Wastewater Resources

In January of 2019, the town came together in a process facilitated by the Vermont Council on Rural Development to discuss and select priorities for the community. The process, dubbed Montgomery Thrives, followed numerous Selectboard discussions around how to better engage the community in setting priorities. Close to 300 committee members participated, and in the end three priority areas emerged: a wastewater system for the center and village; streetscape improvements to enhance safety and catalyze greater economic development; and increased access to broadband internet. At Town Meeting 2019, the community voted to advance a feasibility study for the infrastructure improvements.

First and foremost, this project has been about maintaining the viability of EXISTING housing and business infrastructure in the Center—ensuring that businesses and homeowners aren’t faced with unaffordable replacement systems due to aging infrastructure and small lot limitations, and that the cost of remediating vacant homes presently on Main Street can be affordable and we can see them reoccupied. However, with the planned capacity, future development (potentially adding additional commercial use and/or housing) can occur, informed by our communities planning and zoning, guided by the Ordinance which will govern future connections and use, and limited by the full build-out capacity of the final system. More specifically:

• A 2019 analysis showed that 92% of existing systems are on small lots without suitable or affordable replacement options that meet state requirements if the current system fails, restricting future growth and depressing property values, which support the Town’s Grand List. Lower property values reduce our tax base.
• Banks will often not finance homes or commercial enterprises on these small lots due to the inability of borrowers to afford replacement systems, directly affecting housing availability and further limiting economic growth.
• Homes not connected to a public system have a negative marketability factor and prevent appreciation values from rising, as compared to single-family dwelling on a public system. Financing for housing on a municipal wastewater system is much easier.
• Wastewater capacity is already limiting business development in the Center and Village, leading to lost opportunities for growth of existing businesses, or re-purposing of existing building stock to residential, commercial, or mixed use.
• Better infrastructure will provide opportunities for additional affordable senior or work-force housing development in our village center.
• Increased business development can spur greater employment and increased tax revenue.

After an eight-month process of feasibility/preliminary engineering and community engagement in selecting alternatives, the Montgomery Selectboard adopted a Resolution to advance a July 7th, 2020, bond vote for a Municipal Wastewater (and Streetscape project) in the amount of $18 million. These plans included the construction of a wastewater system which would support both Montgomery Center and Montgomery Village. This was dubbed the “Yellow Light” vote. This metaphor was used because the Board had no intention of taking out a bond for $18M, rather an affirmative vote was required to unlock an initial funding offer from USDA Rural Development and move forward cautiously with both engineering design and additional fundraising activity towards determining the affordability of the project. The bond Article in support of the wastewater system PASSED (by Australian Ballot) 207-163.

Since the passage of the initial Bond Vote, and as design work has advanced, the Selectboard has put forward several questions to the Town regarding how the project would be financed. These subsequent votes served as a check on public support for the project, as failure to pass a viable financing framework would be a clear message that the system, as proposed, was not supported by the community. These votes included:

• Project Related Votes at Town Meeting 2021 (*Note that TMD voting was by Australian Ballot due to COVID-19 and a lack of a Floor Meeting)
  • “Shall the voters establish a Sewer Reserve Fund, 24 VSA 2804, to assist in the repayment of debt obligations approved by the voters at a Special Election Bond Vote July, 2020 to construct a Municipal Wastewater System in Montgomery Center and Village”. PASSED 197-166
  • “Shall the voters approve an additional tax, in an amount not to exceed .0612 per $100 of assessed property value, for a period not to exceed 30 years, to be set aside in the Sewer Reserve Fund to assist in the repayment of debt obligations approved by the voters at a Special Election Bond Vote July, 2020”. FAILED 175-190
  • “Shall voters approve the imposition of a one percent (1%) local option tax on sales, meals, alcoholic beverages, and rooms pursuant to 24 V.S.A. §138(b), with all proceeds to be set aside in the Sewer Reserve Fund to assist in the repayment of debt obligations related to the construction of a Municipal Wastewater System in Montgomery Center and Village”. PASSED 187-182
• Special Election, Reconsideration of ‘no’ Vote (brought by voter petition) from Town Meeting: Australian Ballot vote, May 24^th 2021
  • Shall the voters approve an additional tax, in an amount not to exceed .0612 per $100 of assessed property value, for a period not to exceed 30 years, to be set aside in the Sewer Reserve Fund to assist in the repayment of debt obligations approved by the voters at a Special Election Bond Vote July, 2020. FAILED 234-247
• Project Related Votes at Town Meeting 2022 (Voting by Australian Ballot)
  • Shall the voters of Montgomery adopt the Town Charter as proposed and approved by the Selectboard. PASSED 192-115
  • Note here that the Charter was the formal vehicle which allowed the town to implement the Local Option Tax, as required by Statute at that time. Once adopted by the Town, the Charter needed approval from both houses of the legislature, and signature by the Governor, which is received in June of 2022.

