CROSSVILLE Crossville City Council approved first reading of a change in the edition of the International Building Code that will start being used in the the city this fall, an action that may affect the city's contract to provide building inspection services for the county government.

The city has been using the 2006 International Building Code and, according to Crossville building inspector Jeff Kerley, a new version of the code is about to be released dated 2015. State law requires the city to use a code within seven years of its adoption. There are two possible codes the city could have chosen, 2009 and 2012.

During the council's earlier work session, codes administrator Kerley said the 2012 and 2015 codes have very stringent energy efficiency requirements that could add some $3,000 to $5,000 to the cost of a residential house. Kerley explained many cities, as well as the state, are all trying to determine the best way to move forward.

During the work session, Kerley proposed the 2012 code and council members asked about using the 2009 code. Kerley responded that if the 2009 was adopted, the city would have to change again in two years to the 2012 codes.

Currently, the city is preforming building inspections for the county under an agreement City Manager David Rutherford said has gone to a month to month arrangement, as the contract was signed more than a year ago and the initial term has expired. The change to a more advanced code will increase the cost of a building permit and the county will need to raise their rates or make other arrangements for the building inspection service to be provided.

The change requires three readings of an ordinance and the city plans to put the change in place either September or October this year.

When asked for comments, Councilman Pete Souza said, I think it is mandated and we have to do it.

A motion by Mayor pro-tem Danny Wyatt was supported by Souza. All four members of the council present voted in favor of the motion. Crossville Mayor J.H. Graham III was not present for the meeting.

The council approved extending city sewer to Homestead Methodist Church at the request of the church. While the church property is located outside of the city limits, the city has provided sewer service to churches and schools that our outside the city limits.

The cost of installing the line is estimated at $9,500 according to city engineer Tim Begley and the church will pay $1,200 in materials toward the project.

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City updates building codes

This version corrects an earlier version that said the park district had already spent $14,000 on engineering expenses related to the project. The school district has paid that amount for those expenses.

The Vashon Pool is slated to open next month, but the islands school and park districts are disagreeing about who is financially responsible to remedy the drainage problem there, a situation that could lead to litigation and the pool not opening this season.

We want the pool to open, no question, said school board member Laura Wishik after a special board meeting Monday. But it has to be in a way that does not bind the school district to further costs at the pool.

The school district owns the pool, but the Vashon Park District operates it. This arrangement began four years ago, when King County ceased running the pool as a cost-saving move, and the park district took it on.

In previous years, the pools water drained to the school districts septic system. However, the construction of the new high school changed that, and officials at both districts learned earlier this spring that the pools drainage had been unknowingly cut off last fall during the building process.

Since the discovery of the problem, the school districts Capital Projects Manager Eric Gill has been working with a variety of regulatory agencies to come up with a solution.

Last week, the Department of Ecology (DOE) approved a plan: a pipe that would go between the pool area and an existing drainage pond to the west of the facility. But such a fix is unusual, and the DOE will require considerable monitoring and testing to ensure no effluent travels as far as the wetlands on the districts property near Vashon Youth & Family Services, school district Superintendent Michael Soltman said.

The park district will need to be extremely careful and cooperative in managing the pool to the conditions of this solution, he added.

If discharging the water is managed well, the solution will work, he said, but if potentially harmful waste is detected in the wetlands, additional measures will be needed for the pool to continue to operate. Those measures, Soltman said, include a surge tank, which would meter out the pools waste water, and if problems persist, the installation of an infiltration trench. The engineering firm working with school district estimates those two measures would cost as much as $57,000.

In Mondays school board meeting to discuss the potential solution, the board authorized Soltman to negotiate with the park district to cover 50 percent of the cost of the proposed fix, estimated to be no more than $40,000. This figure includes $14,000 the school district has already spent on engineering expenses related to the project. The school board also laid out several conditions the park district must meet. It will require that the park district pay for any measures that might be needed beyond the proposed solution, that the park district be financially responsible for all the expenses related to hauling waste water from the pool a process it has been relied on to ready this pool this spring and that it adhere to DOEs conditions for the drainage fix and their associated costs. These requirements would be a included in an addendum to the pool lease the park district has with the school district before any construction would begin, school board members said.

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School, park districts disagree on who should fund pool fix

Ive been a reporter since 1988 and have covered a lot of criminal cases, written about hundreds, maybe thousands of people and have never failed to be amazed at human behavior. Is there anything people wont do to each other, given enough provocation or meanness?

In court the other day, one of the dozens of attorneys I come into contact with every week shared a story with us after a hearing. It seems there is an elderly man with plenty of money but who refused to install indoor plumbing in the house he shared with his wife of many decades.

Actually, a septic tank or connection to a sewer system is required for a house to have indoor plumbing and the man refused to have hole dug and a tank installed so they could have a toilet and the rest of the works.

