City of Jackson sued over wastewater treatment plant

The West Rankin Utility Authority has filed a lawsuit against the city of Jackson, asking the city repay charges it says weren't owed.

The WRUA, which provides water and sewer service to 100,000 customers in Rankin County, pays the city an average of $5 million per year for the cost of treating its wastewater at the plant.

The lawsuit alleges some of the payments made by the WRUA were put toward removing sludge from the storm cells at its plant, which state and federal agencies have ordered the city of Jackson to remove.

"The Authority is neither responsible for nor obligated to pay for costs associated with remedying the City's years of sludge mismanagement which directly resulted from the City's failure to repair severe breaks, cracks and holes in the City's wastewater collection system through which water (particularly storm water during storm events) inflows and infiltrates into the system," the complaint reads.

The lawsuit asks that the city repay the WRUA all of its funds that have been put toward sludge maintenance in addition to attorney's fees, costs and expenses.

"All of the City's customers, including WRUA and the City's other interjurisdictional customers, have contributed to the built up sludge in the storm cells and all of the City's customers should contribute proportionately to the cost of the work now being done," City of Jackson Public Works Director Kishia Powell said in an e-mailed statement.

The Savanna Street plant was built in the 1960s and designed originally to service the city of Jackson.

Attorneys for the WRUA, however, states the utility carries no responsibility to pay.

"Since the city has failed for years to address the severe inflow and infiltration problems associated with the City's collection system, sludge accumulated in the storm cells to the point that the holding capacity of the storm cells was diminished by approximately 70 percent," the complaint states.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of the utility receiving a permit from the Mississippi Environmental Quality Board allowing it to construct its own treatment plant, which WRUA's attorney Keith Turner estimates will cost around $125 million.

The City of Jackson has appealed the board's decision to grant a permit and is scheduling an evidentiary hearing. If an appeal takes place and the board changes its mind at the hearing, that decision could then be appealed in Chancery Court.

The WRUA serves the cities of Flowood, Pearl, Brandon and Richland, along with areas of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District.

Contact Kate Royals at (601) 360-4619 or kroyals@gannett.com. Follow @KRRoyals on Twitter.