facility at 7 Diana Court, approved for 10,000 gallons per day with member James Urbano abstaining due to a competing financial interest. The evening's centerpiece, Stonebridge Crossing on Highland Avenue, received unanimous conditional approval after developer Paul Bowman agreed to construct a permanent building to house the pump station's electrical controls, resolving the last significant dispute with town consultant Dennis Diver, whose 18-point engineering review had been the subject of multiple pre-meeting sessions.

The project, first conceived in 1986, still requires a finalized developers agreement and state Department of Public Health sign-off on a separate water supply memorandum of understanding with Southington and the Regional Water Authority before construction can begin.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 1,209 words

Source: the Water Pollution Control meeting of March 26, 2021, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

CHESHIRE — March 26, 2021 — The Cheshire Water Pollution Control Authority approved all five applications on its agenda Thursday evening, including a long-awaited conditional approval for the Stonebridge Crossing residential development on Highland Avenue, in what Chair John Perrotti called one of the busiest meeting nights the authority has seen in years.

The authority worked through sewer connection applications for a seven-unit residential complex on South Main Street, a new brewery in Prospect, a single-lot connection to the Wallingford sewer system, and an arts complex on West Main Street, before reaching the evening's most complex item: Stonebridge Crossing.

The Full Story

The first application approved was for 687 South Main Street, LLC, a seven-unit residential development at the corner of South Main Street and Higgins Road. Engineer Ryan McAvoy of SLR Consulting told the authority the revised design routes three of the seven units via gravity connection and keeps the remaining four on a duplex E1 pump, discharging to a new manhole on the property. McAvoy noted the pump can handle up to 3,000 gallons per day, well above the estimated 800 gallons per day the four units would generate. The authority also flagged that individually metered units would each carry the annual residential sewer use fee, while a single commercial meter would trigger a higher commercial rate. The motion to approve final design and award of capacity carried unanimously.

Next, the authority approved a connection for Counterweight Brewing Company at 7 Diana Court in Prospect. McAvoy, representing the applicant again, told members the brewery is seeking final capacity approval of 10,000 gallons per day for a 20,000-square-foot facility, up from the 8,000 gallons per day estimated at feasibility. Matt Westfall, representing Counterweight, described solids-management practices including composting spent hops and routing spent barley malt to a local farm as cattle feed. The authority requested periodic effluent grab samples, approximately every three to six months in the first year, to establish baseline discharge data. Member James Urbano abstained from the vote, citing a financial interest in a competitor.

"I will have to abstain because I have a financial interest in one of their competitors. So I would feel like I just would not vote on that just to keep things clean." [No timestamp index provided] — James Urbano, Authority Member

The motion carried five to zero with one abstention. The authority then approved support for an intermunicipal agreement with the Town of Wallingford to allow a single lot on Tuttle Avenue to connect to the Wallingford sewer system. Attorney Anthony Pizzone told the authority the agreement mirrors one previously executed for a property on Allen Avenue and would follow standard review by both towns' attorneys before signing.

The authority also approved final design and capacity for Ball and Socket Arts, Phase One, covering buildings two and three at 493 West Main Street. Engineer Chris DeAngelis described a new connection to the Willow Street sewer main, explaining that the existing connection on the far side of the site is physically inaccessible due to the canal and extremely tight working conditions. Reviewing engineer Dennis Diver said the layout was sensible and the only outstanding items were plan details on the connection method and the condition of the clay main in Willow Street.

The evening's most detailed discussion surrounded Stonebridge Crossing, a large phased residential and commercial development near Interstate 691 off Highland Avenue. Diver walked the authority through 18 engineering comments point by point. Most were resolved in advance of the meeting, but two remained open: whether the pump station's generator and electrical controls required a permanent building, and whether the integral wet-well-and-valve-vault design met town standards. Developer Paul Bowman of Stonebridge Crossing and engineer Tom Knowlton of SLR Consulting addressed both issues.

"Every change, every increment of expenses is critically looked at for this project. This is a very large project. All of you are very well aware that this thing has had so many starts and stops since 1986." [No timestamp index provided] — Paul Bowman, developer, Stonebridge Crossing

On the generator and controls question, the authority concluded outdoor weatherproof generators are acceptable but required that electrical control and telemetry equipment be housed inside a permanent building accessible to staff in any weather condition. Bowman agreed to build a structure similar to the town's Crook Hill pump station, using stick-frame construction with vinyl siding and a traditional roofline. The authority also confirmed that the developer's proposed three-day diesel fuel storage at full continuous load would likely meet or exceed the town's standard of five days of normal operational storage given the pump station's expected cycling patterns. On the integral valve vault design, staff noted it was an accepted alternative but suggested arranging a site visit to a comparable installation before construction.

"If it's going to be external outside of it, is there going to be some documentation that says that snow removal is going to be removed from it for serviceability?" [No timestamp index provided] — Zach Welburn, Authority Member

The conditional approval requires, at minimum, construction of a permanent building to house the pump station's electrical controls, adherence to all of Diver's engineering comment responses, and execution of a developers agreement with the town. The motion carried unanimously, with Scannell participating after briefly losing his internet connection.

In the superintendent's report, Scott reported the facility was starting up phosphorus removal the following week and that UV disinfection would come online May 1. He also noted the upcoming budget presentation to the Town Council on April 1. Under new business, Perrotti noted that two pipes running beneath Interstate 691, one town-owned from the mid-1980s and one privately installed, had been located and would be documented in the town's GIS system.

Why It Matters

Stonebridge Crossing has been in various stages of planning since 1986. The conditional approval Thursday moves the project closer to actual construction but still requires a formal developers agreement, final engineering plan revisions, and coordination with Eversource on three-phase power delivery to the pump station. The project would extend sewer service to as many as 11 properties north of Interstate 691 and is contingent on a separate water supply memorandum of understanding with Southington and the Regional Water Authority currently pending before the state Department of Public Health. How quickly those items resolve will determine when ground can be broken on Phase One.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Final design and award of capacity for 687 South Main Street, LLC Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Final design and award of capacity for Counterweight Brewing Company, 7 Diana Court, 10,000 gallons per day Tally: For: 5, Against: 0, Abstain: 1, Total: 6

- Vote: WPCA support for Lot 4 Tuttle Avenue application and associated intermunicipal agreement with Wallingford Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Final design and award of capacity for Ball and Socket Arts, Phase One, 493 West Main Street Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Conditional final design and award of capacity for Stonebridge Crossing, Highland Avenue, subject to permanent building for electrical controls and compliance with engineering comments and developers agreement Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approval of minutes of February 25, 2021 meeting, with two text corrections Tally: Approved unanimously

Source

Cheshire's community access TV: Water Pollution Control Authority meeting, March 26, 2021