Unanimous vote kills sewage plant plan

ACCOMACK COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) - "Over our dead bodies", and "not in our back yards" were the rallying cries on the Eastern Shore in Accomack County in a debate over a sewage plant plan.

Tuesday night, the County Board of Supervisors agreed, killing the plan.

A nearby developer wanted to place the plant on a 70 acre farm on Nocks Landing Road in the Village of Atlantic, raising a stink amongst residents.

For two hours, Atlantic Town Center developer Chris Carbaugh and his attorney Mark Baumgartner got laughed at, lectured, and, in the end, figuratively run out of town.

"Absolutely not, we do not want a sewage treatment plant in our backyard," said Accomack County resident Linda Gordon.

Herman Chesser, an Atlantic resident said, "It makes me sick to my stomach; the only words I can use."

Carbaugh wanted to put the plant on property that joins Chesser's.

"The only thing we can do is try to educate them of the product," said Carbaugh. It is clear, however, the residents do not want to be educated and they are absolutely opposed to the project.

Carbaugh's proposed Atlantic Town Center was massive. It would have sat on a 320 acre site and would have included office space, homes, retail, commercial space, a business district, a school, even a hotel conference center on property along Chincoteague and Fleming Roads, which is about two miles away from Atlantic.

Facing stiff and vocal opposition, Carbaugh told the County he's changed his plans, moving the sewage treatment plant back onto the Town Center property. Carbaugh can not build Atlantic Town Center without building a sewage treatment plant like the one in Cape Charles, and Carbaugh's facility must have a clean water discharge field where the treated clean water is pumped after it goes through the treatment process.

Guess where Carbaugh still wanted to pump that clean water? That's right, two miles by pipe back to Atlantic. "The fact that they want to build their development, we have no problem with that. That is their game, but keep it there. Do not use historic Atlantic as an outhouse," said Gordon.

When asked why he doesn't put the clean water discharge field in his backyard on the development site, Carbaugh explained, "We do not have the same soil conditions for disposal." Carbaugh says he needs to pump the treated clean water two miles to the Atlantic site because he claims it's the only soil that will properly process what could be up to 700,000 gallons of treated waste water when the development is fully constructed. "That is a unique property. It is an old sand dune, and can infiltrate a large quantity of water. It has very good soils, and a very low water table." This is all important because the land can absorb the water and dissipate it quickly.

James and Angie Wingfield are not buying that explanation from Carbaugh, "We're afraid of the birds and possible contamination and what about the smells; it is not going to be nice."

The Department of Environmental Quality has given Carbaugh the right to construct the Treatment Plant, and the DEQ says the clean water that is pumped to the farm land will be exactly that, clean water. "It should not smell. It will be fully treated by then, so there is no hazard or danger to the neighbors. It should not be a public health issue," said Mark Sauer, a Water Permit Manager with the DEQ.

However, DEQ is not the final word; Accomack County is. County Planning Director Rich Morrison and the Planning Commission have recommended to the County Board of Supervisors not to change the zoning text. Currently, only a Municipality or a County can get a zoning change to build a sewage treatment center. The text currently reads, "water and sewer facilities must be operated by a municipality or county." Carbaugh is not a municipality, he is a private developer, so he could not be able to get a zoning change to allow his treatment plant. Tonight, Carbaugh asked the County Board of Supervisors to approve the text change to include "a company regulated as a Public Utility by the State Corporation Commission", which Carbaugh is. If the board approved that text change then Carbaugh could have been closer to building his treatment center.

County Supervisor Ron Wolfe represented Atlantic, and voted not to change the zoning code text, "The problem we see is he (Carbaugh) can put the sewage treatment center and the drainage on his property, and there is no need to come off the property."

Twenty-two speakers signed up to speak Monday night and everyone of them spoke against the developer. At one point, Atlantic resident Ronnie Thomas asked all those against the zoning change to stand, the majority of the room did so.

Gordon said, "If we allow developers to dictate the wording of our code...it would create sewage outposts."

The board voted unanimously to keep the zoning text the way it is.

Baumgartner said, "Is the deal dead? No. Do we go to court? Hopefully not, but that is certainly an option...I think this ends with our sitting down with