Cutalong
Background Cutalong is a master planned private resort community with homes that rests adjacent to Lake Anna. Featuring a completed 18-hole championship golf course and plans for tennis courts, aquatic facility, access to Lake Anna via community docks, beach, and other amenities. LACA’s interest in the project started in 2006-2008 during the initial planning stages. During that time, we worked with the developer, Louisa County officials and DEQ specifically on the water supply plan (VWP) and the dredging plan for Contrary Creek. Water for the golf course can be withdrawn only during normal lake elevations but can be stored in holding ponds. Withdrawals could not occur during Energy Conservation mode of Unit 3 nuclear plant (since abandoned). The dredging plan had several LACA concerns (dry dredging), most of which were adopted. Most site plans were granted by Louisa County. Work on the project continued through the early 2010s until financial problems beset the owners. They asked the Court for a bankruptcy plan which was not granted. Accordingly, the Cutalong property was sold at public auction. The new owners pledged to move along with the original plan, including the golf course. Louisa officials affirm that the Generalized Master Plan was approved by the Louisa Board of Supervisors (BOS). Recorded plats include 46 building lots and 19 lots at the Farm at Cutalong. Site plans cover the water supply system, the golf course and sales office. Updates June 2024 The permit for the second WWTF, which will discharge effluent in to Blackwater Creek on the property during the off-season months, was issued by DEQ on June 1, 2024. The DEQ found that the applicant’s plan met all of the requirements to receive the permit. There were 6 comments received by the DEQ throughout the past 30 days, a few of which requested hearings to discus their claims, however the DEQ did not find that the assertions rose to the level requiring them to take any further action. This will lead to the developers ability to move forward with the design and then the buildout of the facility. LACA Continues to encourage the developer to mitigate any nutrient load from the facility in the Lake Anna watershed and they are moving forward with a plan to create wetlands and set aside land to achieve these objectives. April 2024 The final Water Quality Report for the Dredging completed in October of 2023 has been provided to LACA by Cutalong and is available HERE. March 2024 An informational meeting associated with the proposed Wastewater Treatment Plant at Cutalong has been scheduled. The meeting will be held on March 26th from 6-7:30 PM in the Meeting Room of the Louisa County Library. The meeting is informal and will be cafeteria style for the first 30 min. At 6:30 pm, DEQ personnel will provide a short presentation on the proposed project. This is a permit for the second WWTP at Cutalong which will at various times discharge treated effluent in to Blackwater Creek, a tributary of Contrary Creek. DEQ is responsible for permitting and monitoring systems of this type and are therefore conducting this meeting. Members of the LACA Board have been meeting with both Cutalong and VADEQ to fully understand any adverse impacts as well as to encourage the Developer to utilize State of the Art capabilities in the development of this facility. Cutalong has committed to building and operating a facility that exceeds current regulation's regarding nutrient discharge. The notice of the meeting can be found on Virginia Town Hall and also on DEQ’s website. December 2023 We met with the new Cutalong Project Director, Joe Walsh, in December to discuss progress of the development and future plans. Joe provided the following written update after the meeting: "Cutalong is proud to share the latest developments in our state-of-the-art master plan community. Our initial water and wastewater treatment plants are now completed and in the final stages of the commissioning process and will be able to service our new homes and golf clubhouse construction projects, in early 2024. We also have commenced sale of single family homesites in the Cooper Estates neighborhood, with approximately thirty homesites available for purchase. Positive news follows the successful completion of the Contrary Creek dredging project. Our Environmental Engineers conducted sampling before, during, and after the project, revealing that metal and turbidity levels consistently remained at or below the initial baseline measurement. This ensures not only the preservation of our water quality but also guarantees improved waterway access for Lake Anna boaters, for years to come. At Cutalong, we take pride in achieving milestones that contribute to the sustainable growth and prosperity of our community. The dredging project stands as a testament to our dedication to community enhancement. We are also working diligently with DEQ to secure a Virginia Pollution Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) permit for future development phases. This planned wastewater treatment plant will treat effluent to state-of-the-art limits, and we are exploring comprehensive on-site mitigation options to reach net-zero discharge status. Once the draft permit is issued, we will have a community outreach and provide updates to LACA. We are excited for the future and the opportunity to share our evolving plans with the community as we move forward." I appreciate Joe providing this update and look forward to continuing to work with this Team. September 2023 We were notified on September 26 that dredging would begin in Contrary Creek associated with the Cutalong development. The Cutalong PM stated that "the Dominion window for dredging starts Oct 1 and we anticipate starting then. We've revised our dredging plan from what was originally approved in 2008, from 47,000 cu yd to less than 5,000 cu yd. Also, after a conversation with the Freshwater Estates HOA board, listening to their concerns, we revised the width of the channel that crosses in front of their docks from 40' to 30' in order to provide additional buffer. The work is expected to take less than two weeks. Turbidity curtains will be employed and Meridian Environmental will actively test for turbidity, zinc, cadmium and copper to ensure the work meets the permit requirements via a comprehensive Water Quality Monitoring Plan. Spoils from the dredging will be maintained onsite per a Dredged Material Management Plan developed by ME". An updated dredging plan was provided that can be accessed HERE. July 2023 Cutalong continues to move forward with the promise of bringing a full-scale golf course community to Lake Anna. The Golf Course is in full swing with 18 holes and an impressive member count. Infrastructure is being built out to include a wastewater treatment facility and the community water system. The long-term development plans include Golf Stay and Play facilities, practice facilities, a marina, and boatel’s and of course the phased development of up to 900 homes. In support of the coming development, the first of two expected wastewater treatment facilities is being implemented with the application for the second and larger having been recently submitted. As an interested party, LACA was notified of the application filing by Virginia DEQ, indicating they had "received an application for a Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) permit from RP20 Cutalong Consolidated LLC. The applicant proposes to discharge treated wastewater from a wastewater treatment plant located at 978 New Bridge Rd, Mineral, VA 23117. " "The Department will review the application and may draft a permit for the discharge. If the Department drafts a permit, a notice will appear in The Free Lance-Star newspaper announcing our intention to issue the permit and inviting the public to comment on its content. The public comment period will run for 30 days from the date the notice first appears in the newspaper. In the meantime, you are welcome to review the permit application at our office during normal business hours". This facility at full operation this will serve many hundred homes and other facilities and up to 250,000 gallons per day of treated effluent. The plan is to utilize this effluent for watering the golf course during the growing season, and then, during the winter season, to release the effluent into Blackwater creek, which will eventually make its way to Lake Anna. There is a commitment from the developer to utilize a state-of-the-art Alternative Onsite Septic System which will lower the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that are contained in the effluent below that required by current state law. Further, the developer indicated that they will acquire the state required offset credits to account for their nutrient loading of the lake and will work within the Lake Anna Watershed to implement these credits. LACA has asked the developer to create and implement credit offset programs that directly impact Lake Anna and further, that mitigate the specific nutrient loading from the effluent released into the watershed. Suggested approaches are to:
Other aspects of the future development that are worth noting include:
Through our internal discussion many ideas were developed and discussed that are thought to be good for the community and the relationship between the Cutalong community and other Lake Anna constituencies. More information on several aspects of this development can be found in the July 2023 Newsletter article. Updates to this page will occur as details become public. For more information, please see the documents posted in our Land Use Library. |
