Marana may build sewer plant

Option in tussle with county over existing facility

By Erica Meltzer
Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.23.2007

As Pima County attempts to stop Marana from taking over a sewage treatment plant to gain access to the effluent produced there, the fast-growing town is looking into building its own treatment plant in a different location, possibly even in Pinal County.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry has asked the Board of Supervisors to designate the area around the Marana treatment plant a park in hopes of blocking Marana from annexing the facility. Taking a carrot-and-stick approach, he also wants the supervisors to offer Marana 90 percent of the effluent produced by the plant, not including set-asides for conservation and settlement of tribal claims.

However, the county will oppose any attempt by Marana to take over the plant. And as a member of the Pima Association of Governments will not vote for any plan that gives Marana its own plant.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday to discuss the issue. Marana Town Manager Mike Reuwsaat said he doesn't believe the park designation would prevent Marana from taking over the plant.

However, the town already has initiated a basin study and a rate study to look at the potential service area and financial viability of a new wastewater treatment plant.

The studies will take two to three months to complete. "This is good community planning, making sure the services are there when and where they're needed and making sure we have the resources to make those opportunities happen," Reuwsaat said.

The plant in question is a small treatment plant just outside the town limits, near West Trico-Marana and North Luckett roads, not the large regional plant on Ina Road.

Marana has had its eye on the treatment plant for more than a year, and initially offered to buy it from the county. When the county said it wasn't interested, the town moved to cancel a 1979 intergovernmental agreement for the county to provide sewer service to town residents. Canceling the agreement gives the town ownership of any sewer lines within town limits, and town officials believe that gives them ownership of the plant as well — a claim the county disputes.

Marana wants the effluent to offset groundwater pumping. Reuwsaat said the offer of 90 percent of the effluent is not adequate. After effluent is allocated to Indian tribes and a regional conservation pool, the town would actually get a smaller share of the effluent. And when measuring a community's assured water supply, the state credits only a fraction of total effluent generated toward the water-supply total.

Town officials are scrambling to develop a renewable water supply capable of keeping up with booming growth in the area. The town has only 1,528 acre-feet of renewable water for current usage, and the cost of buying water is expected to rise. "The more effluent we cannot secure, the more it's going to cost Marana to meet those needs," Reuwsaat said. "It becomes an affordability issue."

Whether it takes over an existing plant or builds a new one, Marana would have to meet complex regulatory requirements. Transferring a state permit takes four months, while obtaining a permit for a new plant takes more than seven.

The intergovernmental agreement is set to expire in six months.

At the same time, Pima County has stopped work on a planned expansion of the plant. Huckelberry said the county needs to protect ratepayers' investment.

Roger Yohem, a spokesman for the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, said the dispute is a "huge issue" for home builders, many of whom have approved sewer connections but may not be able to actually connect because the needed expansion is on hold.

The group has not taken a stance on the dispute and is in a "fact-finding" stage, Yohem said.

Marana also needs certified staff to run a plant, and the Pima Association of Governments, whose voting members include the county and all the jurisdictions, would need to approve any changes to the regional plan.

"It's not simply administrative," said PAG Executive Director Gary Hayes. "It's not a political issue, but it is a policy issue. It's about how we want to grow and manage resources."

Hayes said the PAG may still have some jurisdiction even if the plant were located in Pinal County because the water that will produce the effluent originates from Pima County.

Reuwsaat said Marana is in talks with the PAG, Pinal County officials and home builders and looks forward to talks with the county to find a solution that benefits all parties.

"We believe we have both the financial ability and technical expertise to have temporary facilities in place and even permanent facilities within 18 months," Reuwsaat said.

Contact reporter Erica Meltzer at 807-7790 or emeltzer@azstarnet.com.

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