Back to Wastewater Master Planning Committee Meeting Minutes
JULY 13, 2006
A scheduled meeting of the Hingham Comprehensive Wastewater Master Planning Committee (Committee) was held on Thursday, July 13, 2006 in the East Hearing Room, 210 Central St. Hingham, MA.
The meeting was called to order by Dr. Shilts at 7:10pm.
MEMBERS PRESENT Kirk Shilts, Board of Health, Chair
Gene Babin, Conservation Commission
John Brandt, Sewer Commission
Richard (Skip) Hull
Frank Mahony
Tod McGrath, Planning Board
Roger Sullivan, Water Supply Committee
Mark White
OFFICIALS PRESENT:
• CAMP DRESSER & MCKEE INC. (CDM) David Polcari, Project manager, CDM
Allan Roscoe, Assistant project manager, CDM
Thomas Morgan, Community liaison, CDM
• AQUARION WATER COMPANY (AWC) Larry Bingaman, Sr. Vice President, AWC
Robert Roland, Director of Operations, AWC
CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS Dr. Shilts welcomed Mr. Tod McGrath to the Committee as the new Planning Board appointed member.
Dr. Shilts discussed the matter of committee email protocol, and the open meeting law. He reiterated that a number of committee members do not utilize email, and that deliberating committee business among members should be restricted to the confines of a proper public meeting.
AGENDA Dr. Shilts reviewed with the Committee a draft agenda for the meeting.
Thereafter, the agenda was approved as presented without additions.
MINUTES Dr. Shilts reviewed with the Committee the draft minutes from the June 14, 2006 meeting.
Thereafter, a MOTION was made by Mr. White and Seconded by Mr. Mahony and it was VOTED (unanimous);
To approve the minutes of June 14, 2006 as presented.
INFORMATIONAL CONFERENCE:
AQUARION WATER COMPANY Mr. Bingaman informed the Committee of AWC’s application before the State to permit Free St. Well #4 as a new source of water for the towns of Hingham and Hull. He mentioned that in their response to the application’s ENF, the State issued 65 different requirements, some of which involve the matter of wastewater management. The State comment’s included watershed wastewater recharge, minimizing out of basin transfers, wastewater offset feasibility studies, stormwater management, and low impact development issues.
Mr. Bingaman stated that 43% of Hingham and Hull’s total water supply use is transferred out of the Weir River basin via the MWRA and Hull Wastewater Treatment. It is estimated that based on general population figures, 15% of Hingham’s water use is currently transferred out of basin via wastewater sewers. [revised calculation]
Mr. Bingaman mentioned that AWC would prefer that Hingham not increase the amount of wastewater that is transferred out of the Weir basin and that local wastewater recharge options be considered within the Hingham Zone II aquifer protection area.
Mr. Polcari mentioned that AWC and CDM are sharing data, and working together relative to the water supply needs component of our wastewater study.
Mr. Brandt noted that both sewer and water supply solutions are long-term processes.
COMPREHENSIVE WASTEWATER
MASTER PLAN PROJECT
► PROJECT SCOPE: Mr. Roscoe briefly reviewed with the Committee how the study was subdivided into the Study Areas, a Needs Analysis, and a Scoring Process.
• PROJECT STUDY AREA Mr. Roscoe reviewed with the Committee a map of Hingham cleaved into different regions.
Thereafter, the Committee accepted that the study area will be comprised of nineteen (19) distinct regions, delineated through similar residential, business, & recreational zones, any signature wetland/water body feature(s), and that the regions will be of approximately similar size.
The regions will be named: North Sewer District, Worlds End, Weir Sewer District, Brewer Pond, Home Meadows, Foundry Pond, Accord Brook, Bonve Pond, Cushing Pond, Fulling Mill Brook, Plymouth River, Eel River, Prospect Street, Whiting Street, Gardner Street, McKenna Marsh, Industrial, Accord Pond, and Wampatuck Park.
• PROJECT NEEDS ANALYSIS Mr. Roscoe and Polcari reviewed with the Committee a table of criteria that looked at lot size & density, subsurface soil conditions, and environmental resources.
Thereafter, the Committee accepted that the study will look at fourteen (14) different physical parameters within each region to assess the relative favorable or unfavorable conditions relative to wastewater production/discharge.
The parameters are: Lot size, Nitrogen loading potential, Interim Wellhead Protection Area, Zone I public water supply area, Zone II aquifer protection zone, Surface water supply buffers, Wetland buffers, 100-year flood plain, Area(s) of Critical Environmental Concern, Stressed watershed basin(s), prevalence of Sand & Gravel, prevalence of Fine/ Silty soils, prevalence of Till/Bedrock, and prevalence of Septic System Repairs.
• PROJECT NEEDS SCORING Mr. Roscoe and Polcari reviewed with the Committee a system of weighting each needs parameter to determine which is more sensitive to wastewater production/discharge relative to one another.
The Committee members discussed the factors which they believed were of higher or lower importance.
A number of members questioned the accuracy of the prevalence of Septic repairs score.
Mr. McGrath mentioned that the CDM “weighted” score, an alternative weighted score that the Committee was in the process of discussing, and the non-weighted scores did not seem to generally change the position/ranking for many of the study area’s.
Thereafter, each committee member may affix their own “weighted” importance to each study parameter and electronically submit this data to Mr. Polcari by Friday, July 21st. , and that the study’s weighted needs score for each of the fourteen (14) parameter will be determined from these committee members submissions & include two submissions from CDM.
Furthermore, the chair will notify those absent committee members of this arrangement and deadline.
► PROJECT BUDGET: Mr. Brandt mentioned that the budget is unchanged from his previous 6/14/06 report.
► PROJECT SCHEDULE: Mr. Polcari mentioned that he expects the data collection phase of the study will be completed by the end of August.
PUBLIC OUTREACH PROGRAM Dr. Shilts reminded CDM of the FAQ’s document as outlined during the June 14th meeting.
SCHEDULING The next Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 7PM.
ADJOURNMENT The July 13, 2006 meeting of the Hingham Comprehensive Wastewater Master Planning Committee adjourned at 9:11pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Kirk J. Shilts, D.C.
Secretary pro-tem,
Hingham Comprehensive Wastewater Master Planning Committee