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Sewer issue not going down the drain in Millville By
Kyle S. Loosle MILLVILLE -- After casting an overwhelming number of votes against it, residents may think they've buried the sewer proposal out back with their septic tanks. This might not be the case. With Millville being one of the largest towns in Utah without a sewer system, environmental concerns mounting, and the town already buying into Nibley's sewer plan, the issue is sure to arise again. Councilman Duane Harvey suggests there will come a time when Millville can support the cost of a sewer system. "I think a sewer system is a good thing," said Harvey, though he opposes it for the time being. "The drawback is cost. Millville has no sales tax, so the price (of the sewer) falls back on the citizens." Harvey said growth in Millville would ease the cost of installing a sewer and ensure the need for one. A bigger population would help filter the cost per citizen, and once the town gets more businesses, taxes would be collected to help finance it, he said. "I think it (sewer) is the best way, it's just not the right time," he said. Newly elected Councilman David Hair thinks a liquid system is a better way to manage sewer. He said a new sewer system would be a "burden on elderly people" and unfair to young families. A liquid system would still use septic tanks, but sewage would run through a purifier and be pumped back through for city use, possibly in sprinklers, Hair said. Hair would like to put the "liquid system to the people and let them make the choice." The City Council voted unanimously not to proceed with construction of a sewer system at this time at last week's meeting. However, council members agreed to listen to another Sunrise Engineering presentation at their next meeting. "Nibley wants to buy us out, so in the future they can charge us what they want to hook up and enlarge the pipes," said Councilman David Mortensen during discussion of a motion to not accept the sewer proposal. Mortensen said he was quoting Nibley's Larry Andrew, and nothing official had been proposed between the two towns. "It might be a good idea, if we aren't going to do anything with them [sewer pipes] for 20 years," Mortensen added. Mayor Gale Hall said there was a lot of concern from residents about having the sewer lines going to Logan"s treatment facility. Sunrise's presentation Nov. 29 will address facility plans and Nibley's sewer plan, related to Millville's involvement. The roots of the issue Two years ago Millville was offered the chance to buy into a sewer plan. The neighboring town of Nibley had decided to install a sewer system and replace individual septic tanks. To cut cost for both towns, Nibley brought the idea to Millville of both towns constructing a sewer at the same time. Millville's declined, saying a sewer wasn't necessary yet, but the council agreed to pay to enlarge pipes on the end of Nibley's line, in case Millville decided to adopt a sewer in the future. The enlarged pipes would save the city the cost of having to enlarge them later. New lines would be needed to compensate for the additional flow of sewage from the two towns, into the regional treatment facility in Logan. Millville City recently paid off this agreement with Nibley, in this year's budget. A personal budget was the main issue of concern for citizens voting in the Nov. 6 election. Those in favor of the sewer thought the proposal was too good to pass up. Those against argued the monthly payment was too steep and it couldn't be guaranteed not to increase in the future. Sunrise Engineering of Salt Lake City was hired by Millville to assess the need and cost of installing a sewer system. Currently the 420 homes in Millville have individual septic tanks. Sunrise put together a proposal to pay for the $5 million plan. Two million dollars would be paid by a state grant, and the other $3 million would be loaned to the city, by the state, with 0 percent interest. There would be no connection fee for citizens, but homeowners would be responsible for extending the sewer pipe from property lines into their homes. They would also have to pay for removal of their septic tanks. New residents to Millville would then have to buy into the plan and pay a connection fee. The one-year construction would have begun in 2002. Sunrise advised council members to begin charging residents a monthly fee during construction, to create a revenue margin. The council did not discuss the time frame for fee payments, nor was it included in documents sent to inform the public. Money a major issue The $40 monthly payment was heavily discussed between the council, residents and Sunrise. Residents wanted assurance the rate wouldn"t increase and Mayor Hall feared Logan might increase the rate to treat Millville's sewage. "My concern was for the elderly in town, I don't think some could have made that payment," said Councilman Hair. At an open house held five days before the election, Millville residents voiced their concern about the cost. "Several elderly people stood up at the open house and flat out said they couldn"t afford the payment," said Hair. Other residents voiced their concerns in city council meetings prior to the election. They