Sewer plant opponents keep up pressure

Killen - Killen's mayor and council have decided to delay voting on a possible contract with Alabama Utility Systems for construction of a sewage treatment plant in the Bluewater Creek area in Center Star.

Mayor Jerry Mitchell said the decision to delay the vote is based on the permitting process by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

"Our contract said it was subject to ADEM approval as a suitable site for a sewage treatment plant, so we could sign it now and make it subject to ADEM approval or wait until ADEM approves it," he said.

As part of the process, ADEM will begin a 30-day public comment period Tuesday.

"That part is important, but I would anticipate ADEM is working with us toward a permit," Mitchell said. "But if (Bluewater) is not the best site, we all need to know."

Although the vote will not take place at Monday's council meeting, Patsy Butler and other members of East Lauderdale Environmental Conscious Citizens said they will address the council to reaffirm their stand against the proposed site.

"It's just not going to happen," Butler said, referring to the plant. "Our goal is to try to convince the council they have other means of getting themselves a sewer. We want them to have one, but we are against them polluting this little creek so that we're never able to swim or fish in it again."

She said there is no way Alabama Utility Systems could ensure there won't be problems with the plant once it is up and running. An additional concern voiced by the citizens' group is the strain 550,000 gallons of water going back into the creek would cause.

Proponents of the sewer treatment plant say the facility is needed to support growth in Killen as well as other areas in east Lauderdale County. They say several businesses have opted not to come to Killen because of the lack of a sewer plant.

Mitchell, along with Florence Mayor Bobby Irons, Chris Matthews from Alabama Utility Systems, state Sen. Bobby Denton, D-Muscle Shoals, state Rep. Mike Curtis, D-Greenhill, and Bill Johnson, director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, met recently to discuss the possibility of Killen connecting to the sewage lines in Florence.

"Discussions with Florence have continued, and we're looking at every possible angle," Mitchell said.

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