Border Environment Cooperation Commission
Wastewater
Collection and Treatment System for
La Union, Doña Ana County, New Mexico
1.
Type
of Project. The project consists of construction of a
wastewater collection system and forcemain to convey wastewater to the existing
West Mesa Santa Teresa Border Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility (WM/ST
WWTP). The project also includes
expansion of the WM/ST WWTP.
2. Location of Project. The community of La Union is an unincorporated community
located in Doña Ana County, New Mexico approximately 12 miles north of the
U.S/Mexico Border. The population of La
Union is approximately 1,003 people, and is expected to reach 1,942 people by
the year 2020. To determine the
population a historical growth rate of 4.0% was used and reduced to 3.5% by the
end of the planning horizon.
3. Description of Project and Tasks.
The
community of La Union at present does not have any form of wastewater
collection and treatment system other than on-site disposal systems. The on-site disposal systems include
individual septic tanks with leach fields, or cesspools. Health concerns have been expressed due to
the possible failure of these disposal systems and lack of adequate area for proper
treatment through percolation. Many of
these on-site systems are not properly sized or properly constructed. As this area continues to develop with
on-site disposal systems, not only is the biological contamination of the
groundwater inevitable, but also nitrogen contamination.
In order to address this lack of wastewater
service, the proposed project will include providing service to the residents
through 4-inch diameter sewer services connected directly to each customers
plumbing system. The wastewater will be
collected by a conventional gravity sewer system with a small portion of
pressure sewer and conveyed through a forcemain approximately 9.0 miles long to
an existing wastewater treatment plant located in Santa Teresa. The existing wastewater treatment plant, was
completed in September 2001, is located on a site owned by Dona Ana County 100
acres in size, includes an activated sludge type treatment process (sequencing
batch reactor),
and is designed to treat and denitrify wastewater to a total Nitrogen content
of less than or equal to 10 mg/l. This project does not include the
construction of the existing wastewater treatment plant but does include
expansion of the WWTP by 2004. The
entire treated effluent from the wastewater treatment facility will be used for
grass irrigation. Off-season irrigation
surplus flows will be disposed through a series of pressure-dosed leach
fields. Sludge handling will be by
aerobic digestion, decanting, and drying on asphalt-paved sludge drying beds. The wastewater sludge
will be transported to the solid waste landfill located west of Las
Cruces. The capacity of the treatment
facility is 300,000 gallons per day (gpd) and an expansion of 150,000 gpd for
the plant will be needed in 2004 to meet 2020 demands. The standard per capita wastewater flow for
residential areas of 85 gallons per day was used. Additionally, this community is predominately residential with a
few small commercial establishments.
A summary of the
components are addressed below:
Collection and Conveyance
System:
·
42,000 LF of 8-inch gravity sewer line
·
Grinder pump stations
·
600 LF of 2-inch forcemain for pressure sewer
·
500 LF of 1/2 inch forcemain for pressure sewer
·
45,000 LF of 6-inch forcemain
·
5 Lift Stations
·
267 hook-ups
Treatment System Upgrades
·
Lift station pump and yard piping upgrade
·
Fourth parallel train of SBR treatment for 150,000
gpd
·
Grit chamber
·
Laboratory casework and equipment
Effluent Disposal System:
·
150,000 gallon addition to effluent storage pond
·
Effluent pump station expansion and control system
upgrades
·
Second center pivot irrigation unit
·
Two additional exfiltration galleries
Sludge Disposal System:
·
One additional sludge drying bed
4.
Compliance with international Treaties and
Agreements. The
project sponsor submitted a statement that the project complies with the
rights and obligations established in applicable treaties and agreements
1.
Human Health and Environment. The community of La Union at present does
not have any form of wastewater collection and treatment system other than
on-site disposal systems. The on-site
disposal systems include individual septic tanks with leach fields, or
cesspools. Health concerns have been
expressed due to the possible failure of these disposal systems and lack of
adequate area for proper treatment through percolation. Many of these on-site systems are not
properly sized or properly constructed.
