On Wednesday, Commissioner Geno Shipley introduced Resolution 325-17, which states “A Resolution of Hamilton County Commission requiring that all on site Wastewater Treatment Facilities be constructed to standards established by the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority and transferred to said authority for ownership and operation.”
This is a Resolution that makes perfect sense. Having a local entity that already oversees so many aspects of the county’s wastewater being responsible for overseeing all systems, including on site systems. Is this not an example of the industry’s Best Practice standards? Why would residents of Hamilton County want anyone else but the established authority to oversee and manage these systems?
Unfortunately, this perfect sense Resolution has met with much opposition. I am not sure why. I am trying to understand and possibly read between the lines. Some commissioners have been quoted as saying this oversight by WWTA will impede development, that the request for oversight is creating fear of these systems, one commissioner made a statement that “fear mongering” is occurring. Why? Why would oversight create fear of the systems? Why would oversight impede development? We are not talking about zoning, building regulations, setbacks, or buffering zones. We are talking about the oversight/management of decentralized sewage systems. I think we can all agree, we need a standard and a mechanism in place for monitoring these systems. Oversight is all this Resolution is about; a local entity overseeing and managing local systems. We all understand that development is occurring everywhere. This Resolution is not about development, it is about who is going to oversee these systems standards, provide monitoring and ensure public safety against environmental disasters.
In 2024 TDEC inspected 360 decentralized systems across the state of Tennessee. During that inspection they found that half of the systems were not compliant. There were many instances where raw sewage was impacting neighborhoods, pooling, runoffs, stagnant ponds and waste pooling around the drip fields. These violations came from systems being overseen and managed by independent companies, not state regulated entities. I ask again, with this data, why would the residents of Hamilton County not want Resolution 325-17 to pass? Why would the commissioners, who have been elected to protect their constituents, not want to support this Resolution?
At the meeting last week, we heard from Julian Bell of the Home Builders Association. Mr. Bell said “such systems are an important tool for the safety of the community and for continued growth. All of us need to focus on learning more about these systems." Mr. Bell went on to say he thought the Resolution should be deferred “for a time of study”. Why would the commissioners defer a vote for a Resolution that is establishing oversite for these systems? I think we can all agree that oversight is needed. Why would we need to further study the mechanics of these systems? That has nothing to do with oversight and management. WWTA is the expert. They are very capable of providing the service. Commissioner Shipley is a master plumber with over 50 years of experience in the field. He knows establishing oversight is necessary. Why are some people now balking at allowing the service to be provided by the entity that was created to do so in Hamilton County?
I am in favor of Resolution 325-17. I want local entities providing standards, monitoring and management for decentralized systems in my county. I do not want to end up like other counties in Tennessee that allowed these systems to be managed by outside companies, only to fail inspections down the road. If you agree that this Resolution makes sense, call your commissioner and tell him to support Commissioner Shipley’s Resolution 325-17.
Cathy Faulkner