As the town of Tisbury wrestles with the state highway department over sewer lines running beneath Beach Road, the deteriorated drainage system there means another construction project may soon be piping water across the roadway just east of Five Corners.
The Citgo station’s underground fuel tanks are due for replacement, an excavation project requiring groundwater to be pumped away from the site.
“That approach of dewatering requires us to treat the groundwater and discharge it,” engineer Adam Guaraldi of Corporate Environmental Advisors in Westborough, representing the Citgo project, told the town select board during its regular Zoom meeting Tuesday night.
The Environmental Protection Agency has granted permission to discharge the treated groundwater on site, Mr. Guaraldi said. But the drainage system for the state-owned road is in such poor condition that engineers are proposing piping the water directly to Vineyard Haven Harbor.
“The Mass DOT [Department of Transportation] drainage system has basically failed,” he said.
This week, Mr. Guaraldi said, the state agreed to allow a hose leading from the Citgo station across Beach Road and down Beach Street Extension, where the sewer line outfall to the harbor is located.
“[The hose] will discharge the treated ground water into the harbor as it would have gone through the catch basins,” he said.
The tank replacement is expected to take six to eight weeks, Mr. Guaraldi said, with the hose and its ramps in place for about four to six weeks, depending on rainfall.
Selectmen agreed to allow the hose as long as it and all related equipment are removed from public property by May 26, the Wednesday before Memorial Day weekend. They also required $1 million in liability insurance and a waiver indemnifying the town in case of damage or injury.
“Once we have that in place, you’re ready to go,” selectman Jeff Kristal said.
Meanwhile, as the Beach Road project bogs down over unforseen engineering issues with town sewer lines, town administrator John (Jay) Grande told the board that it is the state’s responsibility to replace the failed drainage system along the road.
“Our engineer [contractor Environmental Partners] has recommended that 680 linear feet of wastewater line be replaced,” Mr. Grande said.
“This should be addressed up front and not . . . in the field while (road) construction is underway,” he continued. “We’ll have very little management and control at that point.”
Board members backed Mr. Grande’s request to work with town counsel David Doneski and the engineering firm in crafting a demand for the state to replace the water line before proceeding with roadway work.
“We need to stand pat that fixing this sewer line is part of their Beach Road project and they should be held accountable,” board chairman James Rogers said.
Selectmen also heard a fervent speech from Debby Packer, of the shipping and fuel business R.M. Packer, urging the town to reject the shared-use path that is part of the Beach Road reconstruction plan.
“I think this is an emergency,” Ms. Packer said, arguing that the bicycle and pedestrian path poses a direct conflict with the truck traffic serving her waterfront business.
“It’s going to create more idling and more congestion on Beach Road,” she said.
Selectmen expressed sympathy.
“The DOT is a blind and deaf ear,” board member Larry Gomez said.
Among other business Tuesday, selectmen approved a proposal from police chief Mark Saloio to lower the speed limit from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour on Franklin street between Leland avenue and Spring street, as a safety measure.
Stephen Bowen, owner of Waterside and La Soffita on Main Street, was granted an all-alcohol license for Fish Tales, his forthcoming third eatery next door. Humphrey’s and Island Cove had their eatery licenses renewed and Tisbury Taco Truck, doing business as El Gato Grande, received a food truck license.
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