StopChathamNorth (SCN)
To the Residents of Briar Chapel,
Hope all of you are well and enjoying our extended spring weather. Here are the latest updates on wastewater in our community.
In this email you will find information about:
1. Newland Communities being acquired by Brookfield Residential
2. StopChathamNorth receiving Articles of Incorporation from the NC Secretary of State
3. Update on the Tri-Party Council
Newland Communities is Acquired by Brookfield Residential
On May 5th, Brookfield Residential announced that it has agreed to acquire Newland Communities. The acquisition is expected to close by June 1, 2021. In addition to the acquisition of Newland, Brookfield Residential is also acquiring 5% General Partner’s Equity Interest in 15 of the 20 master-planned communities that Newland is developing. For more information on this acquisition.
This announcement was published May 5th. We wonder why Newland has not notified Briar Chapel residents on this pending acquisition. Has the BCCA been notified? We hope that Newland and the BCCA will be sending out more information on how this acquisition will impact the Briar Chapel community, the Tri-Party Agreement and the Wetlands/Pokeberry Creek issues. We encourage residents to reach out to the BCCA (Tom Speer – Thomas.speer@briarchapellife.com) and Newland (Tanya Matzen – tmatzen@newlandco.com) for more information.
StopChathamNorth – It’s Official
On April 27th, StopChathamNorth received Articles of Incorporation from the NC Secretary of State and was then officially recognized by the IRS as a non-profit 501(c)(4) social welfare association. This allows us to continue operations as a non-profit representing Briar Chapel homeowners on wastewater issues affecting our community.
Status Update on Tri-Party Agreement
Here’s the latest information we have on the status of the work outlined in the Tri-Party Agreement:
· Work on the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) expansion is underway. ONSWC is using the existing permit, requiring expansion to 500,000 gpd using extended aeration. Our understanding from Mr. McDonald is they expect construction to be completed by end of 2021.
· The permit modification request for the Odor Control system was submitted on March 31st. According to Mr. McDonald, ONSWC needs expedited approval in 60 days of this permit modification to make these improvements. NCDEQ is reviewing the request and is expected to request more information before reaching a decision. In anticipation of NCDEQ approval, ONSWC has moved ahead with the purchase of the odor control equipment.
· On March 19th, NCDEQ approved additional spray irrigation permit modifications increasing the volume of permitted and certified spray irrigation to 250,000gpd.
· NC DEQ is reviewing two additional permit modification requests from ONSWC that would convert some existing spray irrigation from potable to reclaimed water (e.g. Encore residential homes) and allows the construction of some additional spray irrigation fields (area north and south of Western retention pond and in common areas within Encore and behind Cliffdale homes). On May 4th & 5th, CE Group (engineering firm working for Newland) submitted revised applications that call for a total irrigation capacity of 552,328 gpd which when adjusted for precipitation and evaporation (from the storage ponds) would allow a maximum wastewater flow of 530,531 gpd. This is required to allow the WWTP expansion to operate at full capacity. Based on information in the revised application for Package H it appears that NCDEQ has agreed to allow ONSWC to keep the trails and post signs warning the public of irrigation using reclaimed water.
· The Tri-Party Council met on May 11th, 2021. They have not yet posted the meeting notes for that meeting.
Documenting our Concerns
We are extremely thankful for the information shared with us by BC residents. We need to continue to document resident’s complaints/concerns, particularly odor and spray irrigation issues. When you have a complaint, please call Integra Water’s customer service number 877-511-2911. To make sure your complaint is documented, we ask that you also email your concern to us at STOPCHATHAMNORTH@gmail.com. We will make sure your complaint is shared with all the appropriate parties (Integra Water, NCDEQ, BCCA board, First Residential, Amanda Grenier) and documented/tracked.
Over the last 15 months we have documented over 475 resident complaints:
· Odor issues – 344
· Sewage spills – 19
· Construction issues – 11
· Spray irrigation issues – 83
· Other - 19
Fundraising
Total amount donated: $50,964.53 (497 families contributing)
Spent to date: $42,453.16 (Legal: $35,317.50, Engineering Expert: $6,142.00, Administrative: $993.66)
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 Liz Rolison, 1900 Briar Chapel Parkway, Chapel Hill, NC 27516 or simply drop the check at Liz’s house.
We are maintaining a full accounting of these funds and will return any unused funds to all contributors taking into account the weighted average cost to contribution basis. Thank you again for contributing.
StopChathamNorth
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Mission Statement
StopChathamNorth is an incorporated non-profit 501(c)(4) social welfare association representing concerned homeowners within Briar Chapel. StopChathamNorth does NOT support a regional wastewater treatment plant within the residential community of Briar Chapel. We are aware that there are several new communities surrounding Briar Chapel that are planning to utilize our WWTP. We are opposed to all of these plans to expand Briar Chapel’s WWTP for uses outside of the Briar Chapel residential community. We also believe that the WWTP and ONSWC must be fully compliant with all governance and regulatory guidelines to ensure operations do not create a nuisance, unhealthy or hazardous conditions for Briar Chapel residents.
For more information: www.stopchathamnorth.com