KEYSER — Like a CSX freight train rumbling west through town toward Mountain State coal fields, Keyser officials can hear the roar rising and the ground vibrating at the approach of new environmental regulations related to the Chesapeake Bay cleanup that bode millions of dollars in upgrades at the city's wastewater treatment plant.
“Sitting on the Potomac, it's just a matter of time,” said Mike Kesecker, supervisor of the Keyser Wastewater Treatment Plant.
City officials don't have far to look to see what the near future may hold. A little more than 5 miles northwest of Keyser, Allegany County is investing $30 million in federal, state and local
funds into construction of a new wastewater treatment plant on Georges Creek. Located alongside the existing plant, which was only built in the 1980s, the new facility will not add any additional capacity to the
treatment plant, but instead will only enhance the treatment process to more fully remove nitrogen and phosphorous from the sewage water. The two contaminants promote the growth of algae in the Bay, harming aquatic life.
In the last quarter of 2009, Keyser's nitrogen level was about 13-14 milligrams per liter. City officials believe the new target could be as low as 2 milligrams.
Kesecker said it's only a matter of time before the state and federal governments cast their gaze toward Keyser, and require similar upgrades.
“Within the next five to seven years, we’ll probably be into major reconstruction of the plant,” Kesecker said at last week's meeting of the Keyser Sanitary Board. “It's right around the corner.”
The first gong of the bell that tolls Keyser's fiscal fate may well sound this November, when the city is scheduled to begin its permit-renewal process with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. The agency will likely use that opportunity to develop a multi-year timeline for the city's coming into compliance with current and pending treatment regulations.
Officials are already feeling the effects of stricter treatment regulations.
A big part of the work done at the wastewater treatment plant involves laboratory testing of water samples to ensure that the treated effluent meets environmental standards for an array of contaminants. In the past the city performed about 10 tests per sample. As of Jan. 1, DEP required an additional six tests.
The silver lining to that development, though, is that Keyser conducts sampling tests for a number of communities, parks and other developments that feature stand-alone “package” sewage-treatment plants. Additional tests mean extra revenue from those clients.
Together with a new effort to treat water discharge from natural gas drilling operations in the area, the city sees the lab as a bright spot in an otherwise challenging budget picture.
“(City Accountant) Mike Ryan said that's one of the highlights of the budget, has been the wastewater treatment plant and the income out there,” said Mayor William “Sonny” Rhodes.
The treatment of drilling water in particular would be a significant source of revenue for the city, with city officials estimating that it could bring in as much as $10,000 a week — funds that would be partially set aside to help pay the local share for treatment plant upgrades.
Keyser officials plan to meet with senior state officials at the upcoming Mineral County Day to press for permission to treat the drilling water.
KEYSER, W.Va. —
