The Village of Brewster's need for improved wastewater facilities coincided with the implementation of the historic 1997 Watershed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). While not addressed in the MOA the Village nevertheless entered into negotiations with the NYCDEP. The existing plant, sized for 0.110 MGD, was inadequate to serve the entire community. In exchange for the Village assuming ownership of the plant, DEP agreed to provide a capital grant for the design and construction of an upgraded WWTP and collection system, 80% of the Operations and Maintenance cost of the plant on an annual basis, and provided the land for the reconstruction of the facility.

JRFA was retained at the outset. Services to the Village included: funding negotiations; facility report; aerial base mapping and horizontal/ vertical ground control; public presentation; preliminary design; subsurface investigations; final design, contract documents and construction cost estimate; permit negotiations; approvals; multiple source grant funding; cash flow coordination and grant management for the owner; construction administration.

Of significance, the expansion of a WWTP in a phosphorus restricted watershed such as that of the Diverting Reservoir is specifically prohibited under the 1997 Watershed Rules and Regulations. Two variances are provided for, including a phosphorus offset variance, that allow communities without other recourse to expand their facilities. JRFA procured both variances for the Village in under a year. These are the first such variances we are aware of in the Croton Watershed.

JRFA provided an additional significant Value Added service by recommending relocation of the outfall from Tonetta Brook to the East Branch of the Croton River. Tonetta Brook is a small intermittent stream with stringent discharge criteria and small assimilative capacity. The East Branch of the Croton River is a significantly larger water body with a correspondingly greater assimilative capacity. This relocation significantly reduced the SPDES Permit discharge criteria for the plant, providing a significant capital and O&M cost benefit to the Village.