Committee weighs parish takeover of developer-built sewer package plants to improve service and enforcement

The Infrastructure Committee discussed a proposal to require developers to construct neighborhood sewer systems to parish standards and to give the parish a first right of refusal to acquire package or batch treatment plants when developments are turned over.

The chair said the aim is to standardize design and enable the parish to collect revenues or attach fees to tax rolls where appropriate: "The goal here is forward thinking is to get into this more of the sewer systems as they're built and designed by developers... and then we take them over so eventually we can tie them all in together for a parish wide sewer system." Committee members noted problems with failed package plants and with collection when the sewer service is not tied to a water billing system.

Key points: Members discussed tying sewer billing to an existing water system or to a sewer taxing district so nonpayment can be enforced through a taxing mechanism; they debated the legal and design implications of requiring package plants to be sited and built to facilitate future force-main connections. The presenter said the parish's sewer district could serve as the taxing entity to levy annual parcel fees if necessary.

Next steps: Staff will consult the parish attorney to confirm whether first-right-of-refusal language and tax-roll assessments are legally viable, and to draft ordinance language that would require minimum standards for package plants and a mechanism for takeover or mandatory standards if the parish accepts a system.