The Municipal Charter (cited as 24 App. V.S.A. ch. 129B) adopted by the Town includes four articles, the first two addressing general law and application of the Charter, and the last two addressing severability and the process by which it may be amended. The third article in the Charter addressed the Local Option Tax, providing the authorization to impose a 1% tax on sales, meals, and rooms to be set aside in the Sewer Reserve Fund to assist in the repayment of debt obligations related to the proposed Wastewater System.

No. While the title “Charter” may be misleading, the Municipal Charter only addresses the imposition of a Local Option Tax, the proceeds from which go to support the planned system. No other item is addressed in the Municipal Charter.

When first introduced, the municipal wastewater project was intended to develop a system for both Montgomery Center and Montgomery Village. One critical part of the planning and design process was identifying the location for the Wastewater Recovery (i.e. treatment) facilities (more on what that looks like below) which would serve the system(s). A handful of locations were identified in both the Center and Village which could accommodate this need, however after months of negotiation the Town was unable to secure a suitable property to support the treatment of effluent in the Village (i.e. a parcel of large enough size with the required soil capacity). With no suitable location alternative, the Village portion of the project was then paused indefinitely. Should the proposed site (or a viable alternative) become available, the Town could consider moving forward with a Village project. That is not included in the current scope of work.

The proposed project infrastructure for Montgomery Center is a decentralized community wastewater system consisting of a 1) Collection System, 2) Conveyance System, 3) Treatment, and 4) Soil Based Disposal. Each property in the service area will be served by a new septic tank installed as part of the project which would feed to a series of buried small diameter Septic Tank Effluent Gravity (STEG) sewers, ie. the collection system. The STEG sewers drain by gravity to the conveyance system that consists of two pump stations and small diameter buried force mains to convey septic tank effluent for Secondary + treatment at the Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) located on Rt. 242. The treatment facility includes a series of buried, covered tanks that treat septic tank effluent to a clear water clarity filtrate, as well as a small building housing electronics and control systems. The Water Resource Recovery Facility removes the contaminants that typically lead to soil clogging and leach field clogging, typical of older on-site septic system designs. The clear filtrate is then then fed to a sub-surface drip disposal field (sort of like a conventional leech field, but much larger). The drip dispersal field itself will resemble a meadow when all is said and done.

Community septic systems have been reliably serving Vermonters for over 50 years. The proposed Montgomery Center project includes buried 4” diameter and 6” diameter fused High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) septic tank effluent sewer that flows by gravity without electrical power needed to collect septic tank effluent prior to soil based disposal. Buried HDPE pipe has a 100-year reliable service life.

Subsurface drip dispersal (disposal) systems consists of ½” diameter buried flexible tubing with “emitters” (small spray heads attached within the tubing), which apply a small precise amount of clear filtrate within the upper 6-12” layer of soils. Clear filtrate dispersal into the soil is controlled by a time-dosing system that ensures soils do not become oversaturated, thus providing further treatment of the clear filtrate in the soils. Soil microbes living in healthy, unsaturated soil provide exceptionally good treatment. The low application rates and time dosing in a drip dispersal system maximize the effectiveness and reliable service life of this natural treatment process while protecting the health of the soils.  

The drip dispersal system includes filters and automatic flushing systems to protect the drip tubing from clogging. Emitters are evenly spaced along the tubing at 2-foot intervals. Small doses are applied into the soil through the emitters on a 24-hour cycle to provide effective treatment of the effluent. These “micro-doses” are typically just a few ounces of water per emitter during each pump cycle, resulting in a very low burden on the receiving soil.
 
