By Megan V. Williams
Wilmington, NC – The state has officially signed off on Wilmington's plan to fix the leaky Northeast Interceptor Sewer line.
The Special Order of Consent requires Wilmington finish its repairs to the NEI before the end of next June, or face $1000-a-day fines. It also officially sets limits on new flows into both the NEI and the Northside Treatment plant. New Hanover County numbers show those limits have almost been reached along the NEI.
City Spokesperson Malissa Talbert says the agreement doesn't change any of the city's repair plans,"but what it does is formalize the process and lets us know, in a formal sense, that the state agrees with what we're trying to do."
Repairs to the NEI are scheduled to begin next month. Finishing the work is a requisite for the state to remove limits on building permits along the sewer line.
Cape Fear Coastkeeper Mike Giles said after reading the contract that there were a lot of good points, but that he wants to see the agreement extended to the rest of the city.
"The city has been under the guns so much, that we're talking about a system-wide problem, not the just the Northeast Interceptor," Giles said.