The Town of Phenix may be closer to having a new well site for the town, according to an update from Commonwealth Regional Council (CRC) Deputy Director Todd Fortune about the Town of Phenix water system project.

According to Fortune in a memorandum to other CRC leadership, the Virginia Department of Health Office of Drinking Water (VDH-ODW) staff notified the Town of Phenix via letter dated April 26 that all of the planning requirements for the water improvement plan have been met with the exception of the environmental review and the Waterworks Business Operations Plan (WBOP).
Walt Bailey, water system operator, worked with VDH-ODW staff to identify three potential sites for a new well, according to Fortune.

“I met with staff from Southeast (Rural Community Assistance Partnership) RCAP on May 1 … to discuss the development of the WBOP, as required by

VDH-ODW as part of the project,” Fortune said. Fortune said he and VDHODW staff would need to coordinate to determine what sort of environmental review would be required for a potential new well site. The Southeast RCAP is working on the WBOP, Fortune said. Fortune said a conference call between Bailey, CRC staff, RCAP staff and VDH-ODW staff members took place May 16. “The purpose of this call is to discuss the next steps and the project budget, and develop a plan for moving forward with the project,” Fortune said.

Fortune said in an email Friday that no firm decisions were made following the conference call.

“There are some action items that need to be addressed over the next few weeks,” Fortune said.

“They include moving forward on the environmental clearance and completing some documents for VDH-ODW.”