Environmental groups protest outfall decision

REHOBOTH BEACH — Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's approval of Rehoboth Beach's ocean outfall has left environmental groups pondering their next moves to stop the project.

The Delaware chapters of the Surfrider Foundation and Sierra Club have criticized the science behind Rehoboth's environmental impact statement supporting the outfall.

Stephanie Herron, volunteer and outreach coordinator for the Sierra Club, said she did not know what further actions the club may take, but the organization is concerned about the impact of the project and critical of the shaky scientific information underlying the decision.

“At this point, we are carefully reviewing the DNREC secretary’s order and discussing our options and next steps,” she said.

Gregg Rosner of the Delaware chapter of the Surfrider Foundation said the organization wants to work with the city on a viable alternative to ocean outfall. He said the foundation is reviewing the appeal process, possibly hiring legal council and planning a public outreach campaign

Finally, Rosner said the foundation would solicit federal agencies to continue study and to establish a no-fishing zone to allow fish and marine animals to reestablish a healthy habitat away from the outfall. He pointed to a letter from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, included with public comments on the impact statement, pointing out the proposed outfall's negative effects on fish.

Suzanne Thurman, director of the Marine, Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute, said the organization was saddened to hear the decision, calling it environmentally devastating.

“In light of the considerable adverse impact that this type of water treatment system poses to the marine ecosystem, we are dismayed as to why any coastal community would consider this option in the first place, particularly when there are other available options that are more environmentally sound and more cost-effective,” Thurman said.

She advocated constructed wetlands, an alternative former Secretary Collin O’Mara asked the city to look into. However, Small noted in his decision that constructed wetlands would not eliminate 100 percent of the nitrogen and phosphorus from the Inland Bays watershed.

In a statement released after the outfall's approval, the Sierra Club said the impact statement was deeply flawed and made false scientific claims about the project’s impact. The club said the statement used irrelevant information to evaluate the outfall’s pharmaceutical pollution and failed to provide accurate information on the impact on plankton and fish. Thurman also said the outfall will have a detrimental effect on marine species and benthic organisms, meaning those that live on the ocean floor.

“Decisions made about the treatment and disposal of wastewater should be based upon sound scientific evidence and informed judgment,” Sierra Club conservation co-chair Dr. Amy Roe said. “The DNREC secretary’s decision to approve the Rehoboth Beach ocean outfall based upon scurious scientific information has failed the residents of Delaware and those who enjoy the recreational opportunities along our coastline.”

Rehoboth Mayor Sam Cooper has said conditions and aquatic life on the ocean floor will be tested before and after the outfall is constructed.

Moving ahead with outfall

DNREC Secretary David Small said state officials would prefer land application to ocean outfall, but the lack of land in reasonable proximity to the city, a lack of interest from landowners to partner with the city and overall costs of land application made ocean outfall the preferred option.

Ocean outfall was considered to be the lowest-cost alternative: the project's estimated cost is $35 million, with $10 million for upgrades to Rehoboth’s wastewater treatment plant and $25 million for the outfall. The state Water Infrastructure Advisory Council has approved a loan for the water treatment plant upgrades, but has not yet a loan for the outfall; city officials must hold a public referendum before borrowing the money.

An ocean outfall was also considered to be the lowest cost alternative for Rehoboth taxpayers. User charges will double to $635 annually, although the city has prepared itself by increasing wastewater charges by 10 to 15 percent per year since 2009 to ease taxpayers into the new rates. A statement from DNREC said the lowest-cost land application system would have increased rates to $1,010 per year.

Small said, “Delaware’s Inland Bays are incredible ecological and recreational assets that have suffered for generations from too many nutrients. This decision will help complete our goal of systematically eliminating all wastewater treatment plant discharge to these special waterways.”

Decision requires improving stormwater outfalls

Long-awaited approval of an environmental impact statement, needed by Rehoboth Beach officials to secure funding for the city's ocean outfall, did not come with no strings attached.

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary David Small required the city to evaluate its stormwater system and identify improvements and costs to reduce the impact on swimmers.

That’s fine with Rehoboth Beach Mayor Sam Cooper, who supports improving the system.

Cooper said city engineers will work with DNREC to come up with a proposal to send stormwater further offshore, beyond the areas that affect swimmers. DNREC has directed the city to complete the study by June 1, 2016.

The city has five stormwater outfalls that flow into the ocean; Cooper said all of them end only a few yards from the shore.

As a model for what the city could do, Cooper said he has looked at both Virginia Beach, Va.,  and North Myrtle Beach, S.C., which recently constructed stormwater outfalls. The North Myrtle Beach outfalls extended 1,200 feet into the ocean, and were designed in such a way that gravity filters out waste such as cigarette butts and bottles, Cooper said.

Cooper said the city would apply for a state Water Infrastructure Advisory Council grant to pay for a study, a grant he said the city should be able to get.

Prior to Small’s approval, the city and DNREC had briefly discussed an arrangement tying the financing of the stormwater improvements into the ocean outfall, a deal Cooper rejected.