PAC Minutes

Western Wake Partners

Policy Advisory Committee
Recommendations

Friday, January 30, 2009, 3:00 p.m.
Morrisville Town Hall, Council Chambers
100 Town Hall Drive, Morrisville, North Carolina
www.westernwakepartners.org

The Western Wake Partners met with Congressman David Price on January 30, 2009.  Committee members attending were Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears, Morrisville Mayor Jan Faulkner, Apex Town Manager Bruce Raeford, and Cary Interim Town Manager Ben Shivar.  Committee members absent were Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly, Holly Springs Town Manager Carl Dean, and Morrisville Town Manager John Whitson. 

The purpose of the meeting was to provide a status of the Western Wake Water Reclamation facility to Congressman David Price.

• The Project And Its Purpose
• Key Project Components
• Project Cost
• Financing
• Permitting, Design and Construction Status and Schedule

Western Wake Regional Wastewater Management Facilities

Who Are The Western Wake Partners?
The Western Wake Partners consist of the Towns of Apex, Cary, Holly Springs, and Morrisville. These four areas are located in the western portion of Wake County, represent close to 25% of the total population of Wake County and are in close proximity to the Research Triangle Park.

The Project And Its Purpose
Each of the partners considered how to best meet their own wastewater treatment needs. The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) encouraged the towns to consider the adoption of a single regional approach, rather than several independent solutions. Studies showed that by coming together to create regional facilities that will serve each town, the Partners’ solution will be more environmentally sensitive and more economical than if each town were to build their own.  There are three drivers behind this project:

(1) The regulatory mandate issued by the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission (NCEMC) addresses an Interbasin Transfer (IBT) by the Towns of Apex, Cary, Morrisville and Wake County (for the portion of RTP in Wake County). An IBT refers to water being withdrawn from one of 17 defined water subbasins and being discharged into another – in this case from the Haw River subbasin (Jordan Lake) to the Neuse River subbasin.  A certificate from the NCEMC is required for an IBT. In this case, the joint IBT certificate for Apex, Cary, Morrisville and Wake County includes a condition requiring that the towns begin to return water to the Haw or Cape Fear River Basin after 2010.

(2) A recommendation issued by the NCDENR Division of Water Quality (DWQ) strongly suggests that the Town of Holly Springs no longer discharge reclaimed water into Utley Creek.

(3) Population growth in the region - Currently the combined population of Apex, Cary, Holly Springs, and Morrisville accounts for roughly 25% of Wake County’s total population. By 2010, the expected population for these areas is 220,150 people, and that number is expected to double by 2030. Even with slow growth, it is clear that the Western Wake Partners will face a wastewater challenge.

Key Project Components
The Project includes 2 major raw wastewater conveyance pump stations, 9.3 miles of force mains and gravity sewers, the 18 million gallon per day (MGD) Western Wake Water Reclamation Facility, biosolids processing facilities, a treated effluent pump station, 12 miles of effluent pipeline, and an outfall to the Cape Fear River upstream of Buckhorn Dam.

Project Cost

Financing
State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans

• $5M planning and permitting
• $70M WRF construction

Remainder

• General Obligation Bonds
• Borrowings to be offset to the degree possible with:

• Utility capital reserve cash
• Revenue bonds

Permitting, Design and Construction Status and Schedule
The USACE is the lead agency for the NEPA EIS process. The timing of all subsequent phases of the project, including construction, is dependent upon the USACE process.  We expect the Draft EIS – Notice of Availability to be published in the Federal and NC Registers in late February 2009, with the period for public comment extending into April, 2009.  Following issuance of a Record of Decision by the USACE, the NPDES permit, 404 permit, 401 certification, and authorization to construct (ATC) could be issued in September 2009. 

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