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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Staff Report 08.13.1997REQUEST: PC 8/13/97 PROJECT INFORMATION AND STAFF COMMENTS Review of the St. Finnbar Regional Wastewater Facility Site Application for the construction of a sewage treatment works APPLICANT: St. Finnbar Land Company I. Description of the Proposal It is proposed to develop a regional wastewater treatment plant to service the St. Finnbar Farm development and a number of other properties in the area that cannot be served by the existing sewage treatment facilities in the area. (See Application) The proposed method of treatment is the E. A. Aerotor Design Closed Loop Reactor, with a design capacity of 100,000 gpd. The projected service area would serve 251.9 EQR, with an estimated flow of 88,165 gpd. It is projected to have 214 EQRs attributed to single family dwellings and the remaining 37.9 EQRs attributed to the Waldorf school and commercial uses in the area. The proposed site is large enough to allow for expansion of the facility beyond the initial design capacity. History: In 1993, the applicants applied for Preliminary Plan approval of a nine (9) lot subdivision on the St. Finnbar ranch property. The Planning Commission recommended denial of the proposed subdivision, due primarily to the proposed use of Individual Sewage Disposal Systems (ISDS). The adjacent Preshana Farms PUD was approved subject to the acceptance of the Ranch at Roaring Fork of the development's sewage into their treatment facility. Both developments made application to the R at RF Home Owners Association and were denied access to their sewage treatment facilities. (See letter pg.( ax4r../4" i _i.f� II. Issues and Concerns A. Legal Process: To construct a new sewage treatment facility, applicant is required to submit an Application for Site Approval for Waste Water Treatment Facilities to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). The site application is required to be reviewed by the County Board of Health, Board 1 of County Commissioners and Planning Authority. These entities are given three recommendation options; approval, disapproval and no comment. The recommendation is to address the following questions: "Are the proposed facilities consistent with the comprehensive plan and any other plans for the area, including the 201 Facility Plan or 208 Water Quality Management Plan, as they affect water quality?" The recommendations made by local governments are considered by the CDPHE in their approval or denial of the site application. If the CDPHE recommends denial of the proposed site application, it can be appealed to the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission. B. Garfield County Comprehensive Plan: The St. Finnbar regional wastewater treatment facility is located in the Low Density Residential District (10+ ac/du) Water and Sewer Services Goal: To ensure the provision of legal, adequate, dependable, cost effective and environmentally sound sewer and water service for new developments. Objective 7.5: Garfield County will strongly discourage the unnecessary proliferation of private water and sewer systems. Policy 7.1: All development proposals in rural areas without existing central water and/or sewer systems will be required to show legal, adequate, dependable and environmentally sound water and sewage disposal facilities can be provided before project approval. Policy 7.2: Where logical, legal and economic extension of service lines from an existing water and/or sewage system can occur, the will require development adjacent to or within a reasonable distance to enter into the appropriate agreement to receive service. The burden of proof regarding logical, legal and economic constraints will be on the developer. Policy 7.4: Where I.S.D.S. is not feasible, Garfield will require a sewage disposal system approved by the State of Colorado. Comment: Staff concedes that it is economically infeasible to find another central water and/or sewer system in the area to serve the facility, since the Ranch at Roaring Fork has declined to service the proposed St. Finnbar Ranch development. The applicants have pursued approval from the Ranch at Roaring Fork to be able to connect their development into the Ranch's sewage treatment plant. As noted previously, they were denied access. The proposal of the applicant to develop their own sewage treatment plant is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan requirements for Water and Sewer Service. Natural Environment Goal: Garfield County will encourage a land use patten which recognizes the environmental sensitivity of the land, does not overburden the physical capacity of the land and is in the best interest of the health, safety and welfare of Garfield County . Objective 8.4: River -fronts and riparian areas are fragile components of the ecosystem and these areas require careful review in the planning process. Policy 8.4: The County will require development with river frontage to address the issue through physical design in a way which will protect fragile wetlands and scenic resources and protect floodplains from encroachment. Comment: The applicants have responded to a requirement of the Planning Commission during the review of a subdivision proposal. One of the more significant concerns was a proposal to use ISDS as a sewage treatment in the floodplain of the Roaring Fork River. The entire project is within the boundaries of the Roaring Fork River floodplain, but the proposed treatment facility site is in an area that is essentially an island within the floodplain. If construction of the facility is very clearly designed to prevent any flooding potential, the application can be found to be consistent with the Natural Environment goal and policies. C. Other Staff Comments Management: The ownership of this facility should be under the control of a special district or some other legally formed entity other than the standard home owners association. This is even more important, since their are a number of outside users of the services, that will not be members of the homeowners association. Informal discussions with the Mid Valley Metropolitan Sanitation district indicate that their may be some interest in enlarging the management functions of the District, to include another sewage treatment facility. At this time their is nothing other than discussions. Development Approvals: The site application notes a number of different proposals, that may or may not be served by the proposed sewage treatment plant. The approval of the site application does not in any way guarantee approval of a development density. By way of example, the St. Finnbar subdivision was originally nine (9) units, but the site application notes 14 units. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment: CDPHE does not review site applications until all of the local entities have made their recommendations. The CDPHE has in the past required consolidation of facilities such as the this application with the Ranch at Roaring Fork. The consolidation issue has changed informally at this time to only show that efforts have been made to consider consolidation. Efforts to consolidate with the Ranch at Roaring Fork have been made by the applicants and rejected. 3 Recommendation That the Planning Commission recommend approval of the proposed site application, with the comment that the provision of service outside of the subdivision will require the formation of a special district to manage and maintain the treatment facilities.