The soils in the area are generally well drained loamy sands, which have
high permeability. Due to the development
density and highly permeable soils, the potential for contamination of the
shallow groundwater is high. As this
area continues to develop with inadequate on-site disposal systems, biological
and nitrogen contamination of the groundwater is inevitable.
Hepatitis A is a liver disease associated
with unsanitary disposal of sewage and inadequate or contaminated water
supplies. The incidence rate of
Hepatitis A for Dona Ana County was 36.2 cases per 100,000 persons in 1997,
which is over 79% higher than for the State of New Mexico. The baseline value in 1994 for Hepatitis A was 16 cases per 100,000 persons
in New Mexico. In addition, the number
of cases of Shigella in Dona Ana County is 12% higher than for the rest of the
State. Shigellosis often results from
poor sanitation, lack of water/wastewater facilities, contaminated water and
food and is common is colonias areas.
2.
Environmental Assessment: An Environmental Information Document (EID) was developed for the collection
and conveyance portion of the system in association with the planning
documents. After preliminary review by
BECC, Dona Ana County and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), a
revised EID was submitted to NMED and NMED consequently developed the
Environmental Assessment (EA) for submittal to EPA. EPA issued the FONSI for the collection and conveyance portion of
the system (Finding of No Significant Impact) for public review on October 13,
2001. The wastewater treatment plant
and its expansion received a FONSI from EPA in December 1999.
3.
Compliance with Environmental and Cultural Resources Law and
Regulations. As part of the environmental review, the EID considered any and
all crosscutting environmental and cultural/historical laws, Executive Orders
and regulations, including among others, Significant, Unique or Important
Farmlands, National Natural Landmarks, Wilderness Protection, Wild and Scenic
Rivers, Wetlands Protection, Floodplain Management, Fish and Wildlife
Protection, Endangered Species Protection, Historical, Architectural,
Archeological, and Cultural Sites, Air Quality, and Environmental Justice. The project is in compliance with all
applicable environmental and cultural
resource laws and regulations.
A plant and wildlife Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive (TSE) species
survey was conducted in July 2001. The
survey consisted of a pedestrian survey of the project areas. The survey concluded that the site did not
provide suitable habitat for any of the regional listed threatened or
endangered species. The proposed lift
station and treatment plant sites appear to have been or are under
cultivation. Areas where collection
pipelines are to be installed have been converted to residential use. No evidence of any TSE plants and animals
were noted.
A cultural resource survey was conducted in July 2001. During the survey, no registered properties,
standing historic buildings and archaeological artifact were identified. The cultural resource survey report
recommended that no further culture resources studies are necessary prior to
development of the proposed wastewater treatment site. Monitoring, however, is recommended during
installation of the wastewater collection pipelines, due to the presence of
multiple archaeological sites in the regional vicinity. Subsurface artifacts may be uncovered during
excavation, and care must be taken not to damage them. The complete cultural resource survey report
was submitted to the State Historic Preservation Office for review and concurrence. In addition, the new Section 106 regulations
for Native American/Tribal consultation have been concluded. The Mescalero Apache raised no issues of
concern.
1. Appropriate Technology.
Recognizing the
severity of the lack of adequate waste treatment in the border region of New
Mexico, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided funding for
Facility Planning in the Colonias areas of Dona Ana County, administered by the
NMED. A Facility Plan was completed for
the La Union area in 1997. This facility plan recommended a gravity collection
sewer system and a local treatment plant or conveyance to the Anthony Waster
and Sanitation District (AWSD) treatment plant.
The West
Mesa/Santa Teresa (WM/ST) Wastewater Facilities Plan was completed in February
1999. This plan recommended a treatment
plant for the WM/ST service area that included La Union. A Technical Memorandum was completed in
April 1999 which consolidated the La Union and WM/ST facility plans into a
single stand alone document and reviewed the area on a regional basis. An analysis was completed in July 2000
further evaluated the option for La Union to flow to the WM/ST Border Regional
wastewater treatment facility, and confirmed that this was the most
cost-effective option.
