Public Hearing on Wastewater Spray
Irrigation Facility in Middletown

On the evening of July 21st, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) held a public hearing regarding New Castle County’s Department of Special Services’ application for a permit to construct, operate, and maintain a wastewater spray irrigation facility in the Middletown area.  The hearing, held at the Middletown High School auditorium, was attended by approximately 35 people.  The interested public, including several Appoquinimink Tributary Action Team/Appoquinimink River Association members, were on hand to hear details about the proposed project, as well as to ask questions and make statements.  A public hearing officer from the State presided.

The permit application only covered Phase I of the project, including the construction of the storage lagoon and associated features.   The hearing began with a representative from DNREC’s Ground Water Discharges Section entering 30 documents, including the County’s application for the project, reports on alternatives (such as the rapid infiltration basins that were considered at one point), and official correspondence as exhibits for public record.  A New Castle County engineer then gave a short history of the project.  He reviewed the various approaches the county has considered to treat and dispose wastewater since the project began in 1997.  The presentation was then turned over to a representative from Metcalf & Eddy, the consulting firm who designed and will build the proposed project.  The hearing was then opened for public comment.

The proposed facility is slated to be built on a 950-acre parcel bordering Marl Pit Road to the south, Spring Mill Branch and Shallcross Lake to the north, and extending just east and west of Shallcross Lake Road and Cedar Lane Road, respectively.  Sequencing Batch Reactors (SBR) will be used to treat the 1.6 million gallons of wastewater that will flow to the system each day, producing high-quality effluent. 

During the hearing, Metcalf & Eddy stated that SBR can reduce total nitrogen concentrations in the treated effluent to 3 mg/L, which is much less than the 10 mg/L drinking water standard. SBR is flexible, offers high levels of control, and operates at today's limits of technology.  The resulting high quality effluent is subjected to additional treatment since the SBR system is coupled with spray irrigation.

Approximately 320 acres of agricultural land used to grow forage crops are expected to be irrigated with the effluent.  Metcalf & Eddy explained that the effluent will be applied to the cropland at rates that match crop nutrient uptake to avoid runoff and ground water contamination.  The consultants also said that SBR and spray irrigation are very complimentary. During the winter, when crop uptake is much lower, the SBR process can be adjusted to lower nutrient concentrations in the effluent.  Any nutrients remaining in the treated effluent will be taken up by the crops at all times of year. 

To ensure that this process does not contaminate drinking water supplies in the proposed area which is supplied by private wells, a series of monitoring wells will be installed on the perimeter of the operation.  Local background ground water nitrate levels are typically 7-12 mg/L.   Because the operation of the facility will allow for substantial ground water recharge with zero or very low nutrient water, ground water nitrate levels could actually improve as a result of the dilution factor.

The size of the proposed wastewater treatment facility would allow for the creation of a large sewer district stretching from Middletown north to the C&D Canal and east and west to Delaware’s border.  The creation of the Southern New Castle County Sewer Service Area would occur in three phases, with the central core, where the planned treatment facility will be located, first to come on-line.  The eastern and western cores would be connected at the discretion and recommendation of the County Council. Septic systems currently being used by hundreds of homes and businesses in the area could be removed, essentially eliminating hundreds of dispersed pollution sources.

Public response to the project was mixed.  A representative from the Farm Bureau was in strong support of the project.  Since the area is under heavy developmental pressures, a sewer network would allow for dense development, which is not accommodated by the use of septic systems.  Construction of developments with higher density housing allows more farmland to stay in production.

Health and property concerns were raised by neighbors of the new spray irrigation fields.  The state, county, and consultants assured that every effort will be taken to preserve ground water quality and minimize impact on adjacent homes and yards.

Others expressed apprehension and distrust over the County’s phased hearing approach and proposed timeline.  Some were displeased that they were not presented with details or allowed to comment on the entire project, and instead were limited to Phase 1, the construction of storage lagoons and associated features.  Once Phase 1 is approved, the other phases must follow, so the sentiment was that the public cannot support this phase if they were not aware of what future phases are to entail.

In their presentation, Metcalf & Eddy representatives outlined the firm's reasons for using a phased approach.  They explained that by starting storage lagoon construction as soon as possible, they will be able to take advantage of the construction season, accrue cost savings by not requiring the import of dry soil after the rainy season, and complete the entire project “on schedule,” in early 2006. 

County officials stated that the need was imminent, and that the timeline was not being used to minimize opportunity for public participation in to process. Cedar Lane Road, where two new schools are planned, was cited as an example. Under current conditions each school would require a separate septic system. Cedar Lane Elementary School, the only school on Cedar Lane Road now, has a failing septic system that must be pumped several times a year.  A kindergarten and vocational-technical school are slated for the area in coming years.

In response to the public's concerns, the hearing officer ordered that the public record remain open for an additional 30 days.   New Castle County was required to supply additional documentation, including geotechnical studies, to DNREC before Secretary Hughes makes the final decision regarding Phase I of the proposed wastewater treatment facility.

Following the hearing, county officials contacted DNREC and requested that the the hearing record be frozen open so the county could conduct a workshop to discuss other phases of the project with concerned residents.  DNREC agreed, and the workshop took place September 15, 2004, and was reported on by The News Journal in an article titled Wastewater system's first phase on track.