HARTFORD — A proposal to extend Hartford’s sewer system to neighboring Norwich is in limbo after town officials declined Tuesday to endorse the project, but didn’t explicitly kill it either.
During a roughly hourlong discussion, Hartford Selectboard members worried that expanding the sewer line to the Marion Cross School could open the town to unwanted liability or development.
Several times, officials also questioned how Hartford would benefit from helping the Norwich School Board, which for more than two years has explored options to repair or replace a failed septic system under the Norwich green.
“One of the fundamental questions for me is ‘Why are we doing this?’ ” Hartford Interim Town Manager John MacLean said. “What’s in it for Hartford?”
A roughly 1.3-mile sewer expansion running north along Route 5 from Wilder is one of three options the Norwich School Board is considering to alleviate the Marion Cross School’s septic troubles, which started in the 1990s but have worsened in recent years. Other possibilities include replacing the septic system or relocating the leach field to another property nearby.
If a sewer extension were to be approved, other businesses in Norwich including the Co-op Service Center, King Arthur Baking Co. and the Norwich Commerce Park could also connect, contributing to overall construction costs and becoming long-term Hartford ratepayers, according to Norwich officials.
However, those attending the Hartford meeting said several topics, including overall cost and capacity, would have to be addressed before moving forward.
“I think this is a long way from being settled,” Selectboard member Joe Major said. “I don’t think a door should be shut, as some people want it shut. I think we need to explore all the options and all the impacts.”
The Selectboard’s noncommittal stance could be viewed as both a victory and a setback for Norwich school officials who were able to prevent counterparts in Hartford from killing the project outright.
Ahead of the meeting, Hartford Public Works Director Hannah Tyler called on the Selectboard to deem the sewer extension “detrimental” and advise Norwich to seek alternatives. In a Jan. 7 memo to the board, she wrote that the project is inconsistent with Hartford’s town plan and would require the drafting of new ordinances and agreements.
Tyler, who previously worked in Brattleboro, Vt., also recounted on Tuesday the difficulty that town had managing a sewer system that ran through a neighboring town and connected to a state rest area.
“Sometimes what happens is that even with the best-laid intentions and the best-laid plans, sometimes when the infrastructure exists and somebody wants to come along and connect to it you get a lot of pressure,” she said. “It’s really hard to say no sometimes when all that infrastructure is in the ground.”
Hartford, Tyler added, is currently undergoing its own sewer study, which should be completed before any expansion project is considered.
In its own letter, the Norwich School Board pointed out that successful inter-municipal agreements already allow Lebanon to send some of its sewage to Hanover. Likewise, Enfield’s sewer system connects to Lebanon and relies on that city’s wastewater treatment plant. The letter went on to say that Hartford’s sewer system operates at only 50% capacity and Norwich’s request would add on an additional 1.4%. Aside from the already-mentioned businesses, the school district “has offered no future use or expansion of the connection and remains baffled why (Hartford) suggests otherwise,” it said.
Hartford officials said they ultimately would like to hear the town of Norwich’s stance on the matter. While Norwich School Board members have told municipal officials of their proposal on several occasions, school officials haven’t yet asked the town for help in securing rights of way and other logistics that would someday be needed for construction.
“We’re not at the stage where, at least from my perspective, where they’ve felt that they need help from us,” Norwich Town Manager Herb Durfee said in an interview Wednesday.
Norwich School Board Chairman Tom Candon said Wednesday that he intends to re-engage with the Norwich Selectboard “in the near future” to relay Hartford’s request that it take a greater role in future talks.
“We’re going to need some time to fully process what our next steps will be,” he said in an email. “We were, obviously, glad that the Hartford Selectboard left open the opportunity to continue our discussions with the town about a possible connection, but need to better understand what they expect/are hoping for from a collaborative request.”
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.