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ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING & INSPECTIONS DEPARTMENT
Craig N. Benedict, AICP, Director
Administration ®`~~a° ga`°~~
(919) 245-2575 131 W. Margaret Ln.
1> >2 P. O. Box 8181
(919) 644-3002 (FAX) ~' Hillsborough, NC 27278
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MEMORANDUM
TO: Orange County Board of Commissioners
COPIES: Frank Clifton, County Manager
FROM: Craig Benedict, Planning and Inspections Director
Kevin Lindley, PE, Staff Engineer
DATE: July 29, 2010
SUBJECT: Central Efland and Northern Buckhorn Sewer Expansion Project Update
We are continuing to move steadily towards permitting of the Central Efland and Northern
Buckhorn sewer expansion project. Approval of the construction plans and specifications is the
next step. A rather extensive application packet has been compiled and should be delivered to
the State's Construction, Grants & Loans office for approval consideration in the next two
weeks.
Status of Grants
The EPA regional office has begun processing our application for the Special Appropriations
(SPAP) grants that were earmarked for the project back in 2003 and 2005. The application was
sent to them in February, but they could not begin processing the application until they approved
the project's engineering report and environmental assessment. We have been in contact with
our EPA review officer, Artie Buff, since the application was sent. The understanding from
talking with him recently is that he has approved the part of the application he reviews and
forwarded it to the next step in the process. There has not yet been any official notification of
approval of our application for the grants.
Easement Acquisition
Work continues on gathering the necessary documents and information to acquire easements for
the sewer line. At this stage, all of the easement plats for the Central Efland area have been
completed by Coulter, Jewell & Thames (CJT), the engineering firm for the project.
Approximately half of the legal descriptions of the easements in the Central Efland area have
been completed by the County Attorney's office. CJT is currently working on the easement plats
for the North Buckhorn area, which is much less extensive than the Central Efland area. Once
these are done, the County Attorney's office will write easement documents and agreements for
these parcels as well.
Central Efland and Northern Buckhom Sewer Expansion Project Update 072910
Customer Information Packet
An information packet for potential new customers to the Efland and City of Mebane (North
Buckhorn) sewer systems has been developed and was presented to the BOCC on June 15, 2010.
This packet has both general and specific information on the sewer expansion project, the
process of connecting to the sewer system and the costs involved with connecting to the sewer
system. These will be distributed at community meetings that will likely take place in late
August.
Railroad Right-of-Way Licenses
The process of obtaining licenses to install a portion of the sewer line in the railroad right-of--way
is underway. Our license application for occupancy in the Northern Buckhorn section of the
project has been accepted, pending payment of the required fees and provision of insurance
information. Since the City of Mebane is the eventual owner of the North Buckhorn sewer lines,
their insurance information is needed for the occupancy license there. City officials have been
contacted and are gathering the insurance documents. Review of our application for occupancy
in the Efland portion of the project is currently underway. The process has taken longer because
the length of pipe in the railroad's right-of--way required review by both the North Carolina
Railroad Company (NCRR) and Norfolk-Southern, whereas the North Buckhorn application
needed to be reviewed only by NCRR. We have also asked if the advent of high-speed rail
through the area will impact placement of our sewer infrastructure. According to the engineer
who reviews plans for the railroad, they are factoring that into their review process and will
advise us if they see any potential future conflicts.
Efland Rate and Fee Investi ag tion
With the system poised for expansion, it is important to establish rates, fees and policies now that
will best serve the system and its customers going forward. County staff are still investigating
various alternative fee structures and/or rate structures for the Efland Sewer System.
Representatives from Justice United, who represent the interests of the existing Efland Sewer
Customers, have asked to be included in these discussions. There have already been several
meetings between this group and staff to discuss the rates and alternatives available to the
County. Recommendations for changes to the rates, fees or policies of the Efland Sewer System
will be brought to the BOCC for consideration in September.
Next Steps
Moving forward, once our permitting application has been reviewed by the State, the packet will
be sent to the EPA for a second review. Concurrent with these reviews, County staff will be
continuing to work on acquiring easements and railroad occupancy licenses. Also during the
plan review phase, the Construction Grants and Loans division can begin processing our
application for State Revolving Loan Funds, which will be used to finance the construction
portion of the sewer expansion.
Central Efland and Northern Buckhom Sewer Expansion Project Update 072910