An angry Frank Lowry scolded officials at a meeting last week for planning to discharge treated wastewater that he fears will flood his land on its way to the Crow River. “I don’t want it,” he fumed, calling it a case of trespassing on private property. “Did you give me the courtesy to come down and tell me this was happening?” Lowry, who lives on 40 acres along the North Fork of the Crow, was the angriest of a roomful of property owners concerned about a sewage treatment plant that the cities of Annandale and Maple Lake plan to build in Albion Township. The crowd estimated at 75 or more people filled the Maple Lake High School cafeteria Tuesday, April 22, at an information meeting called by the two cities and attended by the mayors and council members. Opponents have said one of the reasons for being against the plant is the fear that the extra water discharged from it will flood area roads, including County State Aid Highway 35, which already floods each year. Opponents also fear the plant will devalue their property. Some speakers raised questions about the project while others made it clear they don’t want it. Project manager Brad DeWolf of Bolton & Menk engineers explained and defended the proposed $9.2 million plant during the almost two-hour session. Annandale and Maple Lake have bought 15 acres along County Road 7 at the junction of County Road 105, near the Albion Ridges Golf Course. They plan to build the shared plant there, about four miles south of Maple Lake, and discharge the treated effluent into wetlands to flow into the Crow. Lowry calmed down later in the meeting and said he sympathizes with the problems cities have. In an interview later, Lowry said he’s lived for 14 years on his retirement place in the northwest corner of Marysville Township. A ditch crosses the land diagonally, and water from the plant will overflow the ditch and flood it, he said. “There’s no way they can contain that.” But DeWolf told him the flow from the plant will be so small that “there will not be any detrimental effect to your property, sir.” The plant will discharge into wetlands and ditches, which are the waters of the state, not private waterways, he said. The plant will be governed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, DeWolf said. If it causes problems like exceeding discharge levels or dumping raw sewage “we will be held accountable by the MPCA.” “Both cities will be liable for what comes in and goes out of this treatment facility.” Along with ordering a fine, the MPCA would take action to correct the violation, he said. Lowry’s neighbors, Don and Linda Decker, also spoke against the plant. They own 120 acres west of him on both sides of the river in Middleville Township where they’ve been planting trees for an orchard. “I got 120 acres of lake if I get much more water than what I’m handling right now,” Don Decker told the meeting. “We’re going to be just inundated down there,” Linda Decker said, estimating later that up to 110 of their 120 acres will be under water as a result of flooding on Wolf Creek, which crosses their land. “They’re taking my land away from me,” she said. “I don’t think they have the right. DeWolf addressed the water concern in answering 22 questions that had been posted on the opposition web site, www.noalbionsewage.com., and raised by other speakers. The average daily discharge from the plant would be 325,000 gallons per day in 2004, increasing to 840,000 in 2023, he said. The average daily wet weather flow in 2023 would be 1,184,000 gallons, which is the capacity the plant is designed for. That’s the average flow during the 30 wettest days of the year. DeWolf said that amount represents eight tenths of one percent of the water that flows through the culvert at CSAH 35 during a 100-year-rainfall event. Due to the fact that the percentage of flow is so small, the elevation of the flood waters at CSAH 35 would not increase due to the plant, he said. The discharge from the treatment plant is so small that it won’t increase the flooding at CSAH 35 or make the situation worse, he added. DeWolf responded to a question about why the site was chosen by saying it was because of the cost factor. The goal was to find a site where gravity would take the water to the river so the effluent wouldn’t have to be pumped again. Several such sites were found, and a property owner at the proposed site was interested in selling some land. Properties in areas where sewage treatment plants have been built haven’t experienced a decline in property values, DeWolf said in his presentation. But in response to a later question, he said he will check records on what has happened to property values around other plants. Berms will hide the plant from County Road 7, and it won’t be lighted at night unless someone is there, he said. DeWolf said Annandale and Maple Lake council members and Albion Township board members have toured similar plants and will agree odor isn’t an issue. An odor control unit will be installed on the pretreatment building, he said. DeWolf, to questions from Walt Barlow, a chemical engineer representing the Middleville Township board, said any overflow or backup in Maple Lake would go into the city’s million-gallon equalization tank. “It will stay within the community. It will not go out to the township.” The plant will be monitored “on a continuous basis,” he said. The discharge from the plant will have peaks in the morning and evening, but even with peak flows “we don’t envision erosion problems in the ditch.” Barlow said after the meeting he thinks the plant design is good and there won’t be environmental problems with water quality. But he believes there is potential for more erosion of the waterway. That would result in sediment being deposited where the water slows down, such as on the Decker’s land, he said. Mark Hayes of Minnesota Environmental Services, who said he designs on-site sewer systems and is a hydrologist, questioned DeWolf’s figures. With a growth of 30 homes per year in each city, the amount of wastewater after 20 years should be considerably higher, he said. Only 30 houses per year is “ridiculous” in Wright County, where places like St. Michael and Otsego have much higher growth, he said. “You’re looking at that treatment plant being obsolete before you even get done,” Hayes said. DeWolf defended his figures. The councils decided 30 homes per year was realistic, he said. “I don’t think either city wants to be a St. Michael or an Otsego.” Annandale Mayor Marian “Sam” Harmoning added the city’s growth figures are about 30 percent higher than the school district’s for the 20 years. “We think we’re being more than generous.” Dan Nordstrom, who created the opposition web site, received a positive response when he asked the crowd if they want an environmental impact study. It would provide solid, concrete findings, and be done by an outside party, he said after the meeting, compared to an environmental assessment worksheet, which is being compiled by the MPCA based on information from the engineer. DeWolf said an environmental impact statement would be required by the MPCA only if a problem shows up on the EAW. Most wastewater treatment plants go through the EAW process, not the EIS, he said. A woman from Middleville Township told the meeting it seemed to her the plant was a “done deal,” and she wondered “if any of this is going to make a difference.” “It will make a difference,” DeWolf said. “I’m willing to meet with any landowner and look at their concerns. “This is not a done deal,” he said, noting approvals are needed from the MPCA and Wright County. “This is the first step in addressing the townships’ concerns.” Tami Higgins, one of the opposition organizers, said she left the meeting early because “they couldn’t answer any of the questions anybody had.” DeWolf, however, said the cities presented the data on the plant and gave people an open forum to raise their concerns. He said late last week that he hadn’t heard from any landowners who wanted to meet with him. Asked if there is any room for compromises, he said, “I think there’s always room to compromise on everything.” But DeWolf said he didn’t know what the compromises are or whether any would happen. A July construction start had been planned, but that’s no longer realistic, DeWolf said, as a result of all the meetings and other activity surrounding the plant. A November 2004 completion date “certainly is questionable,” he said.
