Danbury residents will be asked to approve more than $100 million in bonding when they go to the polls in November.  The City Council approved the ballot question at their meeting last night for upgrades and improvements to the Waste Water Treatment Plant. 

The requirement to comply to environmental regulations is part of the operating permit.  If the funding is rejected, Public Works Director Antonio Iadarola says the City will be found in default.  The plant must be brought into compliance by 2022. 

His department fought new phosphorus removal requirements for four years, as part of a coalition made up of several municipalities.  The state then approved grants for 50-percent reimbursement because of the uproar.  Iadarola says if residents don't approve the bond money, Danbury will lose that grant money. 

That loss would be on top of penalties, consent order work and legal fees the City will incur.  He notes it will also become an emergency situation because the plant won't be able to operate.