NORTHFIELD — The Board of Sewer Commissioners is doing everything possible to bring the 53-year-old Sewer District up to regulation standards after receiving a consent order from the state Department of Environmental Protection, commissioner Karen Boudreau informed the Selectboard this week.

“Everything we are doing is looking at tasks and asking, ‘Does it help facilitate getting away from the consent order?’” Boudreau said.

A consent order, which the town received from MassDEP in May 2021, is a decree between two parties that occurs outside of court. Boudreau explained that MassDEP will begin fining the Northfield Sewer District if it doesn’t bring the 104 Meadow St. treatment plant and its operations into compliance. The seven-point list of necessary upgrades — projected in late 2020 to cost nearly $8 million — includes bolstering staffing, fixing the collecting system and updating equipment.

“The whole plant needs an upgrade,” Sewer Commissioner Tom Walker said in a phone interview. The facility was built in 1970.

Last year, the Sewer District received approximately $107,000 for upgrades funded by the American Rescue Plan Act. With this money, the district updated the aerators and a machine that grinds the solids (including things like toilet paper) from sewage. Additionally, the computer system was updated to automate the alarm system. Many of the alarms that go off can be fixed with an app on a phone, but without automation, it requires a worker to come in and manually reset a machine.

“This saved us through the winter,” Boudreau said.

Walker explained stormwater often enters the pipes during excessive rain, resulting in extra processing of material at the treatment plant. The district is working to line pipes and repair manholes with the limited funds it has available. There are 8.5 miles of pipes and 182 manholes. The starting cost of building a singular new manhole is $4,500, according to Boudreau.

There is one full-time staff member, Isaac Golding, and two people who alternate on weekends. The commission is working on filling out its on-call list. In January, Golding became ill and it was a struggle to find someone to operate the plant daily.

“We can’t find help, that is what this boils down to,” Golding said. “The Sewer Commission has been good and supportive in trying to find help.”

Boudreau explained a plant the size of Northfield’s should have 104 hours of work weekly, which equates to 2.7 staff members. The plant currently functions with 65 hours.

The district has also started an asset management project that will end in August, creating an analysis of the plant and suggesting solutions to its problems.

“This is the first step in fulfilling the items on the consent order,” Boudreau explained.

Boudreau is hopeful that, having filled out a survey describing the plant’s needs, the Sewer District can get funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as billions of dollars are set aside to get sewage plants up to regulation standards. She said the town expects to hear back about this survey in March or April.

“It is an aging system that needs a lot of upgrades,” Walker said. “We are trying to prioritize all the work that needs to be done.”

Bella Levavi can be reached at blevavi@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.

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