DNR gives Curtiss a month for wastewater plan
The Village of Curtiss has been under pressure by the Wisconsin DNR to fix its issues with the Curtiss wastewater treatment plant (WWTP).
According to Wisconsin DNR documents, the DNR notified Curtiss that they would have 30 days to respond to the DNR’s letter of noncompliance.
The DNR originally asked the village for a facility plan for the WWTP in March of 2019. The village provided the DNR with a report stating that the facility was undergoing a full-scale pilot study to determine the most economical method for phosphorous reduction. In that report, it was stated that the facility plan would be submitted in July 2019 and final plans and specs would be provided in December 2019.
In October of 2019, the village submitted a status summary for both phosphorus and ammonia. The village stated the pilot had been in place for 12 months and the village planned to continue pilot testing to achieve consistent concentrations for phosphorus. At the end of the report, it was stated that the facility plan was being prepared to address phosphorus and ammonia compliance.
In March of 2020, MSA submitted a facility plan status to the department on behalf of the village. This stated that the facility plan was on hold pending a site investigation to determine seasonally high groundwater elevation in the immediate vicinity of the existing lagoons. The anticipated completion of the facility plan was then estimated to be submitted by the end of September in 2020.
On September 28, 2021, the village provided a construction upgrade progress report and phosphorous optimization report combined. The village was still working through piloting efforts to determine the best route for phosphorus treatment. The village stated they anticipated that they were moving in the direction of a permanent chemical feed system for initial phosphorus removal and would continue piloting low level phosphorus removal. The village recapped the history with facility planning explaining that in September 2020, MSA was hired to continue work on the facility planning process. The village stated that in late October they were given preliminary cost estimates ranging from $16-17 million depending on Abbyland expansions. In January 2021, final cost estimates of $20.6 or 21.9 million were presented to the board and the board concluded this to be cost prohibitive. The village then decided to get a second opinion on MSA’s work. In June 2021, the village hired Donohue & Associates, Inc and CBS squared, Inc to perform high level second opinions. In July 2021, the village worked with MSA to do a new analysis on data to represent current practices more accurately at the facility. The village also explained that Abbyland has begun weighing the costs of treating their own wastewater with their own engineering firm’s opinion. In the time line given at the end, it stated that the village would finalize WWTP direction by March 31, 2022.
In September of 2022, the village submitted their most recent progress report for phosphorus removal optimization. This report recapped the pilot done for phosphorus treatment. In addition, it stated that the facility has been working since 2019 toward a WWTP upgrade to make phosphorus removal equipment a permanent fixture in addition to addressing ammonia. The report stated that the final phosphorus removal system will be a permanent version of what was seen to work in piloting efforts.
The WWTP upgrade history was recapped and added upon explaining that the village was working with Abbyland on several options. The village stated they have a signed contract with CBS squared for facility planning but is waiting on final decision from Abbyland before continuing. The time line given in this report stated the facility plan would be finished by March 1, 2023.
The DNR said in its notice, “The department recognizes that wastewater treatment plant upgrades can be intricate and that working with Abbyland to finalize these decisions has caused some of the project delays. However, the department would like to establish a clear path moving forward as the facility is now three years behind their compliance schedule with no clear path forward.”
The department then required the village to submit a written response addressing a final time line for finishing the facility plan, final design and construction and final decisions made for ammonia and phosphorus treatment.
Public Works Director Larry Swarr presented the village with his response to the noncompliance letter and it was decided that Trustee Jonathan Unruh would look over the plan before it was required to be submitted at 11:59 p.m. on June 7.
n The village will be requiring a permit for fireworks to be set off.
n The board allowed Swarr to purchase a pontoon boat that will help facilitate projects at the village’s wastewater lagoons. Part of the cost of the pontoon will be covered using a League of Wisconsin Municipalities Mutual Insurance safety grant.
n The board discussed the village’s sidewalk and culvert ordinances. The village requires residents with sidewalks and culverts to replace them. Unruh noted that it seems unfair to those that have sidewalks that they would have to replace them while those without sidewalks incur no such cost. The board however, decided to follow its current ordinance and require those with sidewalks in disrepair to repair them on their own dime.
n After a reported village hall break in occurred last week, the board wanted to discuss getting police protection from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office again. The proposal has been brought up in the past but as of now, the village has no steady police presence other than normal patrols from the sheriff’s department.
Village president Betty Rettig said she would contact Clark County and see if it’s still a possibility to get a contract lined up with Dorchester who has an officer in place around 70% of the time.
The board also brought up needing to change all the locks on village properties. They said during the break in, keys were stolen to village properties and sheriff’s deputies who caught one of the suspects said the keys were not on the suspect’s person. Board members noted they suspected the keys were discarded but wanted to be sure the village’s buildings were secure. A camera was also stolen during the incident.
n Trustee Sheila Tomas is unable to continue as a village board member and the board discussed options for replacement. No candidate was mentioned as of yet.
n A board member abstained from voting on operator’s licenses for personal reasons. Therefore, with only two current board members, an operator’s license for an El Norteno employee was not approved. The board said they would need to find a third member before approving the license.
n The board discussed options for a troublesome culvert for a business in the village. Exit 127 storage has a culvert that is currently dumping water in a part of the property that is ultimately making a section of the property unusable and would like to move or adjust the culvert.
The board said they could help cover the cost of patching the asphalt if the culvert is ultimately moved. Swarr noted that the asphalt above the culvert’s current location has buckled significantly and should be replaced regardless of whether the culvert is moved or not.
The board decided that the landowner is responsible for the cost of moving the culvert but the village would pay for the asphalt patch at the culvert’s current location.
