Washington County's new community wastewater regs draw scrutiny

FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County implemented stricter regulations Monday over community sewer systems to offset a change in law, but state officials counter the new rules are unnecessary.

"Currently, there is nobody that oversees the entities that run these systems," said Renee Biby, county grant administrator and public utilities coordinator. "If we just didn't do this, then there just wouldn't be financial oversight."

Biby said the county should oversee the paperwork and maintenance of the systems because the state lessened financial restrictions when the Legislature approved Act 575 last year. One thing the law revision did is drop a requirement private sewer system operators provide financial proof they can cover five years of operation.

The state instead created a trust, capped at $2.1 million.

That amount may not be enough to cover large system failures, Biby said.

Justices of the peace decided in April to re-enact the county' regulations in place from about 2005 to 2014. Juliet Richey, planning director, said the ordinance was repealed in 2014 because the state had similar requirements, and county officials didn't want to double regulate.

The county, with its ordinance, is simply picking up where the state has left off, Biby said.

Community sewer systems serve hundreds of homes via a system similar to a small wastewater treatment plant on location. About 12 systems are in the county, Biby said, but the Planning Department doesn't see a huge trend of more coming to the county, Richey said.

A lack of strict oversight of the systems could lead to system failures or companies taking advantage of subdivision residents, Biby said. But the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality already oversees issues related to the systems, said Kelly Robinson, agency spokeswoman via email Friday.

"ADEQ conducts both regular inspections and complaint inspections to evaluate whether systems are operating in compliance with regulatory and permit requirements and, when necessary, takes enforcement action," Robinson said. "ADEQ and (Arkansas Department of Health) continue to share oversight responsibilities for residential sewer systems throughout the state."

Tom Bartlett, who runs three systems in Washington County covering about 360 lots, said the state does the duties Biby is talking about, which means county regulation isn't needed, he said.

"We honestly want to know what Washington County is doing," Bartlett said.

The county's new regulations levied a $2 fee per month, per home on decentralized systems to pay for administrative costs associated with overseeing them. The money is expected to help pay for an assistant and bring in about $2,000 per month for areas in the county's jurisdiction, Biby said at a committee meeting earlier this month. That number -- and revenue -- is expected to grow as more homes are built.

The $2 fee also could extend to homes in Goshen and Prairie Grove, and bring in about $13,000 a year for the county, if inter-local agreements between the county and cities are approved by both governments. Those agreements are expected to be discussed at a Quorum Court meeting Aug. 18.

Bartlett said the $2 fee would burden his company because he would have to raise rates and explain to customers what the fee is for when he doesn't know, he said. The ordinance also is financially burdensome because the fee is on top of the cost of the letter credit or bond issuance, which is $1,500 or more per year, he said.

The state lowered the financial obligation "to accommodate important economic or social development," according to the act, approved March 2015.

Too much regulation?

Health and environmental inspectors do on-site inspections for the systems, and paperwork is submitted to the environmental agency monthly, Bartlett said.

"Why do you need another layer of government?" Bartlett asked. "Washington County doesn't need to have oversight of us."

The ordinance will help hold owners and operators responsible, Biby said. The county has had trouble with the systems, and a failing system can "cause significant environmental impact," Biby said.

Biby aims to do financial audits and site visits to the community sewer systems, she said. The county will seek assurance the systems are in good working condition, are being operated efficiently and are well maintained, she said.

Companies and homeowner associations operating the systems would be required to report information about the operation of the system, maintenance and environmental issues, financial matters, customer service issues and "any other matter deemed relevant by the County Public Utilities Coordinator" upon request, according to the ordinance.

Robinson said her agency would welcome a chance to talk with county officials about the local regulations, even as justices of the peace plan to consider agreements to expand oversight into some cities.

Some residents say they support the effort to increase oversight. At least two residents from Homestead Subdivision, between Greenland and West Fork, attended the April meeting when the ordinance was passed.

Companies have taken advantage of subdivision residents with community systems before, said Dawn Whittington, president of the association for Homestead Subdivision.

Whittington said she supports the county's decision to oversee the systems.

"(Companies) need to have supervision, they need to have rules and regulations in order to keep people in subdivisions from having all the issues we had," Whittington said.

Whittington moved to the subdivision in 2007. Soon, she noticed problems with the community system, she said.

The company that installed and ran the subdivision's system didn't maintain it, Whittington said. The operators also co-mingled money they collected for the Homestead homes with other sewer systems they operated, she said. Residents were out a lot of money.

Residents in Homestead were able to vote out the company, Whittington said during the April meeting, when justices of the peace approved the regulations. The subdivision now has a different company, but a lot of the system needed fixing, she said.

Having the county oversight is worth the $2 fee, said Goshen Mayor Max Poye. There have been no problems with the system in Goshen, but it's "better to be proactive," Poye said.

NW News on 07/27/2016

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