The drip disposal system provides a variety of environmental benefits, including: 

• Less excavation and site disturbance during installation; 
• Fewer imported materials such as stone;
• Less expensive to install than installation of a traditional leach field system;
• Increased contact with soil results in improved effluent treatment;
• Under typical operational conditions, greater removal of nitrogen and phosphorus.

In summary, the subsurface drip disposal system provides greater environmental protection for a lower cost compared to other soil-based wastewater disposal options.​

Subsurface drip disposal systems have been approved for onsite wastewater disposal in Vermont for well over a decade. The most common applications have been for new construction on wooded, sloping sites, and especially to replace failed leach fields in difficult site conditions.
​Mechanical components of the drip system such as pumps and pressurized dosing are similar to those used for dosing large conventional leach fields and have built in redundancy to improve reliability. Larger applications for subdivisions, municipal systems, and commercial sites are more common in Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. There are examples of drip systems operating in other Northern New England states that are significantly larger than the community wastewater system proposed in Montgomery.

All of the infrastructure constructed to support the system will be owned by the Town, who will bear sole responsibility for its management and maintenance, similar to the existing municipal Water System. This does not negate the responsibility of the individual owner to control ‘what gets flushed’, similar to how homeowners and businesses already manage inputs to their own system.

No. All treatment is subsurface, meaning no above ground lagoons or other infrastructure that one might associate with a larger municipality’s wastewater treatment facility.

No. The tanks for each property owner on the system will be pumped periodically by the Town, the cost of which is calculated into the annual user fees (see below for user fee information).

Existing septic tanks will be removed and disposed of at no cost of the owner. In some limited cases, existing tankage (if newer and of appropriate capacity) may be retained and incorporated into the system. In those instances, the property owner would be compensated at FMV for the infrastructure used in the new system.

The Septic Tank Effluent Gravity (STEG) tanks and septic tank effluent sewers flow by gravity to the two effluent pump stations without the need for any electrical power. The two effluent pump stations are designed for continued service during extended power outages: The larger pump station will have an emergency generator to power the pump station during extended power outages. The Smaller pump station is designed to store effluent during power outages and has an emergency generator connection. The Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) will have an emergency generator to power the treatment facility during extended power outages.

Approximately 100 user connections are planned for day one, when the system goes live.

See attached map for the proposed Wastewater Service Area, including all day-one connections.

A properly maintained wastewater system can be expected to have a long reliable service life. New precast concrete septic tanks typically have a reliable service life that exceeds 50 years. Pumps and electrical gear typically has a reliable service life exceeding 20 years. Buried high density polyethylene effluent sewer and force main piping typically has a reliable service life that exceeds 100 years. The design of Montgomery’s proposed system includes three things that greatly extend system life: (1) robust filtering prior to transmission to the disposal field , which means that clear water clarity filtrate is discharged to the soil; (2) a pressurized dosing system, which precisely applies treated wastewater evenly and consistently over time; and (3) alternating subsurface drip disposal fields, which allow application of small, regular effluent doses and plenty of time for “rest” and infiltration between doses. Each of these advanced design elements combine to prevent the conditions that have led to soil clogging in older basic on-site septic systems. This advanced design will provide for reliable system longevity.

The current estimated cost for the construction of the Municipal Wastewater system for the Center is approximately $16,000,000. This figure is based on conservative cost estimates of the final design. The Town will not have ‘real’ numbers to respond to until project bids are received.

The Town anticipates the project going to bid in June, with responses back by July.

Currently, over 95% of the estimated cost of constructing the system is covered by State and Federal Grants. These grants include:

• $6,065,000 from USDA Rural Development
• $233,000 in subsidy for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
• $2,800,000 from a Congressionally Designated Spending request via Sen. Sanders (included in an FY2022 appropriations bill which was signed into law)
• $1,000,000 from the VT Agency of Commerce and Community Development (CRRP program)
• $1,980,000 in Federal ARPA funding 
• $5,621,000 in additional State of Vermont funds, reprogrammed from ARPA

No money raised by property taxes supports the construction or operation of the planned system. The local contribution comes from 1) funds raised by the Local Option Tax, as well as 2) the annual user fees to those on the system.

