November 28, 2000 Sewer rates may go up in Weber district Marriott-Slaterville wants 50 cents from each customer monthly for having facility in town By CHERYL BUCHTA_ Standard-Examiner staff MARRIOTT-SLATERVILLE - City officials are considering charging Central Weber Sewer District customers 50 cents per month to cover impacts to their city. "We feel we should have something back from the community," Mayor Keith Butler said. "It is in our area, and it does do something to our city." Butler said the facility, which handles over 60 million gallons of sewage per day, causes flooding, noxious odors, traffic and noise. In return, the city gets no tax revenue for having the plant inside its borders. This past summer the canal into which the plant discharges its wastewater overflowed 12 times and caused at least one traffic accident on 2800 West, he said. The tax could raise as much as $240,000 a year based on the sewer district's estimate of 40,000 connections, said Steve Mecham, the city's public work's director. He said city officials have talked about imposing the fee since the city incorporated in 1998. That talk switched to action when the sewer district dumped over 35 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Weber River without notify- ing the public. Mecham said although the sewage plant is well run, having it inside the city affects residents' quality of life. "Wastewater stinks," he said. "That's not hard to figure out." The facility handles sewage for all Weber County cities with the exception of Hooper, Plain City and parts of Roy. It also provides sewer service to South Weber in Davis County. Sewer district officials say the tax would be illegal. Manager Lance Wood said the sewer district's attorneys, who reviewed the ordinance, believe state and federal laws prohibit the tax. In a memorandum to the dis- trict, attorneys Mark Anderson and Scott Crook said the ordinance would put more stringent requirements on the district than federal and state statutes, something that is not allowed. Furthermore, the state limits the city's power to impose the fees. But Mecham said attorneys for the League of Cities and Towns, which insures Marriott-Slaterville and would have to defend its ordinance in court, reviewed the ordinance and found it sound. "We welcome the challenge," Mecham said. Host fees are new in the West but are common in the East, he said. Marriott-Sla- terville's claim to compensation does have a local precedent. Weber County collects a $l-a-ton host fee from cities who use its transfer station. Curtis Christensen, Weber County's public works director, said the Weber Area Council of Governments OK'd the host fee when the county was looking for a spot to put the transfer station. When the station was built on Weber County land instead, the county got to collect the host fee. Mecham said the city is willing to share the funds with other groups such as the Weber Riverkeeper, the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Wildlife Resources. The funds, which will be placed in a separate account, will be used to enhance the river corridor. "When 35 million gallons of sewage comes down, there's a million things that could happen," Mecham said. If the ordinance passes, he said the city will have an environmental study done to look at mitigation factors. If the ordinance passes, cities would collect the $6 annual charge and pass it to the sewer district, which in turn would pay Marriott-Slaterville, he said. The district would keep a 2 percent collection fee. The ordinance is slated to come back to the City Council early next month. You can reach reporter Cheryl Buchta at 625-4229 or e-mail cbuchta@standard.net. 19