The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Residents blast OK of sewer line
TORRINGTON — Raymond Bottass, a Torrington native, spent a portion of his day off on the streetcorner near City Hall, airhorn in hand, with a sign that read “Impeach Mayor Carbone.”
Bottass, along with his wife, Carol, are protesting the recent decision to approve a sewer pipeline connecting the Woodridge Lake housing development in Goshen to the Torrington system, which is to run through part of the watershed area for the Allen Dam reservoir.
“It was a 3-2 vote, and as a taxpayer ... I don’t believe it should be up to the six people who were there,” said Raymond Bottass. “I disapprove of everything that was there. ... I believe it was already a done deal (before the vote).”
Botass said he’s worked in construction since he was 18. He said during his time in construction, he always found leaks in sewer pipes being disconnected, and believes the Woodridge Lake line eventually will fail.
“It doesn’t seem to bother them. They have no conscience about it,” he said. “I’m totally against it.”
He said he was told that the mayor in Torrington cannot be impeached, but he wanted to be out there anyway. He and his wife said they’d be back on Saturday.
“It makes a difference because people are noticing,” said Raymond Bottass. “I’m doing this for a cause. ... I lived in this town all my life.”
Mayor Elinor Carbone was appointed by the people, “and this is what we get out of it,” he said.
Carol Bottass said she hopes the protest will prompt the sewer decision to be changed.
“It’s almost like nobody cares about us (the people),” she said. “I’m really, really scared. I hope that this does not go through.”
Later, Carbone pushed back vehemently against the idea that the vote had been predetermined — except for council member Paul Cavagnero, who she said clearly had made up his mind beforehand, reflected in his remarks at meetings ahead of the vote and a “Protect Our Water Supply” sign on his lawn.
She cited an obligation to the public, the board and her personal code to adhere to an appropriate process.
“This was not a done deal,” said Carbone. “I can tell you with absolute confidence and absolute certainty that this was not a done deal before the vote.”
Online chatter to the contrary — “all that moaning out there on Facebook” — was false, she said, referring to numerous comments about the vote posted on Torrington Facebook pages.
She invited the public to come take a look at the litany of documentation — in “four-inch-thick” binders, in her estimation — that council members had reviewed before the vote.
Residents to date had not done that, by and large, she said — instead, they received letters from the Torrington Water Co. indicating that the project was harmful to their health and urging them to speak out against it.
Carbone noted that the Department of Public Health, including Public Health Section Chief Lori Mathieu, charged with protecting drinking water, had instituted a series of conditions to mitigate the risk for the project — including requiring Woodridge Lake to purchase pollution insurance and run spill drills — then testified that it was appropriate to move forward.
“These people are scientists; they’re engineers — they’re experts in their field,” said Carbone. “Should the board members and Mayor Carbone be crucified because they heard the facts and made a decision that they believed protected the long-term interest (of the city)? ... I don’t believe they (or I) deserve that.”
The full order from the Department of Public Health is available through the Torrington municipal website — www.torringtonct.org/sites/torringtonct/files/uploads/dph_letter_8.29.17.pdf.
It would have been easier for the three council members to vote against the project and “bask in the glory” enjoyed by Cavagnero and Marie Soliani, Carbone said.
The state has indicated that it could force the city to accept the line, Carbone said, and by approving it, the municipality has control over the process.
The City Council voted 3-2 to approve the sewer pipeline Monday. Carbone did not vote, but drew much of the ire from those who spoke against the decision after the vote.
The pipeline is to run in Goshen from Route 63 to Pie Hill Road, then to East Street South and Route 4, crossing into Torrington, then to Lovers Lane and Riverside Avenue.