The York County Board of Supervisors expressed doubts about the recently announced hybrid sewer regionalization plan during their Tuesday work session.
The supervisors showed skepticism Tuesday about the benefits of the hybrid plan, citing concern county citizens would be funding infrastructure improvements in other localities. The hybrid plan would require citizens from throughout Hampton Roads to help pay for major infrastructure projects and repairs.
“We have relatively new systems, but Hampton and Newport News have old systems,” Vice Chairman Don Wiggins said. “If we go along with this deal, we would be paying for those systems that aren’t working right now.”
The hybrid plan is an offshoot of the previously proposed regionalization plan that would require localities to give their sewer systems to the Hampton Roads Sanitation District. Under that plan, local employees would be absorbed by the regional body with some being eliminated over time. The plan was projected to save customers almost $1 billion over 30 years, but sewer employees in the region doubted the math used to project the savings. The hybrid plan wouldn’t result in the loss of any jobs.
When the York County Board of Supervisors heard a presentation on the regional plan, they were skeptical the plan would be a good move for the county, mirroring the sentiment of the Williamsburg City Council. The hybrid plan emerged after the lukewarm reception of the regionalization plan from localities. It would leave the sewer systems under the control of the localities while placing the burden of high dollar repairs on the regional body.
Potential changes to the current scenario of localized control of sewer systems emerged in 2007 when the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality ordered localities to examine their sewer systems with the aim of reducing spills. About that time, the Environmental Protection Agency placed HRSD under a similar order. The localities and HRSD must create a regional wet weather management plan outlining a plan to reduce sewer overflows caused by inclement weather.
Infrastructure improvements are needed to address the spillage issues and adhere to EPA and VDEQ orders, pushing the localities to examine a regional system to reduce cost to customers. The hybrid plan would delay the implementation of the regional wet weather management plan by one year while reducing rehabilitation work costs by an estimated $500,000 per year, according to Brian Woodward, the York County chief of utilities.
Woodward presented the details on the hybrid sewer plan to the supervisors at Tuesday’s work session. He said VDEQ, the EPA and the Department of Justice will likely approve the hybrid plan next week. A final memorandum of agreement would be ready Dec. 30, pushing local city councils and boards of supervisors to vote whether to approve the plan by Feb. 18. In order for the plan to move forward, all localities must vote to participate.
Woodward said county and city staffs throughout Hampton Roads are on board with the hybrid plan to varying degrees, echoing comments from James City Service Authority Director Larry Foster. Both accepting the hybrid plan or doing nothing would boost costs to county citizens as not participating in the hybrid plan would still put HRSD in a position to fix the leakiest basins in the region — a cost that would be shifted to Hampton Roads residents. Participating in the hybrid plan would likely cause costs to rise, though firm estimates of how much they would increase are not yet available. Woodward said he doubts they will be available by the time the supervisors will next consider the issue.
“Even though it’s a true statement that the leakiest basins are not in York County, York County residents who are HRSD customers will be paying for those fixes in other localities,” Woodward said. “It’s no different from how they structure rates now.”
Chairman Walt Zaremba asked if the hybrid plan was accepted, what would happen if HRSD decided to go and accelerate every plan “it has ever dreamed of.” Woodward said the rates are going up either way and it’s not HRSD that’s pushing the work but the EPA.
Woodward also announced some potential rate increases for sewer costs. The rates would climb by $2 in March 2014, from $22 to $24. In March 2015, the rates would climb from $24 to $26. York County Administrator James McReynolds told the supervisors Tuesday he would have a detailed article placed in the next edition of Citizen News to explain the rationale behind raising rates. He also said a segment would be prepared for the county’s cable channel.
No concrete action was taken at Tuesday’s work session. The board will likely discuss the issue further at a Feb. 4 work session.
Related Coverage:
- Hybrid Sewer Plan Emerges to Maintain Local Control
- York Supes on Regional Sewer Plan: Probably Not
- York Supervisors to Learn About Regional Consolidated Sewer Plan
- HRSD Supports Full Consolidated Regional Sewer System in Hampton Roads
- City Council Doubts Proposed Regional Sewer Plan
- Williamsburg, James City, York Explore Consolidating Sewers Under HRSD
