Orono committee begins in‑depth review of utilities ordinance, flags billing, inspection and university flow issues

Orono’s Ordinance Review Committee spent the latter portion of its June 17 meeting beginning an in‑depth review of the town’s utilities (sewer) ordinance, focusing on operational mismatches, billing rules and infrastructure accountability.

Chris Pru, the town’s WPCF superintendent, told the committee he consults the ordinance frequently and that while most technical standards are sound, there are notable inconsistencies between ordinance language and internal policy — particularly on abatements and appeals timelines. "There's language in here on abatements and appeals that doesn't match all of policy," he said, noting different appeal windows and decision deadlines in code and policy and urging that some fixes might be made by aligning policy rather than rewriting the whole ordinance.

Shelley Crosby described proposed language changes on service charges that would make the owner of a property connected to municipal sewer responsible for a minimum fee regardless of occupancy: "The owner of the property having established a connection to the municipal sewer system will be charged a minimum fee for the use of this service regardless of whether the property has a structure occupied or vacant," she said. Crosby and Chris discussed stronger rules for properties with private wells (requiring an installed meter rather than a "fair estimate") to avoid undercharging if occupancy later increases.

The committee also discussed procedural gaps around sewer connections and inspections. Crosby said contractors sometimes connect without providing the required 48‑hour notice for town inspection and that high turnover in code staff has made tracking connections inconsistent; Chris described existing ordinance authority to require inspections or video inspection and suggested improved tracking and permit controls to stop missed connections.

Members placed combined sewer overflow (CSO) context at the center of the conversation. Chris explained Orono’s CSO constraints and said the university is a major sewer customer whose aging campus piping and groundwater inflow contribute to the town’s wastewater challenges. Crosby said university meters that were intended to provide flow data have at times been disconnected from town monitoring; she asked that Mike Eager (the electrician used by town and university) download meter data monthly until remote access is restored.

Committee members discussed policy options to address the measured gap between what the university pays (based on metered water) and what it contributes to the system. Options mentioned included billing measured inflow, imposing a stormwater fee based on impervious area (as other municipalities do), or elevating the issue to the full council for negotiation with the university.

No ordinance changes were adopted at the meeting. Crosby and Chris said they will conduct a deeper review (targeting pages 23–25 and related policy) and return to the ordinance committee for further drafting; committee members recommended raising some items to full council once staff proposals are ready.

Next steps include staff redlines to align ordinance and policy on appeals/abatement, better procedures to ensure connection inspections, requiring meters or clearer standards for private‑well properties and continued engagement with the university on metering and potential stormwater or inflow fees.