COLRAIN — The Colrain Sewer District has until Sept. 1 to figure out a short-term plan for its sewage disposal.
With the date quickly approaching, the district is not yet ready for Barnhardt Manufacturing Company to completely pull out.
“We are taking lots of steps forward, but right now we are at a standstill,” District Commissioner and Moderator Patrick Geary said during the recent Colrain Selectboard meeting.
Barnhardt Manufacturing Co., which has been processing the sewage of 21 homes, announced its pending closure in early December 2022, leaving the residents of the Colrain Sewer District to search for a quick solution in the following months. The company has processed the sewage free of charge for years, with other manufacturing companies in the space always doing the same. With no new businesses moving into the building, the residents must find a solution or their homes will be condemned.
Barnhardt was running a skeleton crew in the factory and is set to stop dealing with the district’s sewage on Sept. 1. According to Andrew Evans, environmental technician at RCAP (Resources for Communities and People) Solutions, Barnhardt stopped processing sewage this spring and has been paying to truck the sewage from the facility.
“This is a big can of worms no one has opened before,” said Selectboard Chair Ben Eastman.
Complicating the matter is that the homes are part of the Colrain Sewer District, an independent entity created by a 1997 legislative act empowering residents of Church, High and Griswoldville streets — as well as one residence on Main Road — to manage their wastewater. This means the town has no jurisdiction to assist.
The residents have been working for months to find a short and long-term solution for the problem, meeting with representatives of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, local politicians and engineering firms. They are facing a standstill at the moment, because it is nebulous who owns the sewage plant. The district found that they cannot, for now, take ownership of the sewage plant when Barnhardt leaves, and the town does not intend to take it over.
“The key is to determine who owns the system,” Town Administrator Kevin Fox said. “The intent is for the district to own the system.”
Because the district does not own the processing plant, they do not qualify for the badly needed grants they were hoping to apply for. Geary, representing the district, spoke about how the town may need to apply for grants on behalf of the district.
“The sewage district would be prepared to take ownership of the plant once we get to the finish line,” Geary said.
Also causing the district issues is MassDEP has indicated the district will need an infiltration and inflow reporting plan. The town has planned to meet with MassDEP this week to discuss the matter. The district cannot make a plan because they do not own the system.
“I am willing to do whatever it takes, to do daily measurements and reporting, to satisfy their concerns,” Geary said.
The district has signed a trucking agreement with the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District to take over as Barnhard leaves. However, that agreement is not finalized, because the district does not have a signed access agreement from Barnhardt Manufacturing. A draft lease has gone back and forth between Barnhardt and the district.
Trucking and pumping out the wet wells will cost the 21 homes in the district a combined $10,000 a month. The district currently has $15,000 collected in fees from residents and $50,000 obtained through an earmark in the state budget by Sen. Paul Mark, (D-Becket).
“We might last six months pumping out. This is not pretty. This should have been figured out months ago,” Geary said.
Geary noted that six homes are already struggling to pay the $33 monthly fees imposed by the district.
The district has already applied for a $500,000 One Stop for Growth grant to continue funding the pumping and trucking, and will find out in October if it’s to be awarded. Applying for a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant is another option, provided that issues around ownership get resolved.
Evans explained the district will likely create a subsurface sewage disposal system as a long-term solution. This system acts like a large septic tank. They are working with Community Engineering Corps and a team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for preliminary engineering.
Representatives of the district said the system will likely be constructed in three to five years, so they will need to find a way to pay for the short-term solution in the meantime. A sustainable wastewater management system typically needs about 100-120 customers to create an affordable cost for functioning, an unacceptable solution with the about 20 homes in the district.
The Selectbaord also made a motion to instruct the town Conservation Commission and Board of Health to look into possible concerns with the dam, lagoons, and canal at the plant as Barnhardt leaves.
“The basic capitalist in me says it is not Barhardt’s problem. They have a right to leave,” Selectbaord Member Thom Griffin said. “I don’t know what ground we can force them to do anything for us except morals.”
Bella Carmela Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com