Cape Girardeau voters to decide how to pay for $70 million wastewater treatment plant

Cape Girardeau voters won't be deciding whether a $70 million wastewater treatment plant will be built to replace the aging and overloaded facility just off South Sprigg Street.

That has to happen -- and will -- city officials say.

What voters will have a say in at the ballot box is how the project will be paid for, which officials called a key component in determining how much more city customers will pay in increased sewer rates.

"The user will see rate increases either way, sizable ones," city manager Scott Meyer said. "I'd be lying if I told you otherwise. We hate to raise rates by even $1, but we don't really see how there's a choice."

Voters instead will be asked, likely in April, to weigh in on two separate ballot issues to pay for a new plant -- a $70 million bond issue to pay for construction as well an extension of the quarter-cent capital improvement sales tax to use later to repay the bonds. The 20-year extension, approved in 1997 and set to expire in 2017, would continue to generate $2 million a year if approved.

The city will hold a public hearing Jan. 12 at the Public Works Department at 2007 Southern Expressway. A bus tour will be offered at 6 p.m. to the proposed site, on 12 acres to the southeast of the public works building, as well as of the existing plant at 429 Cooper St., just off South Sprigg Street. The public hearing will follow at 7 p.m.

At the public hearing, city officials will explain why they believe the ballot initiatives offer the best option to pay for the plant. For one, voter-approved bonds are eligible for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a self-perpetuating, low-interest loan assistance authority for water quality improvements, said Public Works director Tim Gramling. If voters say no, the city will have to resort to higher-interest bonds, he said, which will cause rates to be increased even more.

The average city customer pays about $13 a month for its sewer service, he said. While the exact numbers haven't been pinned down yet, Gramling said it could be a $20-a-month increase if voters approve the measures, but it could be twice that or more that if they don't.

An extension of the sales tax would also allow the financial burden to be shared by visitors to the city who shop and pay the tax here, Gramling said. If voters say no, that just causes the rate increases to be more, he said.

"But we have to build it," Gramling said. "There's no getting around that. It's just a matter of how we're going to pay for it."

The city must build a new plant because the current one is nearly 50 years old, operates over capacity and has been in violation of federal and state standards since 2009, Gramling said. During peak usage times, such as after heavy rain, untreated sewage is dumped into the Mississippi River, he said. That happens about 30 to 40 times a year, he said. Each time is a violation.

It was around 2006 when the Department of Natural Resources was directed by the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce the amount of untreated sewage to be allowed into the state's rivers, said DNR spokeswoman Renee Bungart. About two years ago, the EPA mandated that no untreated wastewater be allowed into natural waterways, she said.

Once it was informed of the standards changes, the city agreed at first to expand the current site. But about 20 sinkholes found on adjoining property made expansion of the existing site impossible, Gramling said. City leaders committed to the state that a new wastewater treatment plant would be built by June 2014 as part of a compliance schedule.

The city paid a civil penalty of $15,000 up front and, in lieu of further penalties, agreed to add a commercial recycling component at its transfer station, which had to cost at least $111,000. If it does those things, the city would avoid further penalties, Gramling said.

But city officials don't want to build a new plant simply because it has to, Gramling said. It needs to, he said. It was noted in the city's 1991 master plan that a new plant would likely be needed in about 20 years.

The original facility was built in 1962 and was expanded and upgraded over the years to the present average daily flow capacity of about 7 million gallons per day. Currently, about 6 1/2 million gallons a day is treated in the plant and sent to the Mississippi River. The existing plant has a peak capacity of 18.5 million gallons a day.

The population projection for Cape Girardeau is estimated at 42,800 by 2030.

A new plant would be designed to handle an average flow of 11 million gallons per day and a peak capacity of 50 million gallons a day. That would more than handle any city growth, Gramling said. A new plant is projected to handle wastewater for at least 20 years, Gramling said, with the actual structure expected to last about 50 years.

"The existing plant wouldn't even handle the first phase of development for the casino," Gramling said. "We want to be able to handle any new commercial developments that are interested in coming to Cape Girardeau. We don't want to be in a position of turning away economic development because we can't handle their wastewater."

When Mayor Harry Rediger was campaigning for office earlier this year, he spoke about the need for a new wastewater treatment plant.

"It's a must," Rediger said Tuesday. "The current plant has outlived its usefulness. It's over capacity, it's out of compliance and it's aged. For all those reasons, we are being forced to replace it. So we have to have a new wastewater treatment plant one way or another. We're going to have to do it even if the vote goes no."

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

2007 Southern Expressway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

429 Cooper St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.