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April 8, 2005
Utilities Inc. issue officially a crisis
By PHILLIP GOMEZ The action was taken as an emergency measure due to the lack of sewer connections to Utilities Inc.'s tariff area. The utility is Pahrump's major sewage disposal provider, but it is at capacity and cannot provide additional service. Planning Director Ron Williams confirmed Tuesday at the meeting of the Nye County Board of Commissioners that in a conversation that day with the Public Utilities Commission, he was told not to issue any more permits unless builders have guarantees that their constructions will have sewer connections by the time they are completed. Williams said he had not been issuing permits since March 14 because of Utilities Inc.'s failure to bring its new plant online in time. "It's a very muddy situation at this time," Williams said. "Residents are being affected with no hookups, going on faith that they would have their connections," said Commissioner Patricia Cox. Some new residents have had to take out a second mortgage because their intended house is not serviceable and some have been bankrupted as a result - and many of them were provided with "will serve" letters from the utility when they purchased their property. Counsel for Utilities Inc. said they wanted "to manage expectations" about the utility's response to the crisis. They said the utility cannot give will serve letters to customers; Utilities Inc. can only say whether a proposed house is within its tariff area. With regard to wells, that is something within the regulation of the state of Nevada, said attorney Dan Reaser. For those constructions outside the reach of present sewer lines, the utility has applied with the PUC for approval to truck waste to another service facility for processing. It will cost homeowners between $350 and $400 per month for as long as the sewage plant remains uncompleted. "We have filed today to provide for a transportation rate for those who can't get hookups," said Reaser. If approved, "a vacuum truck will intercept the sewage and transport it to another facility that has the capacity to handle it," he said. "We think this is a cost-effective measure," he said. Reaser added that it normally takes 60 days to get fast-track approval. Commission Chairwoman Candice Trummell was still worried about permitting small septic system providers to take up the slack until Utilities Inc. gets its plant built. "The point is, we don't want to get sued by you," she told the lawyers present in Tonopah. Reaser said it was out of the utility's hands, that the state Division of Health has given the counties authority to allow septic systems beyond 400 feet of a designated utility's sewer lines. Reaser objected to the heavy criticism Utility Inc. has received over the delay in completion of the sewage plant, which was originally announced for this summer but now it won't be ready until some time next year. "We need to have an item on the agenda so we don't get sued," said Cox. A proposal is being considered to allow advanced septic systems to go in with a bonding fee required to ensure that when utility service becomes available the septic system will be relinquished. "What we're hearing here tonight is partial solutions, and I think we're in the wrong forum to come up with solutions," said Rick Walker, chairman of the Pahrump Builders Association and the county's capital improvements committee. Walker called for a special workshop to work out the details of how to deal with the crisis. The commissioners agreed to do so within the next two weeks. "If I hear from the PUC that (homeowners) can put septic systems in certain lots, we will allow it," said Williams. |
