06/08/1987 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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e Ms. Andersen said the Wastewater Treatment Plant will accommodate growth for 20 years but the operating costs have stabilized and the Department of Envi ronmenta 1 Qua 1 ity (DEQ) and Envi ronmenta 1 Protection Authori ty (EPA) requirements are being met. She said the rates of commercial water and sewer users were subsidized by other users in the past. The EPA grants which fi nanced the construction of the wastewater treatment plant and other facilities required that rates for all users be fair and equitable. Therefore, rates for commercial users have risen in the last few years. Mr. Gleason said the operating costs of the Wastewater Treatment Plant are affected by the EPA standards for Eugene which are much more stringent than the EPA requirements for Portland. Answering a question from Mayor Obie, Mr. Gleason said the EPA standards cannot be exceeded. The treatment plant has operated somewhat below the standards most of the time. He said the plant design does not affect the cost of meeting the standards. Referring to statements in Mr. Kyle1s letter about decommissioning part of the treatment plant, Coy Jones, Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent, said closing part of the plant would not increase its efficiency or decrease costs. e Ms. Bascom said she is concerned about capital needs in the future. She said the staff should indicate when the sewer rate increases will end or the staff will lose council support. Ms. Andersen said the regional sewer rates will be relatively stable in the future because increases in costs for treating increased flows will be marginal. She said the local rate will be relatively stable because of better flow calculations. Future increases will be due to capital costs. She said the staff will recommend ways to mitigate rate increases in the Storm Drainage Study. Mr. Bennett said he supported the staff recommendation because the staff analyses indicate that reserves were used in the past to keep rates down. Now the reserves are gone. He said the proposed increases are needed because the flow estimates were not exactly accurate. He said the council decided to fi nance the sewer system wi th user fees. He said no evi dence has been presented that the local sewer fees make the community unattractive to new industries. He said he will listen carefully to other councilors before voting again. Mr. Miller said the decision is difficult. He said an efficient wastewater system is important, existing revenues have been depleted, and the council decided that users should pay for the sewer system. He said Chamber of Commerce representatives lobbied him. He said he hopes for economies and rate stability. He suggested the council consider mitigating the rate increases for businesses that use much water if comparisons indicate that Eugene rates are high. He did not want to put the wastewater management system at risk. Ms. Schue said the City has done all it can to encourage people in the River Road/Santa Clara to hook up to the Eugene sewers. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 8, 1987 Page 8