Current estimates have the annual Operations and Maintenance cost for the system at $54,000/year. This figure factors into the anticipated Annual User Fee (below).

Similar to the Municipal Water System, user fee calculations will be determined in the Municipal Ordinance drafted and adopted by the Selectboard, subject to voter approval as applicable under State Law.

Based on the grant funds raised, Local Option tax revenue, current construction estimates, and projected Operations and Maintenance costs, the projected estimated user fees range from $200-480/year (or between approximately .35 and 1% of Mean Household Income, or MHI, for the community). The affordability of User Rates has been the Board’s foundational metric throughout the history of this project. If User Fees are not affordable, the project cannot advance. While every individual may have a different definition of affordability, % of MHI has been the common metric used by the Town. While State and Federal programs generally shoot for User Fees no higher than 2% of MHI, the Board has endeavored to keep the annual equivalent user rate no higher than 1% of MHI. Once the Town receives the bids on the project in July, we’ll have more solid numbers to assess re: the affordability criteria.

There is no cost for ‘day-one’ connections to the system. However, future connections to the system will require a fee as set forth in the Ordinance referenced above. While not yet established (future connection fees are driven by many local community factors) this fee may range between $2,000 and $5,000 when considering the regional average cost of connection in other Vermont Communities.

This project is being partially funded by the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CSWRF). The Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 requires that all CWSRF projects include a Fiscal Sustainability Plan. This is a planning document that makes a list of critical assets, their condition, and the costs for repairing or rehabbing them on a regular schedule. The plan recommends an annual reserve budget for assets to help communities budget for their specific needs. The Town is required to and is committed to preparing a Fiscal Sustainability Plan and to fiscally prepare for future capital needs for system repairs.

Yes, as planned all properties within the service area will be required to connect. This is necessary to create an economy of scale which will ensure that the eventual user rates remain affordable. Each user opting out of the system places a greater cost burden on the remaining users, causing the end rate to be unaffordable. If annual user rates are unaffordable, the project cannot move forward.

An Easement is a legal agreement that gives someone the right to use another person’s property for a specific purpose. It is a form of deed that is signed by the owner, is notarized, and recorded in the Town’s land records. When your property is sold or conveyed to someone else, the Easement stays with it. The most familiar type of Easement is a utility easement for a power company to put poles and wires over your property.

Properties on the system are being asked to convey an Easement to the Town granting it the right to use and access a portion the property during construction, operation, and future maintenance efforts specific to the wastewater system. The Town will not own your land. It will only have the right to use and access a portion of it for the purposes of constructing and maintaining the system, and to restrict some kinds of uses within the easement area which may impact the systems’ function. In most cases, the restrictions in use of the easement area will be no different from what you currently experience because of the location of your current septic system. For example, permanent structures and heavy weights are not permitted over a tank or pipe in private septic systems. The same will be true with the new system. The easement location accounts for where the tank and pipes are expected to be placed, including the width of the 3 feet on either side of an underground structure, so that you can see where initial construction and future limitations in use will apply.

Yes. This is a fair-market offer, based on a formula developed specifically for the easements required for this project by a certified property appraisal and valuation expert. The Town is using this formula uniformly, so that every property owner is compensated fairly, using the same methodology, for the easement purchased by the Town. A detailed report describing the valuation formula and calculation methodology is available upon request.

The Town has gone to great lengths to determine a purchase price that reflects the fair market value of the Easement. To ensure that all property owners are treated fairly, the Town intends to use the same formula for calculating the price it will pay for each Easement and does not intend to negotiate with individual property owners. In the event that a property owner does not voluntarily convey the necessary Easement, the Town feels confident that the methodology it has used to determine the voluntary purchase price will be equal to or better than the payment that a Court may order after a formal proceeding in granting the easement to the Town. The Town has no reason to incentivize property owners to go to Court to receive fair market value for the necessary Easement.

If the Town does not receive executed easements from all of the owners of land affected by the System, it will need to petition the Superior Court for an order to determine that the right of access described in the easement is necessary. The Court will hold a hearing to make that determination whether the right of access is necessary. The Town wishes to avoid this costly and adversarial process for the sake of both the Town and property owners.

