Amenia Wastewater Committee hears comments from residents

AMENIA — The Amenia Wastewater Committee continues to work toward defining the boundaries of what will be a wastewater district.

At its regular meeting on Thursday, Aug. 4, discussion continued with two residents in attendance.

Committee members are engaged in speaking with residents to gather feedback on the condition of their home septic systems and to measure the level of their interest in participating.

Because she had installed a new septic system on her property six years ago, resident Nancy Nowak largely spoke in opposition to the planning for a town wastewater system as it is presently proposed in the preliminary planning stage. She questioned the validity of the argument that a wastewater system would protect wetlands, although she said that she could favor installation of a system to serve the downtown commercial area.

She added, however, that she would not want to pay to subsidize that system. And she asked that a town-wide referendum decide the issue, rather than a system district vote, when the time came.

Continuing the discussion, Wastewater Committee chairman Charlie Miller noted that a majority of the households and businesses within the proposed district are in favor of the planning.

“All we are trying to do is to form a district in order to apply for grant funding,” Miller said. If successful, he explained, the grant funding would need to support 75% of the project’s construction costs. The balance would be raised through bonding.

Miller noted that any grant application requires that the town provide a defined wastewater district along with the application in order to be considered.

“Businesses would pay more in fees, based on their usage,” committee member Paul Winters said, responding to concerns about costs.

Commenting in favor of a wastewater project, resident Erica Howard said, “The only way the area will grow is to do it.”

Winters summarized the feedback being heard from other residents. “People who have recently installed a new septic system are not in favor, and people with old or aging systems largely favor moving ahead. And people are generally concerned about costs or that taxes might increase.”