Town seeking sewage solution

Killen - Patsy Butler and several other east Lauderdale County residents plan to attend Monday's Town Council meeting in Killen to voice their opposition to a proposed sewage treatment plant.

Killen has been searching for a solution that would remove the town's dependency on septic tanks, a problem that city leaders say is keeping the town from seeing a variety of growth opportunities.

The town has already seen one attempt to rectify the issue with the construction of a sewage treatment plant fail. It's now working with a private company on another option, which could lead to a plant being built near Bluewater Creek.

Butler lives on Bluewater Creek near the polo fields and is a member of a committee that has been organized to fight the project.

"It's not that we don't want this in our backyards; we're concerned about the environment," she said. "Sooner or later, someone has got to take a stand and protect our environment. That's what we're trying to do here."

Despite their claims of the potential for damage to the environment, their protests may be premature. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management in Montgomery has yet to issue a permit for a sewage treatment plant.

Jerome Hand, a spokesman for ADEM, said there is no timeline for the process, "but before we grant a permit, we'll go through a 30-day public notification period."

During that period, residents will be able to hear the full proposal and make comments about it that could affect the outcome, he said.

Even with the permit pending, Mayor Jerry Mitchell said he and the council expect to sign a contract with Alabama Utility Services at the meeting, which would give the Pelham-based company the opportunity to build a sewage treatment plant, should a permit be granted.

Mitchell said the treatment facility is crucial to Killen's future for residential and commercial growth.

"We have been approached about the construction of condos and apartments, but those people are only interested in doing those things if there is a sewer system in place," he said. "We've also been approached by restaurants and other commercial ventures that would rely on a sewer."

Mitchell said there's no question that the town has lost out on potential growth because a sewer system is not available.

In addition to environmental concerns, critics of a sewage treatment plant contend it would harm their property values, and they fear potential odor. Likewise, they say Killen should check into other options, such as hooking up to the Florence sewage system.

Mike Doyle, wastewater manager for Florence, said he and representatives from Killen met earlier this year to discuss that possibility.

"They wanted to get information from us, and they wanted to know if they could connect," he said. "We found that they could, but we couldn't bear the cost of that."

Engineers hired by town officials cited a cost in the millions to install sewage lines from Killen to the city's closest facility on Veterans Drive.

Florence, like most cities in the Shoals, uses a gravity collection system for its sewage. These systems have been known to infiltrate the groundwater with wastewater, officials say.

Killen's system, however, would be a low-pressure sewer system, which would prevent groundwater pollution, according to the mayor. He said there are chemicals available that would make the treated sewage odorless.

As far as the negative effects on the environment, Mitchell said critics should stop and think where the sewage is going now.

"It's untreated sewage, and it's going into the ground," he said. "From there, it seeps into our groundwater. Having sewage treated is unquestionably safer to the environment."

Mitchell said the company would be required by law to treat all sewage to meet environmental standards before it can be discharged.

Teresa Lucas, an engineer at Alabama Utility Services, said that, although the site for the facility to serve Killen has not been finalized, if Bluewater is selected, it's far enough upstream to minimize the impact.

Two or three other sites also have been under consideration by the company, but it appears the Bluewater site is at the top of the list.

"Streams can and do naturally assimilate wastes that find their way there," she said. "Our goal is to provide a degree of treatment before discharging it to the waterways."

Butler isn't sold on these promises. The drought this summer reduced the water flow in Bluewater Creek to a trickle, she said, and she worried what would happen if another drought occurred, or if there was a major flood along the creek.

"We could end up with raw sewage in the creek," Butler said. "We've got to protect this creek for our children's and grandchildren's future. I am for progress, and I hope and pray that Killen can find a way to solve this problem and grow. But not at the cost of our creek."

Michelle Rupe Eubanks can be reached at 740-5745 or michelle.eubanks@timesdaily.com.