The
results of these numerous plans were a recommendation that La Union flows be
conveyed to the WM/ST Border Regional wastewater treatment plant. Additionally, these planning documents
included a planning horizon of 20 years and completed the following alternative
analysis:
·
Wastewater Collection Alternatives: Two alternatives were analyzed which include
the pressure sewer system and the selected alternative of a conventional
gravity system. A small portion of
the community will be served by pressure sewer due to the narrow right-of-ways
available.
·
Wastewater Treatment Alternatives: Three alternatives were analyzed which
include conveyance to the Anthony WWTP, conveyance to the South Central WWTP
certified in June 2001 and the selected alternative of conveyance to the ST/WT
Border Regional WWTP.
The alternatives discussed above were ranked based
on reliability, reduction of energy use, water supply implication, process complexity
and appropriateness, environmental impacts, and implementability. The selected alternative and the best
alternative was selected used on a combination of these criteria, lowest
initial investment and lowest operation and maintenance cost during the
planning period.
2.
Operation and Maintenance Plan. Doña
Ana County currently has certified operation and maintenance staff for the
WM/ST Border Regional facility.
Additionally, many of the manuals are already prepared for this
facility. For the collection and
conveyance portion of the facility, the New Mexico Environment Department
requires that a project plan of operation be prepared during the construction
phase as well as an O&M manual for the lift station. After approval of the manual, an operator
training course will be conducted as the facility is coming on-line. Additionally, a monitoring period of one
year is required; quarterly project performance reports will be completed.
3.
Compliance with applicable design norms and regulations. This
project is in compliance with applicable design standards and regulations which
are required by the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission and NMED
Groundwater Bureau
1.
Financial
Feasibility.
The project has a total project cost is
$7,316,100 which includes $400,500 for hookups and $1,547,500 for expansion of
the ST/WM Border Regional WWTP The
following table summarizes the estimated project cost.
|
ITEM |
Total Project Costs |
Planning Phase
|
|
|
Planning |
$43,000 |
|
Total
Planning Phase |
$43,000 |
|
Phase
1 Collection and Conveyance |
|
|
Engineering/Administration |
$550,480 |
|
Construction |
$3,956,550 |
|
Land Acquisition, Easements, or Special Permits |
$60,000 |
|
Contingency @ 10% |
$456,700 |
|
NMGRT @ 6% |
$301,420 |
|
Subtotal: |
$5,325,150 |
|
Hook-Up Costs |
$400,500 |
Total Phase 1 w/Hook-ups
|
$5,725,650 |
|
TOTAL(Including Planning) |
$5,768,650 |
Phase 2 WM/ST WWTP Upgrade (Year 2004)
|
|
|
Engineering/Management |
$173,100 |
|
Construction |
$1,154,000 |
|
Land and Easement Acquisition |
0 |
|
Contingency @ 10% |
$132,700 |
|
NMGRT @ 6% |
$87,600 |
|
Total Phase 2 |
$1,547,400 |
|
TOTAL |
$7,316,050 |
The project has received $414,000 in funding from
BECC for facility planning and final design.
The remaining unfunded portion of will be funded through a combination
of BEIF and loan funds. The NADB is
currently completing its financial analysis.
There a final determination of the BEIF component has not been
completed. The following table
summarizes the proposed financial structure of the project.
