Engineers exploring whether Laurel View plant could pipe treated water to North Newport River
Customers come in one after another at Buck’s Outboard, an old-school outboard motor repair shop on Isle of Wight, just steps from the Jerico River. Randy Buck, 71, who says “I’ve always been kind of a river rat myself,” inherited the business. Hanging from the walls are his father’s World War II medals and photos, a couple of vintage outboards, and framed photos of grinning, sunburned men holding trophy fish.
“Living down here my whole life, I’ve seen a lot of people, families enjoy the river in its natural state,” Buck said, “and a lot of memories have been made. And we’d like to keep it that way.”
More than 900 members of the Facebook group “Save the Laurel View River” have loudly opposed a proposed state-of-the-art water reclamation facility, which would discharge treated wastewater a few feet from the sandbar.
A few minutes downstream by boat, the Jerico flows into the Laurel View River. The rivers breed oysters and bull sharks, dolphins and crabs. Neighbors hang out at low tide on the sandbar across from Laurel View bluff.
At the sandbar, someone has anchored a miniature floating billboard, decorated with a solar yard light and a sign with a dolphin holding up a QR code for the Save the Laurel View River group.
The proposed wastewater treatment plant, which would process 500,000 gallons a day at first and up to 3 million gallons per day at full buildout, is the hinge for what developer The Foram Group calls “a complete sustainable community with marina, golf, residential and commercial sites on some of the most spectacular land in the coastal south.” That development’s nearly 3,000 housing units would more than double the population in the census tract where it sits.
Some of the recycled water would keep the development’s landscaping green; some would be diverted to cooling towers and industrial uses next door at Tradeport East. Whatever’s left would go into the Laurel View River.
Proposed water reclamation site
The Liberty County Development Authority would run the facility, which it says is needed to support a massive mixed-use development at Islands Highway and I-95. Opponents say they fear the plant would destroy the Laurel View River, an important nursery for marsh life. Discussions continue as to whether any unused reclaimed water would go into the Laurel View River in Midway or an as-yet unknown site at the North Newport River in Riceboro.
Planning for future development
The LCDA, which has been working overtime to defend the wastewater plan, says the water reclamation facility is key to developing what little buildable land is left in Liberty County and in raising residents’ standard of living.
Citing a summary of a 2009 Georgia Department of Natural Resources study, the LCDA says discharge of any unused reclaimed water would have almost no environmental impact.
Some critics have called for a new baseline study of the Laurel View’s oxygen and salinity levels. But state Rep. Al Williams (D-Midway), who chairs the LCDA board, recently told The Current GA, “EPD said another study was not necessary. We don’t make that call. EPD does. And a study by anybody else is not official.”
But on Friday, The Current GA received a document from the LCDA that noted in part, “Responsive to the community’s concern about discharging into a river, LCDA is talking with objective, reputable organizations about performing additional testing before final decisions are made.”
That document also indicated the Laurel View WRF would exceed several state and federal standards and that it would remove more hormones and pharmeceuticals than conventional methods. However, the LCDA pointed out, those items are not included in EPD’s permit.
Williams also questioned why “friends” in booming Bryan County begrudge Liberty its plant “when you built two that’s twice the capacity of ours” using the same technology. Sterling Creek WRF processes up to 3 million gallons per day, while the North Bryan WRF built for the Hyundai Metaplant is projected to handle 4 million gallons per day at current capacity, with an option to expand to handle up to 8 million gallons a day.
“We’ve got to build the system,” he said, “or else, we’re through development-wise. We can’t build anything else. We’re trying to do controlled growth here.”
Technology
The plant would use membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology. First, bacteria eat waste solids, then the water is strained through cellulose or ceramic membranes with pores small enough to remove microorganisms and tiny particles. Leftover solids are trucked to a landfill. The process is cleaner than conventional wastewater treatment, but the filters’ very fine pores require frequent cleaning and the system requires a lot of power.
LCDA Chief Executive Officer Brynn Grant, a Liberty County native, has repeatedly said, “I live on the river, too.” She has held meetings with local news organizations, including The Current GA, to discuss project details and hosted box-lunch sessions for skeptical residents.
In an editorial on the controversy, Grant argued that the high-tech plant could improve Liberty County’s low median household income levels by supporting more homes and businesses while doing the least environmental harm.
“The choice before us is not between ‘development’ or ‘the environment.’ That framing is false and unhelpful,” Grant wrote. “The real choice is whether we plan responsibly for growth that is already happening. Or pretend it isn’t and face more damaging consequences. Doing nothing is not preservation. It is neglect.”
State regulates wastewater quantity, quality
How much wastewater the state would allow the plant to release is based on numbers for various pollutants called waste load allocation (WLA). Georgia EPD does computer modeling, considers state and federal limits, then recommends specific numbers, which engineers use to calculate the maximum amount a plant can discharge.
Twenty years after the LCDA got its first wasteload allocation for Laurel View, project engineer Chris Stovall said, Georgia EPD issued stricter limits in March for the plant – requiring less ammonia, phosphorus, and bacteria in the treated discharge.
“With the updated (waste load allocation), we are meeting full reuse requirements whether in the purple pipe system or sent to the river,” Stovall said, referring to the pipes that carry partially treated water suitable for landscaping but not for drinking.
Those stricter levels are due in part to improvements in wastewater treatment, Ogeechee Riverkeeper Executive Director Damon Mullis explained.
“A lot of these allocations are based on what is feasible with the technology,” Mullis said. “What they [LCDA] say they’re going to put in can treat the waste to a pretty high level, but not 100%. And then you can always have overflows.”
The bottom line, he added, is that “You just can’t grow without impacting our waters. It’s a tough position for everyone.”
Mapping the route
Some members of Save the Laurel View River have suggested freshwater could be rerouted to the North Newport River in Riceboro, which has seen decades of industrial discharge. The LCDA issued a press release May 21 confirming the plan – if it is “environmentally viable and cost-effective.”
Rerouting discharge to the North Newport River requires more calculations.
“We have sent a [new] WLA request to EPD,” Stovall explained. “They are looking at potential locations at present. Typical time for them to complete modeling is fairly significant, so we may not receive an answer for a while.” He added that EPD “is setting up their modeling effort to determine the best location for a point discharge.”
But it’s not yet clear that rerouting is doable.
“I would say we are in an ongoing feasibility determination process right now and doing our best to communicate with stakeholders along the way,” Grant wrote in an e-mail to The Current GA Thursday.
LEARN MORE
- A public hearing on the proposed plant is set for 6 p.m., June 9, at the Liberty County Courthouse Annex, 112 N. Main St., Hinesville, in the Board of Commissioners Chambers on the second floor.
- You can read the Liberty County Development Authority‘s documents about the plant at https://comegrow.global/utilities
- Learn more about Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s Wastewater Permitting process
- Contact your Liberty County commissioner
Stovall explained the technical difficulties involved: “Going farther west will be problematic not only from a distance standpoint adding to the costs, but also we would have to cross several creeks/marshlands/wetlands to get there or head through Midway and will have lots of utility conflicts once you get into congested areas.” He added that low elevations, which can flood and damage pipes, would pose problems.
Rerouting the discharge is not as easy as running a pipe from Point A to Point B, Stovall explained: “[F]inding an accessible point to discharge (upland close to the creek bed vs through the marsh) is difficult – the only location I can see is at the fishing piers, but [I’m] unsure of regulatory requirements there. So, a lot goes into determining the best location for a discharge point.”
Grant noted that rerouting the discharge “does not require a direct path. And until we get a WLA, we will not be able to determine the best path. We do know that we would maximize reuse potential, which could significantly extend the path. Reuse is a priority over cost.”
What would the effect be?
Daniel Scott, a retired engineer who lives on Isle of Wight, said he’s worried that discharging into the Laurel View would upset salinity levels, which vary from brackish to salt. “I don’t believe that’s been addressed properly, and would be devastating,” he said.
The North Newport, he said, “has hydrologic advantages in that it carries a huge load of freshwater now, and it did carry even a larger freshwater load at 20 and a half million gallons per day when the [International Paper] plant was running. So that particular river is actually starving for fresh water in a way that is different from this [the Laurel View] river. So I would support that.”
Mullis said his group is hustling to raise money to monitor the Laurel View River, particularly for salinity levels. Monitoring equipment alone costs about $10,000, he said, not counting labor and lab testing.
A public hearing on the proposed plant is set for 6 p.m., June 9, at the Liberty County Courthouse Annex, 112 N. Main St., Hinesville, in the Board of Commissioners Chambers on the second floor.
Williams said no decision has been made: “That’s why we have public hearings. Everything is on the table. Nothing is set in stone, no contract has been signed, no money let. The purpose of the hearing is to hear from the people. I welcome whatever they have to say.”
Back at the Jerico River dock, Buck said, “I’m not against development. I’m not against the treatment plant. I think we should all be better stewards of not only the waterways, but of the land, and they could do the smart thing and put this effluent water in another place, rather than in a small tidal basin that we have here.”
Scott agreed.
“We’re not dumb down here,” he added. “We know that development is needed, and we know it’s going to happen. But if it’s done in a thoughtful way, we can preserve what we have, and everybody will be happy.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.