Delaware panel OKs $25M for Rehoboth Beach ocean outfall

Rehoboth Beach officials received approval Wednesday for a $25 million, low-interest loan to build a new pipeline to discharge treated sewer waste 6,000 feet off the beach at the north end of the city.

The new grant, combined with $10.5 million already approved for upgrades to the city's existing wastewater treatment plant, brings Rehoboth one step closer to meeting the terms of a recently revised court-ordered timeline to stop discharging treated wastewater into Lewes & Rehoboth Canal. The new deadline is 2018.

City residents must now approve a referendum that would allow the city to borrow money for the project and state and federal environmental permits must be applied for, reviewed and approved.

Meanwhile, in June, the state's environmental appeals board will review the city's Environmental Impact Assessment on the outfall at the request of the Surfrider Foundation Delaware Chapter.

The organization contends the city failed to fully consider land application of wastewater in favor of the less costly option of ocean outfall. The concern: the search for land was undertaken in 2005 at the peak of the coastal real estate market. The foundation contends the impact study was based on outdated information on land costs and availability.

The new loan has one string attached. At the urging of former Sussex County Administrator David Baker, a member of the Water Infrastructure Advisory Council, the city and county must meet to reconsider a long standing agreement between the two governments. The county pays about 40 percent of construction and operating costs for Rehoboth's waste water treatment. In exchange, the city provides treatment for Dewey Beach and Henlopen Acres, where the county operates sewer districts.

"This is a lot of money now," Baker said.

State officials assured Baker and other advisory council members that the city would be the only government agency to sign the loan documents and would be responsible for making sure the money – a total of $35.5 million – would be repaid.

Still, Baker said, the project and loan amount was significant enough that municipal and county officials should come to the table to detail the mutual responsibilities.

Rehoboth Beach Mayor Samuel Cooper said the loan approval – with a 2 percent interest rate – is just "one piece of the puzzle."

But Cooper, who has worked on sewer issues in the city for more than two decades – gave a sigh of relief when the council voted to approve the latest loan.

The latest annual sewer cost estimate with the outfall is $566 per household, lower than previous estimates.

In addition, Rehoboth could ultimately apply for additional state help as they work toward storm water outfall management. Five pipelines send storm water from city streets.

When state Environmental Secretary David Small signed off on the city's environmental impact assessment for the outfall in January, he ordered the city to undertake a detailed study of those storm water drainage pipes amid concerns about water quality impacts.

Meanwhile, environmentalists say they continue to worry about the proposed location for the Rehoboth outfall and the potential impact on fish and marine mammals at the nearby Hen & Chicken Shoals, an area that is considered a critical shark pupping area near the entrance to Delaware Bay.

There are also concerns about the potential impact on tourism even though Ocean City, Maryland, and Sussex County successfully operate ocean outfalls.

Delaware's beaches are among the nation's cleanest. Rehoboth Beach received a five-star award in 2013 from the Natural Resources Defense Council. The award goes to beaches with excellent records for beach swimming water quality.

This is not the first time in the last 30 years Rehoboth officials have faced a challenge about their planned discharge option.

When Rehoboth proposed construction of the current 3.4-million-gallon-per-day treatment plant, they were also under a court order to upgrade.

The opted for continued discharge into Lewes & Rehoboth Canal despite an outcry from environmentalists and some local residents who urged the city to take a closer look at land application. Canal discharge was the least costly option.

Nitrogen and phosphorous, despite repeated upgrades, continue to cause problems in Rehoboth Bay. Rehoboth's treatment plant is the last of 13-point sources discharging into the environmentally sensitive Inland Bays.

Contact Molly Murray at 463-3334 or mmurray@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @MollyMurraytnj.