|
ITEM |
Total Project Costs |
BECC TA Funds (Grant) |
Proposed NM State Revolving Loan Fund
(Loan) |
Proposed BEIF Funds (Grant) |
Planning Phase
|
|
|
|
|
|
Planning |
$43,000 |
$43,000 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total
Planning Phase |
$43,000 |
$43,000 |
0 |
0 |
|
Phase
1 (Year 2003) |
|
|
|
|
|
Engineering/Administration |
$550,480 |
$371,000 |
$179,480 |
|
|
Construction, land, contingency, and taxes |
$4,774,670 |
0 |
$711,928 |
$4,062,742 |
|
Subtotal |
$5,325,150 |
$371,000 |
$891,408 |
$4,062,742 |
|
Hook-Up Construction |
$400,500 |
0 |
0 |
$400,500 |
Total Phase 1 w/Hook-ups
|
$5,725,650 |
$371,000 |
$891,408 |
$4,463,242 |
|
TOTAL (Including Planning) |
5,768,650 |
$414,000 |
$891,408 |
$4,463,242 |
|
Phase 2 WM/ST WWTP Upgrade
(Year 2004) |
|
|
|
|
|
Engineering/Administration |
$173,100 |
To
be determined |
||
|
Construction, land, contingency, and taxes |
$1,374,300 |
|||
|
Total
Phase 2 |
$1,547,400 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL
ALL PHASES |
$7,316,050 |
|
|
|
|
Transition Funds |
|
$306,202 |
||
2. Rate Model: There are currently no wastewater facilities
serving this area and therefore no historic fee/rate schedules. The financial model shows an initial user
fee of $21.00 per residential connection per month, billed as a fixed
rate. It is anticipated that the user
fees will initiate in FY 2002. The
financial model also illustrates in each year revenues are sufficient to offset
expenses, with the cumulative total funds from all sources building each year. Included in the expenses is a
repair/replacement line item that builds at a rate of 10 to 20% of the total
operations and maintenance expenses for that year. The percentage increases as the utility ages.
3.
Project
Management. Organizationally, the utility will be managed by County
staff and operated by one or more contract operations companies. Initially, the County utility staff will
include a Utility Administrator, Assistant Utility Administrator, Financial
Specialist, General Foreman, Utility Operations, Senior Secretary/Administrative
Assistant, Customer Service Manager, and Project Manager. Key support personnel will include field
coordinator and various field personnel.
Other support will come from personnel in various County departments.
1. Comprehensive Public Participation Plan:
A draft public participation plan as submitted in April 2000. Due to the La
Union being considered for inclusion in the South Central Wastewater project
the plan was never approved. After certification of the South Central project
and the exclusion of La Union from it, another plan was submitted and approved
in August 2001. The activities carried out related to this Plan are summarized
below.
2.
Steering Committee: Steering committee organizational meetings
were held March 22 and April 3, 2000.
Additional meetings were held April 13, May 3, and July 10, 2000. On
July 31 and August 22, 2001 the committee met to finalize the public
participation plan and strategize for the public process in La Union for
certification. . The steering committee is composed of: Irma Lazarín, Co-chair;
Arnold Plaza, Co-Chair; Sister Mary Ellen Quinn, Church representative; Alfredo
Holguín, of the Gadsden Independent School District; Martín Lopez, of RCAC;
Frank Malin, Antonio Hernandez, Perfecto Gutierrez and Rosalio Ramos,
all of them local citizens.
3. Local
Organizations:
Organizations contacted to present the project and solicit support
include:
|
La Union Town Council |
Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church |
|
Volunteer Fire Department |
La Union Mutual Domestic Board |
|
Gadsden Ind. School District |
The Department of Health - Sunland Park |
|
Diocese
of Las Cruces |
Elephant Butte Irrigation District |
4. Public Information: Project information was available at La Union
Station, La Union Mercantile Store and La Union Mutual Domestic offices.
Additional information was available at the Doña Ana County offices and the
offices of the consulting engineer in Las Cruces. Other outreach methods
developed by the steering committee included mailers, flyers, dissemination at
public events, and door-to-door notification of the public meetings. Notices
for public meetings were advertised in the Las Cruces Sun News and in the water
bills. Public meeting notices were
posted at the Doña Ana County offices, La Union Mercantile Store, La Union
Station, La Union Elementary School, US Post Office, Our Lady of Refuge Church
and the Roadway Y Center. Fact sheets were available at the public meetings.
|
|
|
5. Public Meetings: Two
public meetings were held. One meeting
was held in conjunction with the NEPA required meeting. The first public meeting was
held on September 24, 2001 and the second public meeting was held on October
10, 2001. Returned surveys from both meetings show a 98% support rate for the
project.