This revelation led to a discussion about how and why someone could be so thrifty, nay, cheap. He allowed a water line to be put in on the property but only to the back porch. This meant his long-suffering wife had to collect water there and bring it into the house. In the 21st century?

We all wondered why a husband wouldnt allow his wife to have hot and cold running water and a toilet. Someone said maybe hed gotten so used to not having plumbing that he was satisfied with the way things were. You dont miss what you never had, right? Of course, we all commiserated with his wife, knowing everything she had to do to live 50 years or more without indoor plumbing.

We made jokes about them having to use an outhouse, or even a chamber pot on cold nights, and wondered how long it took to heat enough water to take a bath. How did she wash clothes? When I was a kid and our washer broke, my mom would wash clothes in the bathtub in a pinch. Ive helped her. Its danged hard.

The attorney kept returning to his primary point and that is the guy had money and could afford to put in a toilet and faucets.

The topic then turned to domestic issues in general and how men and women treat each other in relationships. When I worked in Carrollton, I wrote about an angry woman who boiled up a pot of rice and pigs feet, woke up her boyfriend with whom shed been arguing and threw the contents on his upper body as he sat up in bed. He survived but was burned. She was arrested and charged.

I was in court some months later when her case came up before Judge Aubrey Duffey. If I hadnt seen it for myself, I wouldnt have believed that the man stood with her and begged the judge to not send her to jail.

I love her and were going to get married, the man said. It was all my fault.

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Pushing limits of relationships

Each year, thousands of Arizona residents email or call Rosie Romeros radio show with questions about everything from preventing fires in their chimneys to getting rid of tree roots invading their sewer system. His goal is to provide answers that suit the specific lifestyle wherever someone lives in Arizona. Here are questions about home maintenance and improvement from the Tucson area.

Q: The Tucson Water Department wrote to me to say the city wants to replace my water meter but does not trust the durability of my plumbing. They wont replace the meter until after I replace the water supply line from the meter to the house. Its because that pipe could be too old. My house was built in 1972 and the line is probably made of copper. What do I do next?

ANSWER: Those letters are being sent out to homeowners all over Arizona because officials are afraid that the old lines may be disintegrating. That possibly may be your problem, too. But you ought to get a plumber out to your house to look at your pipeline before you do anything else. A plumber will have to dig down about two or three feet to inspect your pipe. But you might find that your line still has lots of life in it; then you can forgo the replacement. You can notify the city about that if the pipe seems OK. But if the city proceeds and your line breaks when they install that new meter, you will have to repair it.

Q: I want to transplant a 5-foot-tall saguaro cactus that has no arms from my friends yard to my own garden. Can I do that, and how do I do that?

A: You can transplant the saguaro, but there are several points to remember. First, carefully mark the cactus so that when you put it in the ground it is facing in the same direction as it is now. You can put a chalk mark or a tag, for example, on the side of the plant that is facing south. Then you can ensure that you have the cactus in the right position when you replant. If its facing the wrong way, it could eventually develop a scar or sunburn on one side of the saguaro.

Dig a hole large enough for the root system. Then set the cactus in place and put the native soil back around the cactus. Dont water it at this time or root damage may take place. Let nature provide the water for the plant with the next rain.

Although a 5-foot cactus is not very tall, working with it is not a one-man or one-woman job. Two or three people should work on moving it out of the ground. Get a large piece of carpeting to wrap around it several times, so that when you dig it out, it wont get cut or damaged in the process. If you have to take it on the road in a vehicle, you may need to get permission in advance from the state Department of Agriculture because a saguaro is a protected plant. You might also talk to a local nursery for more advice on how to get the plant out of the ground.

All of this might seem like a lot of trouble, but saguaros are quite expensive if you have to buy them. A 5-foot saguaro could cost you $500 to $600 from a nursery.

Q: I recently had my septic tank pumped out and cleaned. When it was empty, they found a big tree root in the bottom of the tank. How do I get rid of it and should I put some compound or chemical in the tank to keep it from happening again?

A: You really need to have a septic tank company come out and work on this problem. That root must be cut out and removed and then the area where the root entered the tank has to be repaired and resealed. If left alone, that root could keep growing and crack the tank. Most septic tank experts, however, advise against using any chemicals in your tank to keep plants out.

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Before replacing any pipeline, seek a plumbers opinion

A ceremony next week will begin work on a community wastewater system for the town of Wolf Creek.

The 11 a.m. event will be held May 22 at the fire hall, located at 310 Recreation Road, in Wolf Creek.

The public is invited to attend and share in the achievements of the seven-year effort to get the project developed and built. Refreshments will be served.

Wastewater disposal in the town is handled by individual septic systems. When one fails, there is often not be enough room to install a replacement drainfield. Another issue that has plagued residents of the community is maintaining the required distance between drainfields and wells that supply homes and businesses with drinking water.

