Thursday, April 17, 2008
BY JAN BARRY AND BARBARA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITERS
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WANAQUE — Fed up that Ringwood and West Milford refuse to dissolve the Wanaque Valley Regional Sewerage Authority and save $45,000 by doing so, the borough is preparing to sue its neighbors.
"If they won't leave voluntarily, we're going to litigate it," Mayor Daniel Mahler said Wednesday. "Two-and-a-half years is more than enough time" to try negotiations, he added.
Wanaque has one wastewater treatment plant but two sewerage authorities — the local one and the Wanaque Valley Regional Sewerage Authority, which it shares with Ringwood and West Milford. Merging the two, Wanaque argues, would save money.
Wanaque has pressed its neighbors for more than two years to support a merger. The regional plant serves Wanaque, no more than a score of homes in Ringwood and none in West Milford. Wanaque's authority oversees only its own wastewater pipes.
Wanaque on Monday authorized its attorney to prepare a lawsuit against West Milford and Ringwood.
"We'll just have to defend ourselves accordingly," said Mayor Walter Davison of Ringwood on Wednesday.
Mayor Bettina Bieri of West Milford was less confrontational. "We're working on this, and we will decide as soon as we hear from our engineer," Bieri said. West Milford sent a letter to Wanaque two weeks ago reporting that it is reviewing the matter with a consultant.
Each town has two representatives on the authority, leaving Wanaque outvoted, 4-2, on fiscal matters. The regional plant was once expected to serve development in all three communities but the 2004 Highlands Act, which protects the state's water-generating areas, put much of West Milford and Ringwood off-limits to growth.
Under state law, all three towns must agree to dissolve the authority, which would allow the state to let Wanaque assume the regional agency's debts and its local sewerage authority to operate the treatment plant.
Wanaque has argued that a merger would save about $45,000 a year, which it offered to share with its neighbors. The savings would come from eliminating duplicate professional services by attorneys and engineers.
Davison of Ringwood said the offer of $15,000 a year didn't impress his borough. It prefers to keep the regional authority in case the state Department of Environmental Protection ever orders homes on failing septic systems to hook into a sewerage plant, he added.
"What if someday we're directed by DEP to tie into sewers?" Davison said. "What are we going to do, build a plant?"
West Milford was poised in December to consider withdrawal from the authority, but decided to wait and allow the new governing body to tackle the issue this year. In March, it hired an engineer to determine whether there is value to remaining in the authority.
"We realize we don't know a lot about sewer authorities, so we wanted to hire someone who can advise us if there will be any benefits to staying in the authority," Bieri said. "Building a pipeline down to Wanaque isn't going to happen, but we want to know if there is any other way to utilize it."
In reference to the lawsuit, Bieri said she hopes Wanaque will give them a little more time to come to a decision.
E-mail: barry@northjersey.com and williamsb@northjersey.com
WANAQUE — Fed up that Ringwood and West Milford refuse to dissolve the Wanaque Valley Regional Sewerage Authority and save $45,000 by doing so, the borough is preparing to sue its neighbors.
"If they won't leave voluntarily, we're going to litigate it," Mayor Daniel Mahler said Wednesday. "Two-and-a-half years is more than enough time" to try negotiations, he added.
Wanaque has one wastewater treatment plant but two sewerage authorities — the local one and the Wanaque Valley Regional Sewerage Authority, which it shares with Ringwood and West Milford. Merging the two, Wanaque argues, would save money.
Wanaque has pressed its neighbors for more than two years to support a merger. The regional plant serves Wanaque, no more than a score of homes in Ringwood and none in West Milford. Wanaque's authority oversees only its own wastewater pipes.
Wanaque on Monday authorized its attorney to prepare a lawsuit against West Milford and Ringwood.
"We'll just have to defend ourselves accordingly," said Mayor Walter Davison of Ringwood on Wednesday.
Mayor Bettina Bieri of West Milford was less confrontational. "We're working on this, and we will decide as soon as we hear from our engineer," Bieri said. West Milford sent a letter to Wanaque two weeks ago reporting that it is reviewing the matter with a consultant.
Each town has two representatives on the authority, leaving Wanaque outvoted, 4-2, on fiscal matters. The regional plant was once expected to serve development in all three communities but the 2004 Highlands Act, which protects the state's water-generating areas, put much of West Milford and Ringwood off-limits to growth.
Under state law, all three towns must agree to dissolve the authority, which would allow the state to let Wanaque assume the regional agency's debts and its local sewerage authority to operate the treatment plant.
Wanaque has argued that a merger would save about $45,000 a year, which it offered to share with its neighbors. The savings would come from eliminating duplicate professional services by attorneys and engineers.
Davison of Ringwood said the offer of $15,000 a year didn't impress his borough. It prefers to keep the regional authority in case the state Department of Environmental Protection ever orders homes on failing septic systems to hook into a sewerage plant, he added.
"What if someday we're directed by DEP to tie into sewers?" Davison said. "What are we going to do, build a plant?"
West Milford was poised in December to consider withdrawal from the authority, but decided to wait and allow the new governing body to tackle the issue this year. In March, it hired an engineer to determine whether there is value to remaining in the authority.
"We realize we don't know a lot about sewer authorities, so we wanted to hire someone who can advise us if there will be any benefits to staying in the authority," Bieri said. "Building a pipeline down to Wanaque isn't going to happen, but we want to know if there is any other way to utilize it."
In reference to the lawsuit, Bieri said she hopes Wanaque will give them a little more time to come to a decision.
E-mail: barry@northjersey.com
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