Corridor wastewater plan should be revised
I am a resident of the Community of Amizette. My neighbors and I are tired of being both ignored and having outsiders try to dictate our needs and priorities. The recently unveiled “Corridor Plan” has placed our situation front and center.
I am proud of our stewardship of this sensitive strip of land hosting the headwaters of the Rio Hondo and bordering two federally-designated wilderness areas: the Hondo-Colombine and the Wheeler. My neighbors and I are committed to working to maintain low-intensity development and responsible behavior relating to the protection of the above as well as that of our downstream neighbors.
The persistent call by outsiders for “sewers” in Amizette flies in the face of the actual facts relating to this extremely costly and irrevocable step. Below are but some of the considerations and facts which should be carefully examined before any decision is taken in this regard.
A preliminary study paid for by the Village (largely conjectural and not based upon any form of “Needs Assessment” whatsoever) suggests that three or four lift stations would need to be placed over a difficult topographical layout with a net elevation gain of about 600 feet. This cursory study did not include the fact that practically all users living on the Rio Hondo would have to maintain individual macerator pumps to deliver their sewerage uphill to these lift stations sited above them along the north side of Ski Valley Road or State Road 150.
Unlike a gravity-based system, the inevitability of failure of any of the dozens of pumps located at private residences or failure of the main pumps (as a result of adverse weather conditions, pump failure, clogged lines and pump inlets, power outages, amongst other events) situated at the lift stations/cesspools will result in raw sewerage overflowing directly into the Rio Hondo after coursing down the Ski Valley Road.
The federal EPA, in its published advice to citizens, conclusively states that the employment of lift stations to pump sewerage uphill should be the absolute last resort explored. That is, all other options should be explored before even considering the use of lift stations, especially in light of the set of circumstances outlined above. Cautionary tales emanating from real world experiences abound.
The cost to install such a system was estimated to be at least $10 million dollars in this cursory presentation more than five years ago. It is important to note that this cost estimate was suggested by the same engineering firm that estimated $7 million for the upgrade of the receiving Village Wastewater Treatment Plant sited above Amizette. The cost to date for this non-functioning upgrade has already exceeded $15 million and counting! In the real world the cost for the risky liftstation-based system would likely approach $20 million.
It is true that some speculators could possibly see their land increase in value (as recently mentioned in a Taos News article) if such a system were installed. However, what would be some of the likely costs to the community of Amizette and the environment?
More intensive development in this fragile wilderness “Corridor” with increased and rapid water runoff and accompanying siltage pouring into the Rio Hondo
Significant risk (if not absolute certainty) of an eventual environmental catastrophe as a system failure sends raw sewerage cascading down the Ski Valley Road into the Rio Hondo
Private dwellings and shortterm lodging facilities rendered uninhabitable due to a systems failure that would curtail the ability to flush toilets, take showers, wash clothing or prepare meals
Confiscatory water and sewer rates imposed upon long-term residents, some on pensions, for the exact same services which they have already paid for with their own money (fully permitted wells and wastewater systems) and continue to maintain without any assistance from the Village General Fund, the TIDD or any governmental entity whatsoever
Unnecessary wastage of public funds and special benefits provided to speculators
Let the outsiders and speculators join us in pursuing responsible development and seeking out appropriate and effective waste water treatment systems which are well-suited to our unique location, conditions and traditions of self-sufficiency and stewardship of our fragile environment.
Mike Fitzpatrick, a resident of the Amizette Community for 30 years, has been using a composting toilet for the entire period of his residence in Amizette while using his fullyapproved wastewater system for grey water only.