Plans to bring sewers to several Old Lyme beach communities are continuing to move forward, with East Lyme recently approving a contract to receive wastewater from three private beach associations in Old Lyme.

The agreement, executed last week between the East Lyme Water & Sewer Commission and Old Colony Beach Club Association, Miami Beach Association, and Old Lyme Shores Beach Association, will allow the three beach communities to connect to East Lyme's sewer system. 

East Lyme was under an order from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to reach an agreement with the beach associations, according to East Lyme First Selectman Mark Nickerson, who also chairs the town's Water & Sewer Commission.

Under the agreement, the Old Lyme beach communities will pay East Lyme for the costs of using its sewer system.

Nickerson said the agreement is fair to ratepayers and no one will profit from it, but the benefit to East Lyme is that it will enable the town to have partners when it needs to upgrade its sewer infrastructure, rather than shoulder the financial burden alone.

The three beach associations received approval from New London in April for an agreement to treat their wastewater at the New London plant.

With both the East Lyme and New London agreements in place, the three beach associations will have a complete flow-through system to send wastewater from the sewer pipes in Old Lyme, once built, through East Lyme and Waterford — the beach associations will essentially be treated as a customer of the East Lyme system — to the wastewater treatment plant in New London, said Douglas Whalen, chairman of the Old Colony Beach Club Association.

He said sewers are needed to address pollution from septic systems and its impact on Long Island Sound and the environment. The three communities are under orders from the DEEP to connect to sewers.

With the agreements in place and the three private beach communities already having approved funding for the sewers, the next step is for the beach associations to apply for grant funding from the state, which the state has said is available, and then sign an agreement with a company for the design of the system, Whalen said. The design phase typically takes six months, followed by 18 months of construction.

The three beach associations and the town of Old Lyme are working toward a lease agreement for a pump station, which, once approved by both sides, would go to a public hearing and then a town meeting, said Old Lyme First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder.

Sound View in Old Lyme

The agreements with New London and East Lyme specifically concern the three private beach associations, but Miami Beach Association WPCA Chairman Scott Boulanger said Old Lyme, which has jurisdiction over the beach neighborhood of Sound View, could join in later. If Old Lyme comes on board, it would become an equal partner and there would be opportunities for saving costs, Boulanger said. 

Old Lyme Water Pollution Control Authority Chairman Richard Prendergast said by email that the Old Lyme WPCA is "committed to investigate areas where we can share resources to minimize costs and maximize efficiency."

"The private beach associations are further along in the process of installing sewers than the town, so our efforts are focused on joining the private beach associations shared systems at a later date," he continued.

The Old Lyme WPCA is planning a public information meeting to update residents on the status of plans for sewers in Sound View at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at Old Lyme Town Hall. The WPCA will give a presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session, and discussion topics include the history of septic systems in Old Lyme, scope of the project area, costs, benefits, timeline and milestones, according to the agenda.

The DEEP published an Environmental Impact Evaluation of the town's wastewater management plan to connect Sound View and a nearby neighborhood north of Route 156, called "Miscellaneous Town Area B" to sewers, while monitoring Hawk's Nest. The DEEP had mandated the town to complete the wastewater management plan.

The plan references that: "On-site wastewater systems in the Town Sub-Areas have been problematic for several decades because of a combination of factors including the age and condition of these systems, soils that drain too fast and are subject to tidal influence, shallow groundwater, small lots, and excessive development density. Coupled with these conditions, the threat of intense storms and rising seasonal high ground waters are expected to further diminish the effectiveness of these systems for proper subsurface wastewater renovation."

The DEEP is accepting comments until Aug. 3. Once the comments are received, the town and/or the DEEP would then address the comments, said Reemsnyder.

Prendergast said the DEEP will then issue a Record of Decision and possibly direct the town to follow the recommended solution within the Environmental Impact Evaluation. The town would then hold a referendum for residents to vote on accepting the solution of installing sewers, with the intention of scheduling it for a time when residents impacted by the project are in town.

The report lists the capital cost for Old Lyme's project at an estimated $7.443 million, following a state grant, which would need to be approved at referendum. Each equivalent dwelling unit, defined as an average-sized home, in Sound View and Miscellaneous Area B would pay $27,600 to cover the capital costs, and then $440 annually for operations and maintenance, according to the plan.

Comments on the Environmental Impact Evaluation can be sent to Carlos Esguerra at Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, 79 Elm St., Hartford CT 06106. He can be contacted by phone at (860) 424-3756; fax at (860) 424-4067 or email at carlos.esguerra@ct.gov.

k.drelich@theday.com