Mail Tribune News - Ashland sewage plan goes to LUBA Jan. 21

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Ashland sewage plan goes to LUBA Jan. 21 Neighbors who object to Ashland's plan to spray treated wastewater and spread treated sludge on nearby farmland have a January date with the Land Use Board of Appeals. The Friends of the Creek group will argue that Ashland shouldn't use rural land to solve the urban problem of expanding its municipal sewage treatment plant, said Greg Hathaway, their Portland attorney. In addition, opponents will argue that Jackson County should not have approved the city's plans without holding a public hearing. "At a minimum there should have been a hearing of some kind," Hathaway said. "We believe that clearly the decision is a land-use one, and it requires the opportunity to be heard." A LUBA referee will hear oral arguments on the case on Jan. 21. Meanwhile, Ashland has begun a $12.4 million expansion of its existing plant, an 18- to 24-month project that will boost capacity from 1.8 million to 3.2 million gallons per day. The city already has purchased an 840-acre hillside east of Interstate 5 that would be irrigated with treated wastewater during Bear Creek's lowest-flow months. That component of the expansion is expected to cost an additional $8.5 million. Mail Tribune Copyright �  The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA