VASSALBORO — Members of a joint working group hope to start negotiations soon to craft an agreement to connect the Vassalboro and Winslow sewer systems.

Earlier this month, the Winslow Town Council adopted a memorandum of understanding between the town and the Vassalboro Sanitation District that outlines the responsibilities of both parties as they move closer to finalizing an agreement.

Engineer Richard Green, of Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, answers questions in March at a public hearing on a proposed sewer line connecting Vassalboro’s and Winslow’s sewer systems. Negotiations are expected to start soon on the plan. Winthrop’s Hoyle, Tanner is designing the system. Staff file photo by Peter McGuire

The direction and engineering of the new sewer line, possible updates to the Winslow pumping station and cost sharing of a new gravity-fed sewer pipe will all be part of the next round of discussions, Winslow Town Manager Michael Heavener said. The MOU, as the memorandum is known, is nonbinding, and an eventual contract may include different terms.

“Really, we’re just sitting at the table discussing at this point,” Heavener said.

The Vassalboro Sanitation District board of trustees voted in March to replace its aging sand filter treatment facilities with a connection to the Kennebec Sanitary Treatment District through Winslow, but it is still working on a final design.

According to the MOU, the sanitary district would own the sewer line and be responsible for maintenance, repairs and future replacement. It would pay Winslow the normal rate per volume of wastewater transported through its system, just like a regular customer, and would be limited to 79,000 gallons a day.

“No one is committed to anything,” said Ray Breton, the trustees’ board chairman. Although the Winslow council still is discussing an agreement, connecting the sewer systems would be a win-win for both towns, Breton said.

The current plan is to run a sewer line up Cushman Road, also known as Route 32, from the end of the Vassalboro system in North Vassalboro and connect to Winslow near the intersection with Carter Memorial Drive, roughly three miles away.

The Vassalboro Sanitation District now relies on three sand filter treatment sites — two in North Vassalboro and one in East Vassalboro — to sanitize its wastewater. The sites were adequate when the system was installed in the 1980s, but they are deteriorating and are costly to repair and maintain.

The current treatment system probably also won’t conform to new discharge rules being developed by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

In March, the trustees voted to connect with Winslow instead of building new treatment facilities, citing the smaller overall long-term cost. The project is estimated to cost $5.1 million, and the trustees are applying for funding from federal, state and local sources with assistance from sewer operator Water Quality and Compliance Services and engineers from Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, who are designing the new connection.

A principal source of funding is expected to be the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Program with additional assistance from Maine DEP. Voters in Vassalboro have authorized the town to apply for a $1 million Community Development Block Grant to help finance the project, and the sewer trustees also have applied for funding from the town’s tax increment financing district. The Vassalboro system has about 193 customers.

A significant portion of the proposed connection will be installed in Winslow, and part of the discussion involves determining whether Winslow will need to upgrade some of its pumping stations, Heavener said.

The town also might share some of the cost of a new gravity-fed sewer pipe on Cushman Road to extend sewer service into the neighborhood and bring on new customers, he said.

According to Heavener, the group working on a final contract includes himself; Breton; Winslow public works director Paul Fongemie; Kennebec Sanitary Treatment District board members Bob Nadeau and Peter Dean; Hoyle, Tanner & Associates engineer Richard Green; Water Quality and Compliance Services owner Chuck Applebee; and sanitary district trustees Lee Trahan and Lysa Lovely.

The group hopes to begin meeting in earnest next month to keep momentum behind the project, Breton said.

“We want to keep it rolling,” he said. “We don’t want to sit and idle.

“We all want the same thing, so we’re all going to benefit.”

Peter McGuire — 861-9239

pmcguire@centralmaine.com

Twitter: PeteL_McGuire

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