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Topic Description:
The
applicant is requesting Special Exception approval for the
operation of a private sewerage treatment system for a farm
supply establishment, Culpeper Farmer’s Cooperative, Inc.
The property is located at the intersection of Marsh Road
(Route 17) and Harpers Run Road (Route 836) near Lois, Cedar
Run District.
On January 8, 2004, the applicant
received a Special Permit (SPPT04-CR-017) from the Fauquier
County Board of Zoning Appeals to operate a farm supply
establishment on the aforementioned parcel. Subsequent to
this approval, the applicant received its consultant’s soils
evaluation. The analysis determined that the soils on the
parcel were not suitable for installation of subsurface
septic tank and drainfield systems, due to high seasonal
water tables and shrink swell clays. Based on that
investigation, it was determined that no suitable sewage
disposal site could be located on the parcel. The
consultant recommended a small package treatment plant to
serve the proposed use. This facility would require an
engineered design, that would treat effluent which would
then discharge into Harper’s Run.
At the July
29, 2004 Planning Commission meeting, the companion text
amendment to Zoning Ordinance Section 5-2002 to allow a new
private individual sewage treatment system for certain
agricultural and support commercial uses, passed
unanimously. Thus the Planning Commission forwarded this
request to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of
approval.
Project
History:
The
applicant requires the proposed private sewer treatment
facility to serve the needs of the Cooperative’s employees.
Preliminary discussions with the State Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ) indicate that approval of a
General Discharge Permit can be obtained. Such a permit
would allow the operation of a wastewater system generating
less than 1,000 gallons per day of treated effluent. The
system itself would also be subject to approval of DEQ.
If the
application were County and DEQ approved, the proposed
system would discharge into Harper’s Run located on an
adjacent property owned by the Curtis Drilling Company. The
Curtis family has agreed to provide an easement for a
discharge line to cross its property. This easement
authorizes the use of a ten-foot strip running the length of
the Curtis property adjacent to the Harper’s Run Road
right-of-way. The applicant met with Virginia Department of
Transportation (VDOT) and staff to discuss the pipe crossing
the road. VDOT requires the applicant to obtain a permit to
cross Harper’s Run Road. The applicant also needs approval
from the Health Department for an engineered design of a
wastewater treatment facility.
Language in
Section 5-2002.6 of the Fauquier County Zoning Ordinance
previously provided that a Special Exception for a private
sewerage treatment system may be allowed for non-residential
uses outside of service districts, provided that the system
operated under the control of the Fauquier County Water and
Sanitation Authority, or a Class III wastewater operator
licensed by the State of Virginia. That language was
inadvertently deleted from the Zoning Ordinance Text during
revisions. The Board of Supervisors is requested to
consider, concurrently with this application, a text
amendment that would substantially reinstate the previous
language so as to allow for a new private individual sewage
treatment system for certain agricultural and support
commercial uses. Such a system is the only method available
to provide wastewater treatment for the rest rooms serving
the employees of the new proposed Cooperative in southern
Fauquier County.
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