asked if the $40 rate would be fixed, or if it would change. Members of the council joined in on the concern, asking Sunrise for its best forecast. Val Kofoed, principal engineer for Sunrise, said Millville and Logan would have a written contract on price. Kofoed used Nibley as an example to say it was state law, that a regional facility must stay unbiased and can only charge rates per capita. Sunrise added they didn"t foresee a raise in the payment. When citizens asked about the exact costs for extending pipes into their home and disposing of septic tanks, Sunrise said they would only evaluate this if the proposal passed on the ballot. Environment a concern, too Another sewer-related issue was environmental protection. When Sunrise presented its proposal to the Millville Council, Kofoed said, "It's an environmental fact, as you get more populated you [town] present further danger to the environment." In a letter sent to the city council, and later to Millville residents, the Utah Division of Water Quality said, "Negligence in septic tanks can cause health hazards, because of nitrates in human waste. While sewer treatment lessens the risk to health and the environment, because waste is treated," it said. Residents who were present at the council meeting when this letter was read, along with Harvey, disputed any problems with the town's septic tanks. They said there was no evidence of ongoing problems or need for changes. Councilman Larry Lewis disagreed. "I know at least three people who have come to me and said they are having a problem with their septic tank. One resident said they can't use their dishwasher or shower and toilet at the same time or their septic tank backs up," Lewis said. A letter sent to the council and residents from Bear River Health Department said, "The fact that your present system still works well, is no reason not to seriously consider the merits of a sewer system. "Despite the fact that Millville's individual waste disposal system presently seems in general to be functioning quite well, we agree that as Millville continues to grow in size and density that a municipal waste system makes increasing sense," the letter added. These letters and a fact sheet, sent out to citizens before an open house and the general election, were criticized for being in support of adopting the sewer. The fact sheet was written by Sunrise to outline the sewer proposal, and the open house was designed to answer citizen"s questions, said Hall. "The open house and fact sheet was directed one way. It was written by the engineers and was all for the sewer," said Hair after the election. Harvey and Councilman Mike Johnson were the most outspoken in council meetings about keeping an unbiased voice. The two pushed to have the fact sheet reworded, saying it supported construction. "The opinion should be taken out of it," Johnson said. Harvey agreed, saying nothing should be in it but facts. Issue debated in letters to the editor In a pre-election letter to the editor of The Herald Journal, Councilman David Mortensen asked citizens to vote yes on the sewer. "Millville residents filter about 150,000 gallons of wastewater per day through the ground. That"s 4.5 million gallons per month. Population projections indicate that that amount will double during the next 20 years," wrote Mortensen. Mortensen also referred to the letter from Bear River Health Dept., quoting it as saying it would be in the best interest to consider a sewer system "well before potential problems with your present system develop." Mortensen closed this letter by saying; "the increased cost of constructing this project in the future only puts and increased cost burden from us to our children." In response to Mortensen's letter, Millville resident Guy Curtis also wrote The Herald Journal. "I think that some important facts are either being overlooked or stated in a misleading light," wrote Curtis about information put out by the city council. "This group (Sunrise), in a previous council meeting, stated that their job was to sell this project to the city and its residents, thus giving a biased slant to the fact sheet." Curtis went on to say there is no documented evidence to support claims sewage may be discharged into the groundwater, ditches or yards. He closed his argument in the letter by writing, "The Bear River Health Department letter also states that sewer systems are not always the proper remedy and can have considerable problems of their own." Statements like these may have the city considering alternatives, such as Hair's liquid system. Or Harvey may be correct in his assessment: growth will fuel funds for a sewer. Whatever the arguments, the issue is not likely to stay buried for long. One thing residents and council members agreed on was putting the proposal before the residents and letting their vote decide the outcome. "I'm glad to see where citizens stood," said Harvey about the outcome of the sewer proposal. "Citizens should make the choice with this much money at stake," he said. "I think it's pretty overwhelming how residents feel, it makes a strong statement," said Hair, about election results of 383 votes against and 100 in favor of the proposed sewer.
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