Entities vying for control of the Olympian Village sewage system agree the wastewater treatment plant reeks and needs repair, but disagree over which government body should oversee it.
The incorporated subdivision/town of about 770 residents east of De Soto has long experienced a lack of government – with no one running in elections for open municipal board seats and volunteers essentially operating the city – and the wastewater treatment plant deteriorated to the point of catching the attention of the state Department of Natural Resources.
While officials of the Jefferson County Public Sewer District have expressed interest in taking over Olympian Village’s sewer system, a new leadership team of town residents wants to handle the sewer system problems themselves.
No one had filed to run for open seats for the Olympian Village Board of Aldermen or for mayor for years until three signed up for the upcoming April 4 election, with Dave Berry and Anthony Aubuchon running for two open aldermanic seats with two-year terms and Edward L. Rulo Jr. running for an open aldermanic seat with a one-year term. Adrianne Hulvey is running unopposed for mayor.
While acknowledging the sewer system fell into neglect over the years, Berry said those running the city as volunteers have made moves to begin addressing problems.
“We are going to have a new mayor and three new aldermen as of April, hopefully, if we’re elected,” Berry said Tuesday. “We now are working toward repairing the sewer plant.”
Sources said the sewage system is funded by a $35.50 monthly user fee that is assessed per household.
Berry said the volunteer board has hired a company to begin hauling sludge from the plant and has taken steps to hire a company to make needed repairs to the plant.
However, Clyde Pratt, chairman of the Jefferson County Public Sewer District, believes his agency would be better equipped to handle what he considers to be monumental problems with Olympian Village’s sewage system. He said the district became interested in taking over the system several years ago.
“If anything, it’s gotten worse,” Pratt said. “The Jefferson County Public Sewer District is ready, willing and able to go in there and take over. But we can’t just go in. We’re not the Gestapo.”
Meanwhile, the DNR has called for significant upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant that have not taken place, said Jonathan Fribis of Environmental Consulting and Operations.
Fribis oversaw operations at the plant for several years until recently, when he said he stopped after extended nonpayment for his services and other concerns.
He said the $500,000 he estimated was needed to repair the plant in 2013 likely has grown to $750,000 because of inflation and continued decline of equipment.
He said equipment failure has led to the bad smells neighbors of the plant are experiencing.
“They have three aerators at the plant,” Fribis said. “Two have failed and only one is operable. It’s not getting enough air to biologically break down incoming sewage. This leads to the smell. Also, one of two clarifiers is inoperable. Another contributor to the odors is the lack of sludge hauling. This hasn’t been done for some length of time.”
Fribis said he sides with Pratt in the belief that the Jefferson County Public Sewer District is better suited to tackle the problems with the plant and the overall sewage system.
Pratt urges Olympian Village residents to seek help from Jefferson County government to put their sewer system in his entity’s hands.
“Somebody from Olympian Village needs to petition the County Council to allow the Jefferson County Public Sewer District to operate it,” Pratt said. “If that were done and they gave us the authority, we would operate it. But it has to come from the residents.”
A DNR spokesman said the state Attorney General’s Office was notified Jan. 26, 2016, about problems at Olympian Village’s sewage treatment plant.
“For more information, please contact the Attorney General’s Office,” spokesman Tom Bastian said in an email.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Attorney General’s Office had not responded to a Leader request for information.
The office has the power to seek court ordered fines and/or reassign the town’s permit to operate its plant, Fribis said.