Removal of septic systems crucial, positive

I would like to define the most important water-quality project at this time in a very environmentally sensitive area on the west side of Citrus County.

The project removes septic systems from the King’s Bay/Crystal River springshed.

It supports and is the final phase of the Department of Environmental Protection’s existing 10-plus-year-old city of Crystal River disadvantaged small community grant.

It should be viewed as a companion water-quality project to the purchase and preservation of the Three Sisters Springs.

The completion of area 114 under this grant also allows for future sewer assessment projects by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to remove all of the septic systems along with existing and failed package sewer plants on Fort Island Trail all of the way to the Gulf of Mexico per the 2009 interlocal agreement between the city of Crystal River and Citrus County.

The methodology being used is the same successful model the county has used on Halls River Road, Chassahowitzka, and more than $30 million of sewer and water line assessment projects.

The price point, with the DEP paying 85 percent of the sewer line assessment for our citizens through the grant, is not currently available, now or in the future.

On Dec. 13, 2011, the BOCC conducted a public hearing per Florida Statute 197 to utilize the uniform method of the levy, collection and enforcement of non-ad valorem assessments against the properties specially benefited by the 2011 Citrus County/Crystal River wastewater assessment district — area 114. The vote by the BOCC was a unanimous, 5–0, to move this important project forward.

Construction costs for the project can now be procured, assessment units determined, actual construction can be completed with the final assessments determined by public hearings.

The city of Crystal River has the legal right to assess a 25 percent surcharge on the expansion fee and actual sewer usage fees per state statute and the interlocal agreement with the county.

The DEP will pay 85 percent of the cost of the construction of the sewer lines and appurtenances with the assessment paying the balance.

Affected property owners will pay the city’s connection fee, pump-out and remove their septic systems per state codes, and install the proper piping from their homes to the sewer connection point.

The city has agreed to pass on the reduced interest rate it received from the state loan to help our citizens.

The final assessment can be paid in full upon the projects completion or can be financed for 10 years.

County residents also have the opportunity to ask the city to apply for additional grants, along with state and federal appropriations to buy down the final assessment costs. The BOCC also has the option to use monies from the county water-quality grant match fund to buy down the final costs when the project is completed.

In the history of sewer assessment projects, no one has ever lost property by foreclosure on a lien.
State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP) funding based on 80 percent of the area income level is available from the county for truly needy citizens with the final sewer assessment costs.

Past history has also proven that sewer projects in environmentally sensitive areas are always difficult to understand at the beginning of the process.

The long-term results for both our unique quality of life and water-quality efforts along with the final price point for our citizens have always been on the positive side of this important issue.

Dennis Damato is a member of the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners.