East Hampton WPCA Clears Clark Hill Sewer Extension, Sets April Appeals Hearing

Water Pollution Control · Meeting of March 16, 2026

East Hampton's Water Pollution Control Authority cleared a 600-foot Clark Hill Road sewer extension and debated a $20,000 Middle Haddam infrastructure study at its March 16 meeting. The board unanimously approved opening and closing a public hearing on the Clark Hill extension — estimated at $200,000 to $250,000 and funded from the sewer development fund — with no public opposition, and directed Public Utilities Administrator Anthony Simone to return with engineering proposals before construction begins. Members voted unanimously to schedule a special appeals hearing for April 21 at 6 p.m. for sewer connection matters.

On the Middle Haddam study, Simone told the board two developers — one targeting the former Middle Haddam school property, one linked to a biosolids facility — are each at 50 to 80 percent design and hope to appear before Planning and Zoning this summer, arguing a conceptual layout now would give the authority design control over what could be a $10 million pump-station-and-force-main project. Member Richard Knotek pressed for developer cost sharing, and the board reached a general consensus to ask each developer to contribute $10,000 before the WPCA commits its own funds. On the FY27 budget, Simone presented a draft showing sewer rates rising from $605 to $635 — a 4.96 percent increase — with the WPCA's joint-facilities share climbing from roughly $1,395,000 to $1,746,000; separately, a $1.75 million state planning grant for the centralized water system was reported to have lapsed undetected in December 2025, halting scheduled well drilling.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 1,329 words

Source: the Water Pollution Control meeting of March 16, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

EAST HAMPTON — March 16, 2026 — The Water Pollution Control Authority voted to schedule a special appeals hearing for April 21 and opened a public hearing on a proposed 600-foot Clark Hill Road sewer extension, while spending more than an hour debating whether to spend up to $25,000 on a conceptual infrastructure study for a potential Middle Haddam sewer expansion tied to two active development projects.

The board closed the Clark Hill public hearing with no public comment and directed staff to return with engineering cost estimates before any construction approval. On the Middle Haddam study, members reached a general consensus to support moving forward but insisted that the two developers pressing for the analysis — not ratepayers — should bear at least a portion of the cost.

The Full Story

Chair Jack Solomon called the regular meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. The board opened by approving the minutes of its February 3 regular meeting. One member of the public attended to ask about a proposed drying facility; Solomon and Public Utilities Administrator Anthony Simone clarified the WPCA has no jurisdiction over that project and that details online represent all that is currently available.

Under the committee report and joint facilities update, staff described a process change routing thickened waste activated sludge directly to the day tank and belt press rather than through the digesters, roughly doubling throughput from 20 gallons per minute to 33 to 35 gallons per minute. Staff noted the digesters, which have not been cleaned in approximately 40 years, had been causing grit and rag buildup that clogged transfer pump valves. Plant water pump installations are complete. Staff also reported a transformer at the Lower Ridge pump station is failing intermittently, dropping voltage to as low as 65 volts; a replacement has been obtained but not yet installed. The board was told the pump station at Hawthorne is likely to run at high alarm during the coming snowmelt season due to infiltration and an undersized pump.

On the centralized water system update, staff reported that a $1.75 million state planning grant — consisting of a $1.5 million and a $250,000 award — expired on approximately December 18, 2025, without anyone at the state Department of Public Health or at the town level catching the sunset date. Well drilling that had been scheduled for the week of the meeting was halted by the town manager.

"They've said that the town manager had some discussions and climbed up the chain of command and the chain of command said they were expediting trying to get the grant back." [00:17:56] — Simone, Public Utilities Administrator

Staff noted the town has been approved for an additional $2 to $3 million for further studies and design and has a $127 million financing and construction approval from DPH, though that larger tranche is not expected to be drawn on in the near term. Discussions on whether to bond for the next step are underway.

