East Lyme ― Water and Sewer Commission officials are holding their breath as they figure out how to deal with a public sewer system that is about to reach capacity.

The commission on Tuesday appeared to halt the approval of any new, large-scale construction projects in the area served by the town’s sewer system when it denied a request from a local developer to send 8,124 gallons per day of flow from a proposed 60-unit apartment complex off West Main Street to New London’s wastewater treatment facility.

The commission in a 5-2 vote denied a request from Jason Pazzaglia for enough sewer capacity to accommodate 20 two-bedroom and 40 one-bedroom apartments spread out across two buildings on a wooded, 7-acre site on Park Place.

A majority of commission members said there’s not enough room in the system to add large customers without first figuring out where the additional capacity is going to come from.

Department documents show there is an estimated 207,000 gallons per day of the town’s 1.02 million gallon-per-day sewer capacity not being used. But there are 423,406 gallons per day that have been set aside for projects that are either under construction, have been approved but not started, or haven’t yet opted to tie into the system.

That’s a deficit of 216,406 gallons per day if all eligible customers start sending their wastewater to New London.

One of the votes in support of the application came from member David Bond, who characterized the deficit as a conservative “guesstimate” that prevents more people from tying into the system.

“We’re saying, right here and now, that anyone who’s in our sewer shed cannot develop,” he said.

He pointed to data from a separate, ongoing project by Pazzaglia for 100 units on North Bride Brook Road that is almost one-third complete. Preliminary numbers provided by Harry Heller, the developer’s attorney, show usage by residents over six months will be much less than the anticipated 35,400 gallon-per-day allocation.

The unused capacity should be shifted elsewhere, according to Bond.

But town attorney Mark Zamarka said state statute and case law doesn't allow for the “swapping” of sewer capacity allocations.

“We can’t create an alternate market for what is a very valuable and precious town commodity that this commission’s statutory duty is to monitor and control,” he said.

Keeping options open

Member Michelle Royce Williams, who voted to deny the application, pointed out those looking to build in town can still look into using septic systems.

“Our decision is not a moratorium on development,” she said.

Tuesday’s vote came after Water and Sewer Department Chief Operating Officer Ben North last year warned the approval of a 454-unit senior living complex on Dodge Pond was likely to be “one of the last major developments” in town until the sewer capacity shortage is addressed.

While the stalled Dodge Pond development has yet to go through the zoning approval process, local regulations dictate commissioners must hold open its sewer allocation of 75,000 gallons per day at least through February of next year.

Also tying up a significant amount of the town’s sewer capacity is the court-ordered approval of 118,400 gallons per day for Landmark Development, which remains in litigation amid intense local opposition to upwards of 800 apartments in the Oswegatchie Hills overlooking the Niantic River.

Member Carol Russell prefaced her denial vote by saying the commission can’t allocate capacity it doesn’t have.

“We need to replenish our reserves, and until we figure out what’s available to us and what we can do in that regard, I don’t think we have any choice but to not approve this request,” she said.

Forging agreements

North on Wednesday said whether or not the decision represents a halt on new development will be up for discussion by the commission’s capacity subcommittee.

Officials have said options for increasing capacity could include renegotiating agreements with New London and Waterford or working with the state to access unused capacity at sites like York Correctional Institution, Camp Nett and Rocky Neck State Park.

In 2021, New London agreed to accept, treat and discharge the wastewater flow from East Lyme and Waterford. The terms stated the two towns would have to wait until 2026 to open negotiations to access more of New London’s 10-million-gallon treatment capacity.

Waterford gets 30% or 3 million gallons of the New London treatment facility’s overall capacity while East Lyme gets 15%, or 1.5 million.

Of East Lyme’s allocation, 1.02 million gallons are for municipal use while the rest are reserved for the state at sites including York Correctional Institution and Camp Nett.

Average usage so far this year shows East Lyme is at about 81% of its actual capacity. The state, which shares its capacity with the private beach communities of Pine Grove in East Lyme and Point o’ Woods in Old Lyme, is at about 40%.

Meanwhile, Old Lyme is in the throes of a decadeslong push for sewers that includes one expired agreement to direct 170,000 gallons per day of flow through East Lyme and Waterford to New London. A new agreement was approved last week by the Old Lyme Board of Selectmen for the same number of gallons, which comes out to 1.7% of New London’s capacity, though approvals for construction of the Old Lyme sewer system have still not been finalized locally.

e.regan@theday.com