Public hearing set about Coolfont sewer

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will hold a public hearing in Berkeley Springs about a sewer permit for Coolfont's redevelopment on January 6.

The DEP will decide whe-ther to grant a sewer discharge permit for the development.

The application is for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Water Pollution Control Permit.

The hearing, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Town of Bath meeting room, will center on an application by Berkeley Springs Develop-ment, LLC to build a sewer plant for Coolfont Village in the Cold Run Valley.

Treated water from the proposed sewer plant would discharge into Sir John's Run, roughly 4.5 miles from where it empties into the Potomac River.



While the application is

to build a plant with the

capacity to ultimately serve 5,500 people in the Cool-

font development, the operation of the plant would

be restricted at first to process-

ing waste for 2,500 people. Total discharge would be

limited to 200,000 gallons

of treated effluent per day.

That limit would keep the nitrogen discharge below limits set by a Chesapeake Bay nutrient reduction program, said public sewer manager Rodney Hovermale.

Hovermale confirmed that Morgan County's public sewer department, the Warm Springs Public Service District, has agreed to operate the sewer plant once it is built.

The Carl M. Freeman Companies bought the 800-acre Coolfont Resort for $7.8 million in November 2005. The company has been discussing plans for a community of retirement and vacation homes since then.