NORWICH — Town officials plan to spend about $30,000 studying potential wastewater solutions — including an extension of sewer lines to Marion Cross School — for Norwich’s village.

The Selectboard voted 4-1 last week to approve a study that will identify wastewater needs along Main Street and offer fixes.

Those could include capital projects, such as community septic systems capable of serving as many as 10 properties, according to Rod Francis. Norwich’s planning and zoning director.

“When I say ‘capital project,’ I don’t mean a fully fledged, conventional single-point wastewater treatment plant that we’re used to thinking about,” he told the Selectboard, according to a CATV recording of its regular meeting.

Francis stressed that the town isn’t committing itself to any construction, adding it’s “not really clear at this point” what problems exist.

However, he said, engineers should incorporate data already collected by the Norwich School Board, which is seeking alternatives to a failed septic system at the Marion Cross School that runs under the Norwich Green.

Since 2019, the School Board has discussed building a roughly 1.3-mile sewer extension from Hartford that would run north along Route 5 from Wilder. But that idea was put on hold when the Hartford Selectboard said earlier this year that it would rather negotiate with its municipal counterparts in Norwich.

School officials have since explored other options, including the possible relocation of Marion Cross’ leach field to nearby athletic fields owned by the Dresden School District.

Testing performed there in May appears to indicate there is “reasonable capacity” for both the elementary school’s septic system and a pavilion planned for the site, SAU 70 Business Administrator Jamie Teague said during a Norwich School Board meeting earlier this month.

Norwich School Board Chairman Tom Candon called the news “encouraging” in an email on Monday, adding he hopes members will discuss next steps during its upcoming meeting in August.

Candon said test results also will have to be shared with the Dresden School Board, which would have the final say over whether to relocate the leach field.

The Norwich’s Selectboard’s decision to conduct a wastewater study followed a recommendation from the town’s Planning Commission, which in April encouraged officials to seek state funds for a review of options, including a sewer connection to Hartford or Hanover..

A resolution adopted by the commission asks experts to assess the need, demand and potential costs of building a “wastewater solution for the village center.”

Officials also have pointed out that the Norwich town plan calls for them to “address barriers to development related to limitations on septic capacity.”

The proximity of sewer systems in Hartford and Hanover “may provide cost-effective opportunities to ensure the ongoing viability of the existing village and possible new development nearby,” said the plan, which was adopted last year.

Francis said the town will seek funding from Vermont’s Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, which would cover 50% of the cost.

The other 50%, or about $15,000, would be paid over five years beginning in 2026, he said.

While most of the Selectboard supported the study, board member Marcia Calloway objected, saying she would rather request the funds at Town Meeting.

“If we are going to spend money, we have to have approval from the voters,” she said. “Just because it’s a loan doesn’t mean it’s not voter money.”

Others members pushed back, saying that money could be drawn from the town’s professional services budget, meant to pay for outside vendors and legal fees. That fund has about $51,600 budgeted in the 2022 fiscal year budget, according to the town report.

“I think it would be helpful for the town to go through this process to gain more information,” Selecboard member Mary Layton said, adding the study will give officials a better sense of the village’s needs in handling wastewater in the future.

Francis and Town Manager Herb Durfee will now work with the state to solicit bids for the study.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.

 Correction

Although the Norwich Planning Commission has called for a wastewater study that would include a connection to either Hartford or Hanover’s sewer system, Norwich Planning and Zoning Director Rod Francis told the Selectboard a proposed $30,000 study it approved last week would identify the scope of the wastewater problem in the village of Norwich and could include “community systems,” such as an in-ground, soil-based treatment system. An earlier version of this story incorrectly described what Francis said would be in the study.