Yes, except in emergency situations. The Easement language requires that the Town provide reasonable advance notice for entry onto your land and that it cooperate with you to minimize any adverse effects of its entry.

The planned capacity of the Municipal Wastewater System is 40,000 gallons per day (gpd). This planned 40,000 gpd capacity is based on 1) the current peak daily water flows in the Center of around 28,000 gal/day plus around 12,000 gpd to serve the next 20-years of potential growth in Montgomery Center per allowable build-out under our current zoning and consistent with the Town Plan, and 2) as limited by the Rt. 242 Water Resource Recovery Facility

It’s difficult to make an ‘apples-to-apples’ connection between what planned capacity means for physical unit growth in housing or business development as every home and/or business has different needs, so we can’t put a fixed number here. That said, we have some numbers that may help: the average daily water flow from a typical single-family household is around 250 gpd and an apartment, 150 gpd. Restaurants generally look at around 40 gpd per seat (so a 50-seat restaurant would be around 2,000 gpd). So, the proposed WW system has an approximate 20-year growth capacity for, say, 2 restaurants (4,000 gpd), 20 apartments (3,000 gpd) and 20 typical single-family homes (5,000 gpd), for a total of approximately 12,000 gpd 20-year growth capacity. So, depending on what combination of development types one considers, you can make a reasonable estimate of “how much of what” this project may allow for in terms of growth. As indicated previously, all new development would need to be in accordance with the municipal zoning bylaws and any associated conditional or site review standards.

Similar to the Municipal Water Commission, a Wastewater Commission (or potentially a joint Commission) will be appointed to set annual budgets, address long term capital needs, and manage (approve) proposed future connections to the system, per the process detailed in the Ordinance.

No, under current Statutory powers the State cannot force a community to expand an existing Wastewater Treatment system/facility. The future capacity of the proposed system for Montgomery Center is determined by that of the Wastewater Recovery Facility, which is fixed based on the soil capacity present on site.

The physical components of the system will have warranties that apply. If a pump, tank, or other physical component fails due to a design or manufacturing flaw, then the manufacturer’s warranty would apply to remove and replace the component.

The construction company that installs the system is required to do so in conformance with plans and specifications developed by the Town’s consulting engineers and approved by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and in accordance with permits issued by the Agency. If the construction company fails to install the system in conformance with the approved plans, then that company is responsible for the remedial measures that are necessary. Any company the Town hires to do the installation will be required to have insurance coverage and post a construction bond, as set out in the funding agreements between the Town and the State, and the Engineering Services Agreement among the Town, State and the Town’s consulting engineers.
Once constructed, the key systems have warranties and performance guarantees ranging from one to five years. These periods start when the system becomes operational.
Further, the system will be permitted and operated—by a licensed operator—under the Indirect Discharge Rules, which contain requirements for regular monitoring, periodic inspection, and reporting to the State during the warranty period and throughout the life of the system.

Legislation recently passed by the State (the HOME Act and Act 181) directs that town centers served by municipal water and wastewater must allow a certain density of housing development. On the face of it, this means a potential loss of local control, which should give any community pause. However, an analysis of these changes conducted by our own Zoning Administrator, as well as by Northwest Regional Planning, shows these changes having little impact on Montgomery given what is allowable in our current zoning bylaws. Montgomery already allows 4.356 units per acre in the village districts (one unit per 10,000 square feet). For those properties with water and sewer it could now increase to 5 units per acre, an increase in density of less than 10%. This density mirrors the historic development pattern of the Village and is not a major shift from what is currently allowed. Multi-family dwellings are already allowed, they would just shift from Conditional to Permitted. Site Plan Review can still be used, and the Planning Commission is considering adding site plan review to the bylaws as part of their bylaw update. Site Plan Review allows for municipal requirements for landscaping, lighting, access and parking design. For all housing projects, setbacks and height restrictions will still apply, except that year-round affordable housing projects would be eligible for a density and height (one story) bonus—but to get any density bonus the project would still need to be able to meet all other requirements. In short this is not a major shift for Montgomery, and nothing in the HOME Act of Act 181 will prevent Montgomery from regulating how development occurs. In addition to adding Site Plan Review, the town can still consider adopting subdivision regulations which would further provide for the ability to manage any growth. In addition, design/historic review is another tool that could be used if there is concern about maintaining the character of the Center.

