EM contracts with Davy Engineering for third phase of phosphorus compliance plan
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound Village Board has approved contracting with Davy Engineering for the third phase of the phosphorus compliance plan.
Last year, the village board approved the second phase of the compliance plan, but not the third phase, said Mark Levra, director of public works, at the Elk Mound Village Board’s February 6 meeting.
The third phase must be completed so the phosphorus compliance plan meets the requirement of the state Department of Natural Resources, he said.
In February of 2022, the village board approved contracting with Davy Engineering to complete a phosphorus limit preliminary compliance plan at a cost not to exceed $15,000.
The $15,000 covered work that Davy Engineering would do in 2022, but the proposal presented at a previous meeting was for $40,000 to also cover work that would be done in 2023.
The plan is to use “water quality trading” [sometimes also called pollutant trading] to bring Elk Mound’s phosphorus discharge rate down to 1 milligram per liter from 3.5 mg/L, Levra said.
The DNR has set a phosphorus limit of .075 milligrams per liter for the village’s wastewater treatment plant.
Water quality trading
In water quality trading/pollutant trading, a municipality can “buy” a reduction in phosphorus by making financial contributions to a trading partner, such as a farmer, to purchase equipment, such as a no-till drill or to use other methods, such as a establishing a buffer by a stream bank or river bank, to reduce phosphorus run-off.
The reduction in phosphorus is then credited to the municipality.
Water quality trading is the cheapest way to reduce Elk Mound’s phosphorus level, Levra said.
Building a new mechanical wastewater treatment plant to bring the phosphorus level down to the DNR’s limit would cost $10 million, he said.
The compliance schedule has four phases. The first phase was to assess residences and businesses to see if there is a way to reduce the amount of phosphorus going into the wastewater treatment plant.
The second phase was to assess the wastewater treatment plant to see if anything can be done to optimize the treatment process.
The third phase was the preliminary compliance plan, and the fourth phase is completing the plan so it can be finalized and implemented.
Mondovi and Holmen both just did a water quality trading plan, Levra noted.
Elk Mound is discharging to Muddy Creek, which is a trout stream, so the phosphorus discharge limit is stringent, he said.
Water quality trading/pollutant trading is a method that has been proven to work, and Elk Mound will have 10 years to come into compliance, Levra said, noting that Elk Mound’s Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit will soon be up for review and renewal.
The Elk Mound Village Board voted unanimously to proceed with the proposal from Davy Engineering on the phosphorus compliance report for the DNR.
Voting in favor were Village President Greg Kipp and Village Trustees Cynthia Abraham, Terry Stamm, Tim Benjamin, Patrick Lien and Bob Bachman.
Village Trustee Jesse Jenson was absent from the meeting.
Other business
In other business, the Elk Mound Village Board:
• Held a public hearing on the village’s Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan update. No members of the public attended the public hearing to comment about the comprehensive plan. According to state law, comprehensive plans must be reviewed, and if necessary, revised and updated every 10 years.
• Approved Resolution 23-3 to adopt the Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan.
• Approved no parking on Moundsview Court north of Lincoln Street. As the weather permits, the no parking signs will be installed in spring or early summer.
• Accepted a proposal for $1,200 from EZ New Media to build a new website for Elk Mound. Village staff are experiencing difficulty logging into the existing website to make changes and upload information to the website, said Karin Wolf, village clerk-treasurer. Website hosting and e-mail service will cost the village $20 per month. Village Trustee Abraham said she would donate the $1,200 to pay for the website design because she believes strongly in the website’s ability to help the village communicate with residents.
• Accepted a Law Enforcement Agency Grant from the state of Wisconsin for $7,000 to replace three laptop computers for the Elk Mound Police Department. The existing laptops can no longer be updated, and they need better processors and better graphics to work with law enforcement software, said Elk Mound Police Chief Chad Weinberger. The cost of the laptops will be $7,924.99 through PC Doctor out of Menomonie, which built the police department’s last three laptops, he said. There are funds left in the new equipment fund to pay the difference between the grant and the cost of the laptops, the police chief said.
• Provided initial approval for the police department’s application to the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation Grant for four new mobile multi-band transceiver radios, which will cost approximately $32,000. An intern from UW-Eau Claire has “a foot in the door” with Firehouse Subs and needs the board’s initial approval for the grant application, Police Chief Weinberger said.
• Approved a contribution of $500 for the Dunn County Economic Development Corporation.
Following a closed session, the Elk Mound Village Board:
• Approved a temporary light duty assignment for Police Chief Weinberger until the March 6 village board meeting.
• Approved employment for LTE Police Officer David Vodenlich through December 31, 2023, and approved eligibility of employment as an LTE police officer for Ethan Kjellberg after the probationary period ends with his primary employer, the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department. The sheriff department’s policy is that an officer cannot work for another agency while he or she is in a probationary period, which is usually one year. Kjellberg was recently hired full-time at the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department.
