Brandon Twp.- It’s back to the drawing table for a school district wastewater treatment plant and officials will likely return to a plan to ask voters to fund the project through a sinking fund millage.
Last month, district administrators were excited about the results of an independent study they commissioned that contradicted findings of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which has mandated the district to repair or replace by 2019 the wastewater treatment plant that serves the high school and middle school.
However, the DEQ did not concur with the findings of Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr and Huber, the geo-tech firm the district hired at a cost of nearly $70,000 to do a hydrogeological study.
‘The Brandon School District agrees with the DEQ perspective on this and we are taking their recommendation and will replace the wastewater treatment plant,? said Superintendent Matt Outlaw. ‘We are disappointed that we thought we were heading in one direction and it appears the wastewater treatment plant isn’t working as it was supposed to after all. We are happy to replace the plant if we are not in compliance… There is a possibility we may have to go to taxpayers for assistance and that would be in the form of a sinking fund. I’m hoping we don’t, but it will be very challenging to do this without help.?
While DEQ geology specialist Eric Chatterson said the state department and Fishbeck aren’t necessarily far apart on some conclusions, the contractor that worked on behalf of the district may have had misunderstanding of DEQ rules and standards on meeting compliance. The DEQ, he added, also disagrees with Fishbeck’s assumption that it would be OK if all discharge went to a nearby stream.
Of utmost concern is the contaminants found in the groundwater that exceed drinking water standards. Some of those contaminants can be naturally occurring and there is not much that can be done if that is the case, Chatterson conceded, but the DEQ wants to be sure the wastewater discharge is not responsible for, adding to, or making conditions worse for some of the elevated levels of arsenic, sodium, manganese, iron and chloride that have been found.
‘The area is known for having higher arsenic levels in deeper wells,? said Chatterson. ‘We want to make sure the discharge is not adding to that problem.?
Arsenic is a carcinogen. Acceptable levels in drinking water are 10 parts per billion or less. Chatterson notes that in northern Oakland County, areas including the Brandon Schools property have tested for arsenic as high as 100 parts per billion. Filters and water softener can bring the levels down to acceptable standards.
‘We want to protect human health and the environment, and (Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr and Huber) are trying to defend their client from a technical perspective,? said Chatterson. ‘They (Fishbeck) attempted to write off constituents and we aren’t outright disagreeing or saying the school is responsible for all, but it’s premature to write them off. We want more conclusive data. We are going to ask them to put in more wells and do more samples. Fishbeck made conclusions with existing data and we want additional data before we would concur.?
For the time being, he added, there will be minimum upgrades required, and those could be extensive, all the way up to replacing the plant, which has been estimated in the past to cost as much as $3 million, but which John Thompson, operations director for the district, said will fall more in the range of 1 million to 1-and-a-half million dollars.
Thompson said the district will continue to monitor their levels for the DEQ and fill out a permit for a new system to meet requirements.
‘Fishbeck honestly felt their assumptions were good, but the DEQ disagreed and we have to fix it.?
During a special building and site committee meeting Feb. 8, Board Trustee John Chartier said he would like to replace the wastewater treatment plant as soon as possible as costs will continue to increase, but acknowledged paying for it will be tricky.
‘Taxes in Brandon are extremely high,? he said. ‘I’m not sure how the sinking fund will work, but I want the minimum we have to ask for. If we don’t do this, they shut our schools down.?
‘They have routinely been out of compliance,? said Chatterson. ‘That has to stop.?