1. Definition and Principles The proposed project
complies with BECCs definition of Sustainable Development: Conservation
oriented social and economic development that emphasizes the protection and
sustainable use of resources, while addressing both current and future needs,
and present and future impact of human actions.
The project is in general compliance with
the definition as follows:
· Social
impacts are positive because the colonia properties are added to the tax base
of the area, allowing for increased social services and improvements to
schools.
· It
has a positive economic impact because it will strengthen property values.
Increased value will mean better chances for homeowners to access credit,
improve their lives, and increase their net worth.
· It
improves the impact of current human activity on the environment while at the
same time eliminating further degradation to the environment.
· It
has been developed with protections for water resources, floodplains, cultural
resources, and threatened, endangered and protected species.
It addresses
current need for services in the rural communities outside of the city limits, and
incorporates modest historical expectations for growth. Future growth can be
managed and regulated by the countywide wastewater utility.
Principle 1: The project is centered on the needs of the
residents of the communities of La Union in Dona Ana County, New Mexico.
Principle 2: The rights of the residents to adequately
raise their standard of living and develop their properties are recognized and
underlie the reasons for undertaking the project.
Principle 3: Environmental protection is integral to the
project.
Principle 4: Stakeholders have been involved and have had the opportunity to
participate in the decision-making process.
This not only includes the local residents, but also local, regional,
state, and federal agencies with statutory interest and standing in the issues
at hand.
2. Institutional and Human Capacity
Building. This
project is one of several in the southern New Mexico region and is a component
of the Countys commitment to regional planning. This is a significant development in the planning necessary to successfully
address emerging infrastructure needs and is a basic component of sustainable
development. Dona Ana County has begun
the process of strengthening its institutional infrastructure. A significant amount of technical and
managerial training and development will be directed into the area. Operations and personnel will receive
extensive training on equipment and environmental issues.
3. Conformance with Applicable
Local/Regional Conservation and Development Plans.
The project conforms to the following local and regional plans:
·
Dona Ana County Comprehensive Plan, 1994
·
Dona Ana County Wastewater Facilities Plan, 1997
·
Dona Ana County Resolution 96-36, passed May 14,
1996
4. Conservation of Natural Resources.
The project will eliminate the inadequate on-site wastewater disposal
systems currently used in the project area as sources of potential ground and
surface water contamination. Protection
of the Rio Grande as a source of water for neighbors to the south, including El
Paso, is enhanced. The County is
developing a series of comprehensive ordinances to address statutory
requirements of the Clean Water Act and its related laws. These ordinances have been drafted and are
structured on EPA model ordinances.
Dona Ana County participates in local and regional water conservation
programs and efforts. The Countys
leadership is committed to developing water conservation goals and policies as
part of its water management program.
Reuse alternatives have been considered in planning for all facility
development. Appropriate alternatives
will be implemented to support each facilitys capacity and water management
program goals. Also, it is recognized
that legal/institutional capacities and economic incentives must exist if water
users are to significantly conserve water.
Dona Ana County is committed to developing these policies and assisting
the community water providers for similar policy development.
5. Community Development.
Through the development
of this project and the close working relationships developed with the
community members, individuals have realized the importance of addressing
environmental issues as a community.
This has fostered and strengthened the existing community groups,
empowering them to take action on their own behalf. A number of private nonprofit agencies and task forces have
banded together to advocate infrastructure development in the unincorporated
colonias areas. The Colonias
Development Council, an independent community organization of over 15
government and private agencies, has applied for a grant from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
By providing the integral infrastructure of sewer collection and
treatment, the planning area will appear more attractive and inexpensive for
new community services, such as schools, churches, and recreational facilities,
encouraging them to move into the area.