Goshen rethinks deal with county

FAYETTEVILLE — Goshen city officials are re-evaluating whether to allow the county more oversight of the city’s community sewer systems, Mayor Max Poye said.

The deliberation in Goshen comes after a resident spoke out against a proposed inter-local agreement during the last City Council meeting Aug. 9, said Alderman Andy Bethell. City Attorney Charles L. Harwell is investigating whether state and city laws already are enough oversight for community sewer systems, city officials said.

Harwell didn’t return a message left at his office Tuesday afternoon or respond to an email

sent Wednesday.

Goshen has one community system for the Waterford Estates at Hissom Ranch subdivision and another system for a subdivision that hasn’t been developed, said Sharon Baggett, recorder/treasurer.

Community sewer systems serve hundreds of homes countywide via a system similar to a small wastewater treatment plant. About 12 systems are in the county and nine have had problems, said Renee Biby, county public utilities coordinator and grants administrator, during a July county meeting.

The county’s ordinance, passed in April, put in place much-needed financial oversight of the systems, proponents said, but opponents of the law said the regulations are an unnecessary burden. The county’s ordinance covers unincorporated Washington County. Cities interested in having the county regulate their community systems must enter an inter-local agreement.

That agreement will cost each homeowner connected to a community sewer system $2 per month to help pay for the county’s cost for oversight, according to the county’s ordinance.

Goshen has put the agreement on hold, Harwell wrote in an Aug. 10 email to county officials.

“I do not see political will to create (or) maintain what may be redundant and unnecessary regulation at several levels of government,” Harwell said in his email.

The county tabled its agreements with Goshen and Prairie Grove on Aug. 18, but the issues are expected to come back in September, said Karen Beeks, executive assistant for the county judge, in email.

Prairie Grove has already approved the first reading of its ordinance. The City Council could decide to pass the entire ordinance during its next meeting Sept. 19, Mayor Sonny Hudson said Wednesday. No one has said anything to indicate the ordinance will not pass eventually, he said.

Justices of the peace are divided on whether to expand control, they said in July. Giving county officials financial oversight of community sewer systems has sparked controversy among some builders, system operators and homeowners.

Kyle Pattillo, chairman of the board for the Property Owners Association for Waterford Estates, said the subdivision operates well and doesn’t need the county’s oversight. He spoke against the ordinance at a Quorum Court and Goshen meeting recently.

The system in Pattillo’s subdivision is run by Kathy Bartlett, who also has spoken against the measure.

Goshen has an ordinance requiring a bond, Pattillo said. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality has regulations, too, he said. The county ordinance just adds another layer of bureaucracy homeowners don’t need, he said.

“We don’t want to operate under three sets of rules,” Pattillo said. “We are very well protected, in a good financial situation and have a very small risk of having problems with anything.”

Despite the city requirement, Waterford Estates doesn’t have a bond in place, Pattillo said. The developer didn’t get one, he said.

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality replaced requiring bonds or letters of credit for the systems with a trust fund, according to the legislation the state passed last year. Owners or operators of the community sewer systems must contribute to the trust, said Kelly Robinson, state environmental agency spokeswoman, in email previously.

The agency does regular inspections and investigates complaints to evaluate whether systems are operating in compliance with regulatory and permit requirements and, when necessary, takes enforcement action, she added.

The money in the trust, which replaced the state’s other financial requirements, isn’t enough to prevent or fix major financial and environmental problems, County Attorney Steve Zega has said.

Poye said the county hasn’t attended a City Council meeting to answer questions. The biggest question is why Goshen needs the county to oversee systems the state already does, he said.