StopChathamNorth
To the Residents of Briar Chapel,
We hope these updates are helpful.
Important Meeting of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners
Chatham County Board of Commissioners – Monday, March 16th at 6pm at Agriculture & Conference Center at 1192 US 64W – We are awaiting the final agenda, but it has been confirmed that a public hearing for Williams Corner is on the agenda. CC BOC will be voting on a rezoning request by Bold Development for Williams Corner (located at 15/501 and Lystra Road). The rezoning request includes plans for 540-unit multi-family apartments, 140,000 sf retail and 90,000 sf office space – with plans to utilize off-site treatment of wastewater and off-site disposal of treated wastewater by Old North State Water Company (referring to the Briar Chapel WWTP). The BCCA HOA Board and members of StopChathamNorth will testify. Residents are strongly encouraged to attend to show their concern about these plans and to speak out against Williams Corner plans to use Briar Chapel’s WWTP.
Attorney Update
Our attorney has met with the BCCA attorney, Mr. Nick Herman, to ensure appropriate collaboration in our efforts. Mr. Allen is filing an intervention on behalf of Briar Chapel homeowners later this week. StopChathamNorth (SCN) is preparing a rebuttal to ONSWC response to HOA Board and resident testimony from the January 14th Public Hearing to help prepare for the June 16th hearing. Mr. Allen continues to provide guidance to the SCN steering committee on outreach activities including meetings and correspondence with key organizations and individuals. Mr. Allen is also encouraging our Briar Chapel residents to continue their outreach activities, such as: documenting their concerns/complaints about Envirolink, documenting any meetings with Envirolink or ONSWC staff and participating in meetings/public hearings where it is important to demonstrate resident concern about expanding our WWTP into a regional facility. If you have information that you want to share with SCN’s legal counsel, please email your information to mailto:STOPCHATHAMNORTH@gmail.com.
Irrigation Season has Begun
On Monday, ONSWC/Envirolink began spray irrigation in some parts of the neighborhood. Homes on Wildwind Drive reported brown water being sprayed with a strong, foul odor. This alarming video was taken by one of our homeowners documenting the situation. Here’s another video of spray irrigation on Wildwind Drive.
In response, to homeowner complaints, a representative of Envirolink wrote:
“Yesterday, the irrigation contractor for the water reclamation facility in Briar Chapel began preparing the system for the spring irrigation season. One of the many steps in the start-up process is to check the pumps. Due to a partially closed valve, a zone in the Boulder Park neighborhood was erroneously activated. This resulted in the release of backed-up, stagnant reclaimed water that had remained in the system since it was shut down in the fall. This was stagnant reclaimed water, not sewage water. Nonetheless this fact does not make up for the unpleasantness experienced by homeowners in Boulder Park who witnessed this. Old North State Water Company (ONSWC) addressed the problem promptly after it came to our attention, and we apologize to those affected. ONSWC will provide an update to its customers next week regarding the start-up of the irrigation system that will occur over the next several weeks.”
We have reported this to the NCDEQ and the Health Department. We were surprised to learn that NCDEQ does NOT require the WWTP operator to test the water prior to irrigation. It is tested when it is placed in the pond, but not before irrigation. The water that was sprayed on Monday has been sitting in that pond (and pipes) for over five months. As we all know the ponds are frequented by ducks, geese and other animals contributing feces. We are very concerned about the quality of the water and we have been extremely outspoken about this to the NCDEQ and the health department. Please note, this water, by permit, cannot be sprayed on your home, on your sidewalks, and it cannot be sprayed during rain and high winds. If you note any of these conditions we encourage you to report it to Envirolink (252-235-4900), StopChathamNorth (stopchathamnorth@gmail.com), NCDEQ (Scott Vinson, 919-791-4200, scott.vinson@ncdenr.gov) and the Chatham County Health Department (Anne Lowry, 919-545-8310, anne.lowry@chathamnc.org).
Please contact us at mailto:stopchathamnorth@gmail.com if you experience any strong odors, discolored irrigation, oversaturation, pooling of irrigation water or sinkholes caused by the irrigation system. Video and pictures are helpful.
