This story by Liberty Darr was first published in the Shelburne News on August 29.
Shelburne will vote on a roughly $38 million bond for a new consolidated wastewater treatment plant in November.
Dubbed the largest infrastructure project in Shelburne’s history, the project has been years in the making and is set to cost more than $45 million, which includes a 10 percent construction contingency for inflation.
The project assumes more than 30 percent funding in grants.
Town manager Matt Lawless outlined in a memo to the Shelburne Selectboard that the largest influx of cash will come from Vermont’s Pollution Control Grants, which provide substantial loan forgiveness through the state’s revolving loan fund. Other grant resources include Efficiency Vermont, the federal Northern Borders Regional Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, congressionally designated spending, and dozens of other sources.
The bond assumes an interest rate of only 2 percent for 30 years. Construction on the plant is expected to be complete in 2028 with debt repayment starting in 2029.
The town currently operates two aging treatment plants, one on Turtle Lane and one on Crown Road. The town has undertaken extensive studies around the options to either renovate or combine the facilities.
In spring 2023, the selectboard approved a project plan, choosing to consolidate at the Crown Road site to achieve more efficient operations, greater environmental compliance and the sustainability of Shelburne’s utilities through the 21st century.
One major obstacle to consolidation at the Turtle Lane site would be discharges into the McCabe Brook, which has little capacity to handle wastewater and faces stringent restrictions. On the other hand, the Crown Road plant discharges into Shelburne Bay, where state effluent limitations — restrictions on the quantities or rates of chemical concentrations in water quality — are more forgiving.
The new plant, said Wayne Elliot, the primary engineer with Aldrich + Elliot working on the project, will have newer technology that makes the removal of chemicals like phosphorus more efficient.
“The systems are going to be more efficient than what you have now. It’s a similar type of treatment process. But for example, it’s got new cloth media, and that technology is now tried and tested. It’s been out there for 25, 30 years,” he said. “So, the new plan is going to have the capability to do better at those removals than the two existing plants do individually.”
Only sewer customers will pay for the debt service of this project, Lawless said, and the costs go into future wastewater budgets and appear on the sewer bills of households and businesses.
But the selectboard said at the meeting on Aug. 13 that it is urging all voters to participate in the election.
“We want a true reading of what people want,” board member Luce Hillman said. “The more people that vote, the more we get a real accurate feel for if people want to do this or not.”
What about sewer bills?
According to estimates from Lawless, customers can expect a 3 percent rate increase next year, and similar increases in the future.
A small household that uses roughly 20,000 gallons per year, which currently would pay $389, might increase to $401 next year, then another $11 every year. A larger household that utilizes 70,000 gallons per year might see bills rise roughly $32 per year.
“The town raised rates in recent years to build up reserves and reduce the impact of change. So now, revenues will not need to rise as steeply, and the wastewater fund budget can stabilize. If the town is highly successful with grant applications, debt service will be less,” Lawless said.
He also explained that growing local business and adding new customers would also reduce residents’ bills with the new facility’s capability assuming an increase of up to 75 new homes per year.
“The town’s underwriting plan for the bond includes known approved development projects such as Champlain Housing Trust’s Bay Ridge,” he wrote. “Then a conservative growth estimate assumes 1 percent growth in gallons of water sold per year.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Shelburne to vote on new wastewater facility.