Marana, county at impasse over water-treatment plant

By Aaron Mackey, Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.02.2007

Marana officials hoping to negotiate a takeover of a wastewater-treatment facility owned by Pima County could find their request falling on deaf ears.

Town leaders see the plant, located just outside town limits near West Marana and North Lucket roads, as key to developing a renewable water supply for the fast-growing town.

The town filed a petition last week to begin annexing the area with the hopes of seizing the treatment facility. The petition was filed a day after the Pima County Board of Supervisors tried to block the annexation attempt by designating the facility as a park.

With the county and town raising the stakes — and Tucson and Tohono O'odham officials entering the fray as well — Marana officials have asked to meet with the parties to address concerns and begin negotiations.

But they may never get a meeting — at least not with the county, a central party in the negotiations.

The impasse might force town officials to settle the matter in court, they said.

In a July 26 letter to Pima County, Marana Mayor Ed Honea called for a meeting between town and county officials to discuss "the orderly and logical transition and transfer of wastewater management functions from Pima County to Marana."

Pima County officials haven't responded and may not respond at all, said County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.

"Our position remains the same," he said. "We're not going to sell, convey or lease the treatment facility."

Marana officials have been trying to buy the plant for more than a year, arguing the town has no control over the effluent that flows into the treatment facility from the town's water users. The town wants to use the effluent as part of replenishment efforts necessary to sustain future water needs.

When the county refused to sell, Marana's Town Council voted to sever an agreement with the county for sewer service. According to the town's interpretation, any sewer facilities within town limits would become town property.

County officials have refused to discuss selling the treatment plant because of restrictions placed on sewer facilities, which are funded through revenue bonds.

Another key reason county officials have blocked Marana's attempts to secure the plant is the distribution of effluent.

As it stands, the effluent is split up, with portions given to the county for parks and conservation. A share also is set aside for the Tohono O'odham Nation as part of a settlement.

The 1982 settlement gives to the nation a portion of effluent from each of the county's treatment facilities. It was reached after Tohono O'odham officials argued that groundwater pumping in the Tucson basin had adversely affected their community.

Marana officials want to control how the effluent is divided, and they don't believe the water flowing into the Marana facility is subject to the Tohono O'odham settlement.

The town will work with the tribe if Tohono O'odham leaders believe it's necessary, but the area supported by Marana's water utility isn't part of the Tucson basin, which was the subject of the original lawsuit by the tribe, said Town Manager Mike Reuwsaat.

Additionally, the settlement was between the city of Tucson and the O'odham, Reuwsaat said. But Huckelberry and an attorney who worked on the settlement disagree with Reuwsaat.

The settlement, which was later approved by Congress, says responsible parties include any entity within the Tucson region, Huckelberry said.

Marvin Cohen, an attorney who represented Tucson in negotiations with both the county and with the O'odham, said the settlement always was considered a regional, community-wide solution.

Also, the Marana Water Utility is the descendant of parties that were named in the lawsuit. Other defendants who did not have effluent to contribute to the settlement, like the mining companies and Farmers Investment Co. in what is now Sahuarita, contributed money. Marana did not, Cohen said.

Whatever Marana's views of its obligations under the settlement, Cohen said the real legal issue revolves around the city's sewer agreement with the county.

State law says whoever owns the sewage-treatment plants owns the effluent. And under its 1979 agreement with the city, the county ceded 90 percent of the effluent back to the city. That holds, regardless of whose water generated the effluent.

Tucson has signed agreements with Oro Valley and Metro Water to give them back a portion of their effluent under the principal of "water in, water out," but it was under no legal obligation to do so and does not have to do so with Marana.

"Tucson Water has no legal obligation to give any effluent away," Cohen said. "From a legal standpoint, Tucson owns this effluent."

He said that remains true even at plants like the one in Marana, which gets all of its sewage from Marana and none from Tucson Water customers.

The county has disputed that view, arguing that the 90 percent provision doesn't apply to outlying plants.

Cohen said the legal obligation to give 90 percent of the effluent to the city could hold even if Marana took over the county plant. He said the obligation might transfer with the ownership.

However, it would not hold if Marana built its own plant, something town officials are contemplating.

If the county continues to be unresponsive to Marana, the town might consider pushing the issue in court, Reuwsaat said, adding that it would be the last option.

● Reporter Erica Meltzer contributed to this report. Contact reporter Aaron Mackey at 618-1924 or amackey@azstarnet.com.

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