By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
NEWBURY – The Newbury Conservation Commission is asking the state to hold a public meeting to discuss the future of an aging sewage lagoon on property it leases at Mount Sunapee State Park and one legislator has also urged discussions prior to construction of a new 300-space parking lot.
State Rep. Karen Ebel, D-New London, drafted a letter to both the commissioners of the state Department of Environmental Services and the Department of Cultural and Natural Resources that states a failure of the aging lagoon and spray field system could be “catastrophic” to water quality in and around Lake Sunapee State Park and beach and is of concern to many in the region.
It comes after the state approved plans last year for the parking lot, but did not require a wastewater system upgrade in the annual operating plan. However, the plans call for Vail to put together a plan for future replacement in the next plan.
In a Feb. 20 letter to Sarah Stewart, commissioner for the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Katheryn C. Holmes, chair of the Newbury Conservation Commission, said she has made several requests without success to get the state to hold a public meeting on this matter.
The state leases the ski area to Vail Resorts of Colorado and Stewart is in charge of approving annual contracts.
The lessee proposed last year to spend $900,000 to clear trees and create a fourth parking area next to sewage lagoons and where liquid from the ski area’s wastewater system is sprayed onto fields in the summer months as part of the ski area’s wastewater disposal system.
Solids from the system are pumped out separately and trucked away from the area.
This spraying over these fields for more than 50 years and the condition of the unlined lagoons and their potential to overflow ultimately into the clear waters of Lake Sunapee became a focal point of discussion at last year’s annual operating meeting.
On June 11, 2024, as required by the lease agreement, Vail Resorts offered its annual operating plan, which included the new lot for 300 vehicles. There were no plans to improve the nearby lagoons.
Andrew Koff, state DES hydrogeologist, said at the time there are no signs that lagoons are leaking but the state has testing underway in nearby Beck Brook which flows into Lake Sunapee and the ski area needs to obtain an alteration of terrain permit, but has received other permitting.
“They have extensive monitoring around the facility,” he said, and they meet all applicable standards for the lagoons and spray field. He said the department had concerns about the separating distance of the proposed parking lot to the spray fields of 100 feet but said he believes that is something they will be able to achieve.
The existing and approved five-year master development plan which is in effect through 2025 is here https://www.nhstateparks.org/getmedia/329167c7-9ae7-444e-80ae-922a997b2a74/Mount-Sunapee_2020-2025-Master-Development-Plan_FINALpg1-55_1.pdf
“The Wastewater Disposal System, lagoon and spray field are 50+ years old. The original design constraints (yearly capacity, design life, etc.) are not available and likely do not meet today’s standards. NCC has been told by state agency staff that such a system could never be permitted today as a new system,” Holmes wrote.
“Seepage at the toe of the unlined lagoon dam has been documented in many locations. One location in
particular has a significant leak, and water with extremely high levels of E. coli is flowing directly into Beck Brook (as documented by NHDES) and then into Lake Sunapee at the state beach,” she said adding, “The close proximity of the parking lot to the wastewater spray fields and likely groundwater flow path is deeply concerning. The NCC feels there will be groundwater flow, with a significant black water component, from the spray fields towards the parking lot. Since the new parking lot will be in that flow path, the contaminated groundwater will likely emerge as surface water and then flow into Beck Brook and then into Lake Sunapee.”
She said the ski area has never had a comprehensive stormwater management plan.
“In discussion with other members of the Mount Sunapee Advisory Commission (MSAC), our local legislators, and other environmental groups, we are again asking for a special MSAC meeting to discuss our collective concerns and possible solutions. This meeting needs to occur before any disturbance occurs in the proposed location of the parking lot.”
Ebel wrote that “while perhaps a remote possibility, a complete failure of those lagoons would be utterly catastrophic to the watershed, but of major concern are issues with on-going leakage, spraying into wetlands and contamination of Beck Brook. The focus of many is human septage, but as we all know too well, liquid waste coming from facilities such as Mt Sunapee can include many forms of contamination, not the least of which is PFAS from cleaning products and other chemicals of concerning levels of toxicity.”
She noted that the current operating plan says the permittee shall provide the state with the operations and maintenance of the wastewater facility maintenance plan, a plan to replace and or upgrade the wastewater treatment system and a timeline for replacement, and an assessment of the approximate sludge volume, among others.
The lawmaker wrote that “upon review of the plan, many in the Lake Sunapee watershed area remain very concerned with the viability and efficacy of Mt Sunapee’s wastewater treatment system and would like the opportunity to hear both from DNCR and DES about this issue, especially DES since it must review and approve any plan. For that reason, it seems timely and appropriate for Commissioner Stewart to call an (Mount Sunapee) Advisory Board meeting specifically on this issue within the next month to six weeks to allow for full discussion with DES and DNCR representatives. I hope you agree.”
Stewart was not immediately available for comment on Monday.