On the fiscal year 2027 budget, Simone presented a draft showing the WPCA's share of joint facilities costs rising from approximately $1,395,000 to $1,746,000, driven in part by moving administrative salaries — including Simone's and Administrative Assistant Linda Connors's — into the joint facilities line for cost-sharing purposes. The largest line item increases are in professional and technical services, reflecting ongoing CMOM work and the wastewater facilities plan. A $30,000 increase to the reserve-for-capital line is included to cover projected debt service on a potential $3 million bond for pump station upgrades. Under the proposed budget, sewer user rates would rise from $605 to $635 per year, an increase of $30 or approximately 4.96 percent. The grinder pump program fee has already been increased from $500 to $750 this year, with a further increase to approximately $1,000 planned for next year. The joint facilities budget has not been finalized, and Simone noted that Colchester's representative is pressing for no more than a 10 percent increase on that side, a target he called "impossible" given a shift in the flow split from 53.47 to 50.50 percent that alone creates a roughly 3 percent cost swing.

The most extended discussion of the evening centered on a proposed $20,000 conceptual infrastructure study for a potential Middle Haddam sewer expansion. Simone said two developers — one focused on the former Middle Haddam school property and adjacent parcels, the other connected to a biosolids facility — have separately approached the authority about connecting to the sewer system, and both are targeting Planning and Zoning submissions this summer. He argued that doing conceptual planning now, as the authority did for the Long Crossing development, would allow the WPCA to control design standards and negotiate cost sharing rather than be handed undersized or improperly routed infrastructure after the fact.

"If we hadn't done any of the planning, the sewer that would be going in on Long Crossing would be an eight-inch sewer. We need a 12 to handle the growth, and it would be at eight feet depth instead of 20 feet depth that we needed to get up." [01:21:46] — Simone

Member Richard Knotek challenged the sequencing and questioned why ratepayers should fund planning that primarily benefits private developers, and pressed for transparency about whose idea the gravity-feed routing concept had originally been.

"My advice to you with me, I would rather your brutal honesty and say — I came up with this idea — and present it as such, because when I feel I have to peel back layers of the onion, my trust level diminishes." [02:01:37] — Knotek, Member

The board reached a general consensus to support the study but directed Simone to first ask each developer to contribute toward the cost — members suggested seeking $10,000 from each developer, splitting the roughly $20,000 total — before the authority commits its own funds. No formal vote was taken on the Middle Haddam study. The board deferred a second related proposal entirely.

The board also briefly addressed social media misinformation about the land purchase adjacent to the treatment plant and a proposed biosolids facility. Members urged Simone to offer public facility tours and to work with the River East newspaper, which is preparing an article on the subject, to correct factual errors circulating online.

Why It Matters

The Clark Hill Road extension — approximately 600 feet serving four to six parcels, estimated at $200,000 to $250,000 and funded from the sewer development fund — is now cleared of all approval hurdles and moves to engineering. Residents along that corridor will face connection assessments when they tie in.

The Middle Haddam infrastructure question carries longer stakes. Two developers are reportedly at 50 to 80 percent design on projects that could include a large pump station estimated to require 125-horsepower pumps and a 12-inch force main, with a rough total project cost floated at $10 million or more. How costs are shared between developers, the WPCA, and potentially Colchester as a joint-facilities partner will shape whether sewer service ever reaches an area the authority has designated as a sewer service zone since the treatment plant was built. The next WPCA regular meeting will take the joint facilities budget, which must be finalized before the WPCA can adopt its own FY27 budget.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Approval of minutes of the February 3, 2026 regular meeting Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Open public hearing on Clark Hill Road sewer extension Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Close public hearing on Clark Hill Road sewer extension Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Establish a special meeting on April 21, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. for appeals hearings on sewer connection matters Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve Longcroft sewer extension resident engineering proposal (developer-funded, with $15,000 deposit already received) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Motion to adjourn Tally: Approved unanimously

Source

Town of East Hampton Connecticut: Water Pollution Control Authority meeting, March 16, 2026