Ephrata may change sewer requirement

EPHRATA - Ephrata may change an ordinance to allow a change in property ownership to trigger connection to the sewer system.

The city council discussed its city sewer ordinance during a recent city council meeting. The discussion came after the council approved a change requiring residents within 200 feet of the sewer line to connect to the system.

City officials met with 27 residents about the change, who questioned having to pay for the city sewer system fee.

Mayor Chris Jacobson agreed with City Attorney Katherine Kenison's points, adding the city is a bit compromised since some of the houses affected by the change were built within city limits and given approval for the tanks. 

In other cases, some of the homes have septic tanks, which are 30 to 50 years old. Jacobson said the tanks have either failed or are likely to fail soon.

"I think those folks need to be required to hook up immediately," he said. "It seems like there's three separate situations here."

Kenison didn't know if a good way to write an ordinance creating different classes to deal with issues of fairness, she said. 

"I know your forefather's mistakes aren't really a basis that would give me a lot of comfort in trying to craft an ordinance that is going to be immune to challenge," she said.

Councilmember Mark Wanke thanked the people who came to speak earlier in the day, saying one person said they weren't told about the septic tank until after buying the house. He suggested requiring the connection to the city sewer after the property was sold or refinanced.

Councilmember Bruce Reim said the hardest part of the ordinance change is imposing a fee on people who might not be able to afford it.

"So to incorporate a time frame on to have that done, like if it's sold or it changes property or the license changes, as conditional for coming in to the city sewer system, I'm good with that," he said. "We're here to serve, but part of it means there's obligation on the landowner."

He also was in favor of not charging the city connection fee if people are willing to connect sooner rather than wait until the property is sold, Reim said.

Councilmember Kathleen Allstot questioned whether the city could exempt people from connecting until the property sold.

Councilmember Ben Davis said he understood what people were saying during the council meeting, adding the council's goal is to fix a problem which occurred in the past.

"Maybe we can't do that overnight," he said. "I think we should try. I think eventually everybody should be on the system ... I don't know how comfortable I am about treating a 50-year-old system different than a 15 (year-old system.)"

He also suggested waiving the connection fee and agreed everyone should pay into the system.

"My philosophy is if you don't have a car, you should still be paying for street improvements. If you don't use the parks, you should still probably help with parks," Davis said. "I don't think the sewer system is any different."