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Editorial: A Few Questions Before A Vote…

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On August 13, the Town of Old Lyme will vote to decide whether to borrow $9.5 million to finance the installation of sewers for commercial and residential properties in Sound View, and an adjacent neighborhood just north of Shore Road called “Miscellaneous Town Area B.” It’s our understanding that state law gives municipalities broad discretion in how they choose to charge for sewers – fair or not, that’s a high bar for shoreline property owners now considering legal avenues if the referendum is approved. But, how is it fair that seasonal residents are forced to pay for a school system

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Sewage Pump House Granted Variance for Private Land in Sound View

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OLD LYME — The sewer project for three chartered beach associations and the town’s Sound View Beach cleared a small hurdle Tuesday when the zoning board of appeals granted a variance, with conditions, for a sewage pump house to be located at 73 Portland Ave., a privately-owned corner lot directly across the street an alternate site at 72 Portland Ave. proposed by the town. Provided it’s approved by the zoning commission, the variance would give the three beach associations — Miami Beach, Old Colony and Old Lyme Shores — a location for a pump house independent of the town’s progress

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Letter: Sound View Homeowners Should Be Aware of Obligations

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To the Editor: Thank you for your coverage of the Sound View sewer project. One correction: the cost per EDU as stated by the WPCA will be $25,007, not $15,000. $15,000 is the minimum a homeowner would be assessed. Thus, according to the WPCA slide presentation, the “typical average house of 1 EDU (1,242 square feet)” would be charged a “$6,000 connection fee plus a $25,007 betterment assessment” for a total of $31,007. The per EDU assessment will be calculated on a sliding scale, thus a 2,500 square foot house would be charged for 2 EDUs. In my case, my

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Sound View Residents Question Cost Sharing, Consider Legal Action

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OLD LYME — On Tuesday night, Sound View Beach residents spoke out against shouldering the entire $7.44 million cost of installing sewer infrastructure in their beach community. A small number of residents also said they would consult with an attorney concerning the bond question that is expected to go to a town-wide referendum on August 13.  At least 80 people attended the second of two informational sessions organized by the town’s Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) at the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School.  On July 15, the Town of Old Lyme signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with the three private

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Old Lyme Reaches Sewer Agreement with Beach Communities

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OLD LYME — In a major step forward, the town today sent a memorandum of understanding confirming its intention to share all costs related to a sewer project in Sound View Beach with the three private beach associations that have already signed a cost-sharing agreement with East Lyme and New London. Sharing the costs with the three beach associations is contingent on the Town of Old Lyme successfully passing a referendum to fund the town’s Sound View and Misc. Area B sewer project, wrote Richard Prendergast, chair of the Old Lyme Water Pollution Control Authority in the letter to the

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Editorial: It’s Walkable. It’s Sewered. It’s Sound View.

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As I've been told in planning meetings across the state -- change is inevitable -- but if ever there was a neighborhood that mocks that notion it's Sound View. While we debate the beautification and housing and walkability of Halls Road -- a business district which is nearly fully occupied -- a mile or so down the coast, Hartford Avenue and three other beach communities languish, waiting for a go-ahead from Old Lyme on Sewers.

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Beaches Residents to Old Lyme: Let us Get to Work

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OLD LYME — Three chartered beach communities, each with their own Water Pollution Control Authority, say they are ready to move ahead with building sewers but have been delayed by the Town of Old Lyme’s failure to provide timely zoning variances and easements. In a meeting at the CT Examiner office on Thursday, Scott Boulanger of Miami Beach Association, Frank Noe of Old Colony Beach Club Association and Dede DeRosa of Old Lyme Shores Beach Association, who are members of their respective WPCAs, said they needed the town to provide a variance for the installation of a pump station either

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With Sewers Exceeding Capacity, Mystic Searches for Solutions

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“We’re doing the study to find out how clean water is getting into the system,” Nettleton said. “Inflow is the flow getting into the system by sump pumps in basements. Infiltration is flow getting in through cracks in the pipes and leaking manholes.” Nettleton noted that sump pumps, which are illegal in the town, are a “big problem” in Mystic. The problem is commonplace in many communities, officials said. Read more here

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Old Saybrook Faces Tough Choices on Septic System Pollution

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More than 60 percent of the nitrogen load flowing from the Oyster River into Indian Harbor off of Old Saybrook is from septic systems, according to a study by Marine Scientist Jamie Vaudrey from the University of Connecticut. Part of the problem is that the soil in Old Saybrook is poorly suited for filtering nitrogen. There also simply isn’t enough of it to provide sufficient buffering.

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