There has been some concern about what additional housing in our Center would mean for the community, specifically as it relates to Affordable Housing. ‘Affordable’ for state and federal programs is defined by Housing and Urban Development measures, and Franklin County is included with Chittenden County for that measure. So ‘affordable housing’ means something different than most people assume. In 2024 for Montgomery, that meant $1,341 for a studio and $1,887 for a 2-bedroom. Not exactly cheap housing. Based on current data, almost a quarter of the people who currently live in Montgomery are considered severely ‘cost burdened’, paying more than 50% of their income for housing. While the community may consider what any new Affordable Housing developed may mean by way of growth, affordability is also a consideration for those young people, low-income or fixed-income individuals, and seniors who already struggle to keep calling Montgomery home.

On Town Meeting Day the Board is putting forward a proposal to amend the current Local Option Tax (LOT) by removing the Sales Tax portion already in effect (maintaining the 1% local option on rooms and meals). Analysis of the LOT receipts to date has shown that doing this will still maintain the viability of the LOT as a critical portion of the Wastewater Project financing, while reducing the tax burden on community members. The proposal at Town Meeting would also move the Local Option Tax outside of the Municipal Charter (which currently grants this authority, as previously required by Statute), giving the Town more flexibility and removing the required onerous and time-consuming legislative approval process previously required for municipalities to administer such as tax.

Yes. This is the result of Statutory changes made by the legislature in 2024.

Instituting the Local Option Tax outside of the Charter (which would be suspended for a period of up to three years) gives the Town greater control and flexibility by removing the prior requirements for legislative approval of such an act. The Town could unilaterally make any future changes to the LOT (what is being taxed) and/or to the potential use of proceeds from the tax. Should the article on Town Meeting Day pass, the Town would then have three years with which to further amend or repeal the Charter based on the needs of the Community.

The April 1^st vote, brought by voter petition, would put two questions before the voters by Australian Ballot: 

• The first would repeal the Local Option Tax portion of the Charter in its entirety, moving this source of funding from project financing and resulting User Fees which do not meet the affordability criteria set by the Town, essentially ending the project.
• The second question would amend the Charter to include language which makes any future connection to the system entirely optional for a landowner. While in principle this alternative—giving each landowner a choice—seems like a fair request, it is necessary for all properties in the service area to connect to create an economy of scale which will ensure that the eventual user rates remain affordable. Each user opting out of the system places a greater cost burden on the remaining users, causing the end rate to be unaffordable. If annual user rates are unaffordable, the project cannot move forward.

No, as presently written the Municipal Charter only affected the imposition and collection of the Local Option tax.

Current projections target bids to be received back in July, with construction on the Water Resource Recovery Facility and drip dispersal area beginning this fall. Work would continue during 2026, when the majority of the collection and conveyance system, including the construction of individual tanks and connections, would be completed. Any final work would wrap up in spring/summer 2027.

The contractor and/or project engineer will contact you in advance of any work to discuss timing, access, and any issues that are specific to your property. Construction will include the removal of your existing septic tank and installation of a new tank that will be connected by small-diameter pipes to an off-site treatment system. During the time between when the contractor disconnects the building from the septic system and the new system is connected, your home or business will be temporarily without sanitary service temporarily (less than eight hours). Restoration of the impacted area will follow, which includes things like grading and re-seeding lawn areas (at no cost to you).

Yes. Be aware that landscaping, temporary structures, and other items within the easement area may be disrupted or removed during construction and installation. In the Easement, the Town agrees to restore any portion of the property that is disturbed or affected as near as reasonably practicable to its condition prior to the disruption, within a reasonable time. This also applies to future instances where the Town may need to disrupt property again in the event that it needs to service, repair, or replace the equipment. The Town will work with you regarding specific concerns you have about accessing or using the easement area, with the aim of minimizing disruption.

Please contact the Selectboard with any questions at montgomeryselectboard@gmail.com and we will get a response ASAP. Legal question? Feel free to contact the town’s attorney for this project, Sarah Buxton, with the law firm Tarrant, Gillies, & Shems. She can be reached at (802) 223-1112 x 103 or sarah@tarrantgillies.com.