Clock Ticking
| For years now, LCUB has been under the gun, the
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's gun that is.
First reported here last year, LCUB has been assessed and fined
thousands of dollars for sewer plant failures, yet no improvements have
been made. The utility has been under a commissioner's order to upgrade
the plant for years, yet no improvements have been made. All the
upgrades and expansions were to have been completed by 2009, yet no
improvements have been made. Now LCUB officials are having to go to the
state hat in hand and beg for more time and money for the sewer plant
improvements using the threat of raising sewer rates more than 100%.
With all the new development taking place in the utility district's service area including the massive Creekwood and Town Creek developments, the state could potential slap the utility with a development moratorium, meaning no new taps till the upgrades have been made. If the system can not now manage the waste flow without spilling into the river, how then can any new development be added to the system. Given that LCUB has continually ignored the states orders to fix the current ageing sewer plant for nearly seven years, why would the state believe that the utility is ever going to take action. LCUB's management d3cision to ignore the problem and just continue to pay the fines will ultimately cost the rate payers dearly. |