Community Corner

Mattabassett Board Vents on Esty, Doyle

The chairman of the district's board of directors suggests suing to delay a $100 million upgrade.

Members of the Mattabassett District’s Board of Directors vented their frustration on state leaders Monday about a new state law aimed at allowing Middletown to join the sewer district.

Members of the board told Daniel C. Esty, commissioner of the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, that his agency and state lawmakers appeared to intentionally ignore the district board when the new law was drafted and passed by the legislature this spring, with one board member accusing Esty and other state officials of doing so intentionally.

“We believe it was intentional and nothing you say is going to change that,” John Luddy, a representative from Berlin who serves on the Mattabassett board told Esty. “There are a lot of bruised egos here.”

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Esty, who was invited to the board’s meeting Monday night to discuss with it the district’s proposed $100 million expansion of the Cromwell sewer plant and Middletown’s planned inclusion into the district, assured the board that while he knows it was not adequately consulted during the drafting of the new law the oversight was unintentional and partly his fault. Esty said as a newly appointed commissioner who began the job in January with the incoming Malloy administration, he was overwhelmed at times with the amount of environmental legislation that he had to help shepherd through the General Assembly. As result, he said, the Mattabassett board did not get consulted on the new law.

“It was a mistake and I’m sorry,” Esty said.

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Esty’s chagrin, however, did not stop him from issuing a stern warning to the Mattabassett board that it either accept the terms of the negotiated legislation that will allow Middletown into the district and pave the way for upgrades, or face the consequence of being forced to undertake the $100 million sewer upgrades without Middletown’s help. Middletown has agreed to pay the district $13 million to join.

In addition, Esty said, the Mattabassett’s refusal to follow the new law would also mean that Middletown would have to undertake its own $50 million upgrade of its aging sewer plant along the Connecticut River. Moving forward with two sewer plant improvement projects, Esty said, would mean significantly higher rates for sewer users in Middletown as well as the towns served by the Mattabassett District; Cromwell, Berlin, Rocky Hill, Farmington, New Britain and Newington.

“We are committed to working with you throughout the process, start to finish,” Esty said. “I know it’s a challenge and I appreciate the efforts of this board to move it forward.”

He warned, however, that the board does not have the option of doing nothing because the federal government will eventually mandate upgrades to the plant to reduce nitrogen levels.

That comment was in stark contrast to ones made earlier by the board’s chairman, who suggested that if the state seeks to force the district to undertake the upgrades, the Mattabassett could sue to delay the project.

“We’re a little tired of people telling us what’s going to happen,” said William P. Candelori.

Prior to Esty’s arrival, the board discussed the new law - which lays out the framework by which the board will absorb the new Middletown members and how it will be reconstituted - with state Sen. Paul Doyle, D-Wethersfield. Doyle helped negotiate the Mattabassett legislation. Board members, however, said they were unhappy with many aspects of the law, including provisions that increase the number of representatives for some towns and requires that the first chairman of the new reformed board be a New Britain representative.

Doyle said he fought hard to keep the deal as fair as possible for all of the towns, adding that he resented implications and comments made by some board members the he was “in bed with” the New Britain delegation.

“That was just plain false,” he said.


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