Meetings of Note
This week we continued to reach out to a number of organizations, groups and individuals that we felt could be supportive of our mission:
· Chatham County Planning Board –March 3rd – Williams Corner rezoning proposal (which includes the proposed use of Briar Chapel’s WWTP by Williams Corner) was handed off to the Chatham County Planning Board. We attended to remind the Planning Board that we are watching and do not support the use of Briar Chapel’s WWTP by Williams Corner.
· Jason Sullivan – Chatham County Planning Board – Mr. Sullivan confirmed that Chatham County currently has no plans to build or manage a public wastewater plant in northern Chatham County. Any new development in northern Chatham County will need to either utilize an existing WWTP or provide their own septic or wastewater treatment facilities. Referring to the Chatham County Comprehensive Plan he explained that no standards have been developed for decentralized wastewater systems in Chatham County as they have no expertise in this area. They have also not identified any Urban Service Areas in northern Chatham County where public sewer systems would be preferable and feasible. Further, he said there are currently no plans for a public/private partnership for providing wastewater treatment facilities in northern Chatham County.
· Diana Hales – Chatham County Commissioner – On Tuesday, March 10th Diana Hales spoke to Briar Chapel residents about how county government works.
· NCDEQ Public Information Officer – We have requested a meeting with Scott Vinson of NCDEQ to discuss a number of relevant issues.
Upcoming meetings to watch for:
· Diana Hales – Chatham County Commissioner – On Thursday, March 12th Diana will be meeting with the SCN task force to discuss our WWTP issues in more detail.
· Environmental Review Advisory Committee – They are setting up a separate meeting for next week to discuss the Environmental Impact Assessment of the Williams Corner project. We’re still awaiting a confirmed date/time.
· HOA Town Hall Meeting – Sunday, March 15th at 12noon at Briar Chapel Clubhouse – Informal meeting with the HOA Board where residents can get updates and ask questions.
Are you Experiencing Issues with our WWTP/Spray Irrigation? It’s time to Document our Concerns
Thank you for documenting your complaints to Envirolink. Since Feb 7th, we have been copied on 66 complaints, including: 55 complaints for odors, 4 construction complaints, 3 spray irrigation complaints, 3 general complaints and 1 spill. In comparison, Envirolink reported to the NC Utilities Commission that in 2019 there were a total of 79 service complaints of which only 10 were due to odor. While we regret that our residents are experiencing these issues, we believe this documentation will make a difference in showing that Briar Chapel residents have serious concerns that have been underreported.
It’s important to document any concerns or complaints that you personally experience with the Briar Chapel wastewater management system (odor, runoff, spills, spray effluent pooling) by writing to Envirolink. Just a simple email works. If your concern can be documented with a picture (e.g., spills, spray effluent pooling), please attach any pictures you’ve taken of the incident to your email. We know that many of you have stopped calling because the response you have received from Envirolink in the past has been inadequate, but it is imperative that we continue this effort and build a record of your complaints. We also know that you experience some of these conditions over and over (i.e., odor) but again it is important to document these concerns each time you experience them.
When you have a complaint, Envirolink asks that you call their customer service number 252-235-4900. To make sure your complaint is documented, we ask that you also email your concern to lbowman@envirolinkinc.com and copy (cc) us at STOPCHATHAMNORTH@gmail.com. Your concern will only be tracked if you send the email.
Fundraising
Total contributions to date (as of 3/10/2020): $28,940.38
Total number of contributors: 312
We’d like to thank everyone who has already donated towards the cost of legal representation. We have funded the retainer for the attorney and are working towards sufficient funds to cover us for the NC Utilities Commission Evidentiary Hearing through to final decision. If you haven’t had a chance to make a donation yet, please consider doing this. We’ve had questions from many of you asking for help in determining a suggested donation. We want people to contribute what they can, but a minimum of $100 will greatly help in paving the way toward funding for the longer term.
You can donate via PayPal by using this link:
https://paypal.me/STOPCHATHAMNORTHNC?locale.x=en_US
If you prefer not to use PayPal:
You can write a check to: STOPCHATHAMNORTH and mail it to: STOPCHATHAMNORTH in care of Terri Burrell, 78 Middleton Place, Chapel Hill, NC 27516 or simply drop the check at Terri’s house.
We are maintaining a full accounting of these funds and will return any unused funds to all homeowners who contribute on a prorated basis.
Thank you again for contributing. If we all work together, we have a better chance of achieving our goals.
StopChathamNorth