The $3.4 million project comes after the community formed a water and sewer district in 2007 with the goal of providing a community wastewater system to residents of the unincorporated town.

Aside from initial project development costs of slightly more than $20,000 borrowed from the state Board of Investments INTERCAP program, the sewer district was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservations Renewable Resource Grant and Loan Program, a news release stated. Also helping to fund the project is a $750,000 grant from the Montana Department of Commerces Treasure State Endowment Program; three federal grants provided through the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriation Act (WRDA) in 2009, 2012 and 2014 that together amounted to $718,130, which are administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District. A grant and loan package totaling nearly $1.9 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program.

Town residents are moving ahead with plans to have the community receive the state designation of a resort area that will allow it to collect up to a 3 percent sales tax on luxury items. The sales tax has been discussed as a way to help residents reduce the new monthly costs they will face for a sewer system.

The tax rate and portion of the year that the tax would be in effect has yet to be formally decided although preliminary discussions have indicated a desire to have the tax in place when tourists are passing through the community. Also to be resolved is whether town residents will vote in support of the designation and the taxing power that comes with it.

The contract for construction was awarded to NW Construction Inc. of Bozeman and is to be substantially completed in 180 days.

The project, as designed, consists of the construction of the new wastewater collection system with approximately 5,955 feet of gravity sewer main and 29 manholes, along with the construction of a new lift station and wastewater treatment facility, and a new treatment plant, the news release noted.

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Wolf Creek to break ground on new wastewater system

After five years of controversy dealing with septic systems for the non-incorporated communities of Richmond and Rubio, it appears the issue is finally at rest. The last five homeowners, two in Richmond and three in Rubio, have signed agreements that will allow the county to install the septic systems. The county will recover the costs through special tax assessments. The supervisors approved the agreements Tuesday.

In 2001 the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) had issued a notice of violation to the county for improper sewage discharge in the Richmond community. Since the community is unincorporated, it was the countys responsibility through the Board of Health to provide reliable sewage treatment for the residents. Garden & Associates, LTD was hired by the County in 2003 to begin preliminary work to provide information for an approved sewage treatment method for Richmond.

The work involved a survey of the residents, analysis of different treatment methods and operating costs and searching for funding sources. Regional Utility Service Systems (RUSS) located in Fairfield have assisted the county in the search for funding sources and information on operating costs. RUSS at that time managed six sewer systems for small communities in Southeast Iowa.

A facilities plan for a two-cell lagoon has been submitted to the Iowa DNR for approval. The proposed lagoon was designed to serve the current 83 residences.

The Knutsons said they were concerned that Richmond residents who had spent $8,000 to $9,000 to install a new on-site septic system would be required to connect to the new system. In addition, the Holy Trinity Parish Life Center would have been required to connect to the new system and discontinue the use of their recently installed $23,000 sewage system. Another of the main concerns regarded the long term operating expense of the selected lagoon system. Knutson said she had received information from several sources reporting high operating expenses for small community lagoon sewage systems in western Iowa.

The opposition to the proposed Richmond lagoon continued to grow, resulting in the formation of a nonprofit group called Residents for a Better Richmond, which filed a lawsuit to halt the project. It also became a major election issue that resulted in three supervisor candidates opposed to the RUSS projects winning in the November 2012, election Stan Stoops, Jack Seward Jr. and Bob Yoder.

Seward said he would be meeting with a representative of the IDNR and expected the five agreements would satisfy the states June 1 deadline to bring Rubio and Richmond into compliance with state laws.

Seward has also been working with Habitat for Humanities to create a conduit for donations to aid the five low-income residents in paying for the septic systems. Margie Roth of Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity was at the Tuesday meeting and said her group covered four counties including Washington County. Being a funnel for the tax-deductible donations, she said, went along with the groups mission of obtaining and maintaining homes for financially challenged residents.

Seward noted that there were already two area groups expressing their willingness to donate funds a faith-based group near Rubio and Residents for a Better Richmond.

Donations can be made online at iowavalleyhabitat.org/ or by calling 319-337-8949.

Excerpt from:
Richmond septic problems nearing an end

Sunday, May 11, 2014 10:46 PM EDT

By BRIAN M. JOHNSON STAFF WRITER

The current system relies exclusively on water used during winter months to calculate bills that estimate customers full-year sewer use. Town Manager Garry Brumback said the council found that approach didnt accurately cover the towns revenue requirements and has triggered frequent, dramatic rate increases every couple of years.

The old rate structure was a manual rate structure based on a whole series of exceptions, he said.

Beginning in the new fiscal year, residents on public water and sewer service can expect to receive quarterly bills that more accurately reflect their actual sewer usage.

