What’s All This Crap About Avalon Bay?

In the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that was filed by Avalon Bay they claim a lot of things and some of them are the following:

Page ix Executive Summary

Sewage flow from the proposed development would be directed to and treated by the Huntington Wastewater Treatment Plant. As part of the proposed action, a new sewer pump station would be constructed at the southeast corner of the subject property, and would connect the on-site infrastructure to the existing force main that runs along East Fifth Street, Lenox Road, East Second Street and State Route 110, reaching the gravity sewer system at State Route 110 and Broadway/Railroad Avenue. Based on published factors of the SCDHS, the proposed Avalon at Huntington Station is expected to generate a total of 102,325± gpd of sanitary waste to be discharged to the Huntington Sewer District.

Page 10 Description of The Proposed Action

Sewage flow from the proposed development will be directed to and treated by the Huntington Wastewater Treatment Plant. Improvements are required in order to provide the sewer connection from the proposed Avalon at Huntington Station to the existing infrastructure of the Huntington Sewer District. Specifically, a new sewer pump station would be constructed at the southeast comer of the subject property, and would connect the on-site infrastructure to the existing force main that runs along East Fifth Street, Lenox Road, East Second Street and State Route 110, reaching the gravity sewer system at State Route 110 and Broadway/Railroad Avenue. The proposed residential development is expected to generate approximately 102,325± gpd of sanitary waste. In connection with the prior application for a 530-unit multifamily: residential community at the subject property, consultations were undertaken with the Town of Huntington Department of Environmental Waste Management with respect to sewer service. By letter dated July 20, 2009, the Department of Environmental Waste Management was advised of the prior application for 530 units, and confirmation that adequate capacity exists in the Huntington Sewer District to accommodate the proposed Avalon at Huntington Station was requested (see correspondence in Appendix D). An updated request for confirmation of availability was submitted in connection with the current 379-unit plan, dated March 3, 2011, and a response remains pending at this time. Based on information provided by Town of Huntington staff (see Appendix D), the total pump age during the 2008 calendar year was 657± million gallons, and the permitted capacity of the district is 2.5 million gpd (or 912.5 million gallons per year [“MGY”]). Based on this information, the Huntington Sewer District is expected to be capable of accommodating the additional 102,325± gpd (37.3± MGY) of sanitary waste to be generated by the proposed Avalon at Huntington Station. Further, a meeting was held on March 2, 2010, between AvalonBay and the Department of Waste Management, their consulting engineers, and other Town staff, to begin coordinating the design of the sewer connection. Consultations with the Town of Huntington will continue, and confirmation of available capacity would be secured prior to implementation of the proposed action.

Page 16 Description of The Proposed Action

Upgrades to the infrastructure of the Huntington Sewer District are also proposed in the vicinity of the subject property. The applicant has and will continue to work with the Town on how to best address the issue of effluent for the area in an efficient and environmentally-sound manner. As proposed, a pump station would be constructed at the southeast corner of the subject property, to connect to the existing force main along East Fifth Street. As part of the proposed action, the force main, which also serves two existing multi-family developments along East Fifth Street (“Huntington Country Farms” and “Huntington Glen”) and the Carillon Nursing Home, would be upgraded and improved by slip-lining or replacement by pipe bursting. The proposed sewer infrastructure improvements will require consultation with the Town of Huntington Department of Environmental Waste Management, and ultimately will require approval by that agency.

All This Crap?

Now you might say, so what? But if you accept that the capacity of the sewer district is 2.5 million gallons a day (this appears to be correct) and there is only 657± million gallons of usage on average per day then there is no problem with adding 102,325± gpd. If however you are at 2.4± million gallons of usage on average per day (and some days more) then adding 102,325± gpd puts you above capacity.

Now you might ask why would we think that the Sewer Plant is at 2.4± million gallons of usage on average per day. Well, funny you should ask because this is what it says in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Year Ended December 31, 2010 that is on the Towns website. It says, on page 137, that the plant had 2.4± million gallons of usage on average per day for 2010. This is average usage so there were days when it was more than the average. (By the way this same report says that the 2008 daily average was 2.0± million gallons)

What is also interesting is that Avalon Bay has, twice, in writing requested a letter from the Town stating that the sewer district has enough capacity to handle the load from their development. They say they have not received this letter. We wonder why?

We have heard rumors that the sewer plant has to turn away Cesspool trucks at certain times during the year. If the Town gets revenue from these trucks dumping why are they being turned away? Something smells! (Insert your own joke here)

The other rumor that we have heard is that the sewer plant is just barely meeting State regulations for nitrogen emissions. We will be looking into these rumors and others relating to the sewer district in future articles.

Another issue mentioned in the DEIS is that the 4″ pipe (almost a mile long) may have to be replaced. Who will be bearing the burden of this cost? We have been told that this could be in the millions of dollars. Are the residents in the sewer district getting shafted here? Didn’t the Town recently complete a multi-million dollar upgrade at the sewer plant?