Thursday, July 24, 2008

Corrales Rejects Sewer System Requirements

By Amanda Stevens
Journal Staff Writer
      The long debate will continue.
    The Corrales Village Council on Tuesday rejected an ordinance requiring new construction in designated areas to install advanced treatment systems for wastewater.
    The systems, which are similar in size to septic tanks, treat wastewater more thoroughly than septic systems before discharging it into the soil. Virtually all village residents now use septic systems.
    The ordinance would have required advanced treatment systems to be installed in any new construction in the village. It was part of the village's plan for what would eventually be a communitywide wastewater collection system.
    The ordinance was denied unanimously.
    Representatives from the Environmental Health Division of the New Mexico Environment Department attended the meeting to answer questions concerning an e-mail previously sent by EHD to Mayor Phil Gasteyer. The e-mail addressed concerns raised about implementing the ordinance and offered new solutions to the longtime waste-water issues facing the village.
    "I don't mean to be rude, but where have you guys been for the past seven or eight years?" Councilor Jim Fahey asked the representatives."We've tried to ask for guidance on how to deal with these issues facing the village .. and here we are last-minute ... and now we get a letter that says 'Why don't you do these things? Or do this instead?' This isn't new stuff...
    "We've asked for a lot of help and guidance and spent a lot of money on consultation (to find) the best thing to do," he said. "We don't have an unlimited amount of resources."
    The Environmental Health Division had not heard about the village's wastewater project until recently, district manager for the health division Jennifer Ickes said.
    "I can't tell you why we didn't know about it, all I can say is we didn't know about it," Ickes said. "I'm sorry this is last-minute but we did respond the day we heard about it."
    The e-mail offered suggestions to the village, including using a different system than the one proposed by Souder, Miller & Associates, the engineering firm hired to explore wastewater options and implementing an on-site management system. The firm proposed running a 6-inch pipe down the village's commercial core to take wastewater to Albuquerque for treatment.
    The council and EHD will schedule a work study meeting for more details and information.
    "I appreciate the staff from NMED showing up," resident Bob Borman said. "This information is long overdue and obviously from the discussion, much needed. Not only for the policymakers, but the citizens."

---