Residents using public water and sewers will receive a quarterly bill in two parts: a fixed rate and a variable rate. The fixed rate will be assessed in one of three categories: residential, commercial or industrial. The variable rate will be assessed based on actual water use. In order to close the current funding shortage, the average current rate will increase by 10 percent.

The average cost will be $480 per household, said Brumback.

The new residential annual fixed rate is $180 per household, billed at $45.00 per quarter. The variable rate was reduced from $4.33 to $3 per 100 cubic feet. The commercial annual fixed rate is $250 per establishment, billed at $62.50 per quarter. The variable rate was reduced from $4.33 per 100 cubic feet to $4.20. The industrial annual fixed rate is $250 per establishment, billed at $62.50 per quarter. The variable rate was reduced from $4.33 per 100 cubic feet to $3.30.

Customers using private wells and public sewer will be charged an annual flat rate based on the type of use (residential, commercial, or industrial). These customers will not be assessed a variable rate based on consumption.

The residential annual fixed well rate is $400 per household, billed at $100 per quarter. The commercial annual fixed well rate is $650 per establishment, billed at $162.50 per quarter. The industrial annual fixed well rate is $700 per establishment, billed at $175 per quarter.

The rest is here:
Southington sewer rate structure changes

Published: Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 9:31 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 9:32 a.m.

And what snuffed out 135 manatees, 300 pelicans, 76 dolphins and a half-billion dollars worth of seagrass?

If William of Ockham were trying to answer that, he might have started with the extreme cold, dry weather of 2010 and 2011. His 14th century philosophical precept, Occams Razor, holds that the simplest among competing theories is usually the best starting point. First, flesh out theories requiring the fewest assumptions, before moving on to more complex, refined explanations.

That hasnt stopped an army of armchair ecologists. Theyre filling a void left by biologists confounded by the complex unraveling of the lagoon ecosystem, which began swirling in a death spiral in 2011. Few answers have surfaced as to what catalyzed so many casualties, including a combine

73 square miles of seagrass, the estuarys primary nursery for life.

So semi-baked theories abound.

They range from the mundane cold snaps to the strange Doppler radars slowly baking the biology with microwave radiation. That ones new. A theory blaming manatee overpopulation has been around for years.

Biologists working the problem agree on the 2011 superbloom as the seminal event. It nearly wiped out the lagoons seagrass.

Just two years earlier, seagrass was thriving at levels not seen since the 1940s. Restoration efforts finally seemed to be paying off and the recent drought meant less polluting runoff into the waterway.

Then in early spring of 2011, a green monster superbloom of phytoplankton cast a dark cloud over that success. It eventually stretched from southern Mosquito Lagoon to just north of Fort Pierce Inlet, blocking sunlight from seagrass and leaving death in its path.

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Indian River Lagoon: What went wrong?

Updated: 05/09/2014 10:22 PM | Created: 05/09/2014 10:20 PM By: Kai Porter, KOB Eyewitness News 4

Neighbors in Espaola say theyre living next to a stinky, stagnant, fly-invested puddle of raw sewageoozing up from the ground.

Norma Mooredoesn't need tosee it to know it's there.

You drive past it with your windows open and you can smell the sewer, she said.

Moore lives behind the Juniper Hills mobile home park.

She says overflow from the parks septic tanks runs down the hill and pools up at the base of a frontage road, just a stones throw away from dozens of homes.

It's not just the smell. Neighbors say it's a health hazard because sometimes kids and pets play in the water.

The thing of it is, when you can smell it you know it's unhealthy, said Moore.

We tracked down the mobile home parks manager to get some answers. But she didnt seem to be as concerned.

It's not really a hazard, said manager Johanna Kolbe. The children don't play down there. They aren't allowed to.

Excerpt from:
Stinky sewage puddle worries neighbors in Espaola

The city of Lakota will hold a public information meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, at the Lakota Eagle Center regarding the wastewater treatment project, which has been bid. Construction will start later this summer.

The project engineer, city council members and the mayor will attend this meeting.

The first part of the meeting will be to show what improvements are planned and how they will affect property owners yards. This is an underground project that will disrupt daily activity in town while construction is taking place.

The public is encouraged to attend and ask questions, as the engineer will be there to answer them.

The main contractor on the project will not be allowed to enter houses so this electrical connection point for the new pump being installed must already be on the outside of the house.

It is the responsibility of the owner to provide for this electrical connection.

USDA-RD has a program that allows seniors and those that meet income requirements to take advantage of financing and grant opportunities to help pay for the electrical disconnect installation.

It is recommended that property owners contact an electrician to get an estimate for the work.

The electrician should be asked to perform the following:

Installation of exterior rated electrical disconnect box on the outside of the house near the existing septic system or where the sewer exits the building.

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Lakota to hold public meeting