Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 11, 1993 TAG: 9303110086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE LENGTH: Medium
SEWER HEARING GETS DOWN, DIRTY
A public hearing on regulations for a proposed sewer system in eastern Wythe County turned into a shouting match Tuesday night and left many area residents still unhappy over a mandatory-hookup clause."You all are not helping the poor. You're making 'em poorer," said Thad Williams, one of the more than 100 people who overflowed the general district courtroom where the Board of Supervisors hearing was moved.
The $9.1 million project is seen as a way to further open the eastern part of the county to business development. But those protesting the required $350 hook-on fee argued that, if the project is for business, it is business that should pay for it.
They said revenue from businesses already there should be used on the project, especially the Flying J Travel Plaza, which has experienced problems with its septic system.
"If businesses are the prime reason for this being installed, then let them foot the bill for it," said Robert Shook, speaking for Citizens for Fair Government, a group organized in response to the sewer project. "We don't have a septic problem any more than Cripple Creek or Stony Fork."
Regional health department representatives have said such a problem might not be long in coming. But people who feel their individual septic systems are working now are not eager to start paying monthly sewer charges.
"The cost per individual might be prohibitive," said George Cooley Jr., a Hillsville attorney hired to represent the anti-sewer residents. He said the average hook-on cost could be $2,000, depending on how far the resident lives from the sewer line.
Cooley said fully 75 percent of the residents to be served oppose the project, although they concede there are parts of the Max Meadows-Fort Chiswell area that should have it. "The system is needed. The issue is how you pay for that system," he said.
The mandatory hookup provision is necessary to make sure the project is financially feasible, something the Farmers Home Administration takes into consideration when deciding how much of a grant or loan to make available for it.
"And I can well see how this board would seek ways to get the most grant fees possible," Cooley told the Board of Supervisors. But he said it should not be forced on people.
Bob Porter said it was the same as if he had a motor that worked, and the county told him he had to replace it with a county motor, pay to have the new motor hooked up, and then pay for the privilege of using it.
The supervisors voted earlier to drop one regulation that would have required individual systems to be back-filled when they were replaced by the sewer project. Supervisor Olin Armentrout, who represents Max Meadows, said the action showed that the board was trying to listen to citizens' concerns.
"You're saying that, because we don't do what you want, we haven't listened. We have listened," he said. "There are people who want this system."
Board Chairman R.T. DuPuis had the first 20 speakers come to a podium and formally address the board. After that, the procedure broke down to shouted questions and comments from those attending.
He could not say when the board would act on the proposed waste-water regulations, but said a decision could be more than a month away.