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Ashland sewage runs afoul of the DEQ State says clean up or start paying fines By JESSICA SMITH ASHLAND -- State environmental regulators concerned about sewage have an ultimatum for the city of Ashland: Put up or pay up. The city must meet state standards on what can be released into Bear Creek, or face daily fines of between $250 and $10,000 if they fail to finalize a sewage plan soon, said Jon Gasik, a Medford water quality engineer at the Department of Environmental Quality. In February, the Ashland City Council voted to abandon a plan five years in the making, citing health concerns. The group opted instead to explore alternative proposals that would meet state requirements. "The bottom line is that the city needs to come into compliance," Gasik said. "Any change they make is going to take several more years of planning, and that's just unacceptable to us." Neighbors and state health officials have expressed concerns about the original plan and what effect aerosols from the sprayers would have on public health. DEQ has suggested modifications to prevent sewage particles from becoming airborne. A letter detailing those changes will be sent to city leaders within a couple weeks, Gasik said. The city will then have two months to file an updated spray plan or a viable alternative. After that, daily fines will start piling up. First, the city would be hit with $250 fines. But the penalty could be raised as high as $10,000 a day if it appears the city has stopped making a "good-faith" effort to finish the project, Gasik said. The city began planning for a sewage treatment update in 1990 when the DEQ changed its standards on what could be released in Bear Creek. In 1995, the council decided to pipe the waste from the sewage plant to storage reservoirs on an 846-acre hillside on the east side of Interstate 5 outside city limits. The city planned to dry solid waste and spread it on part of the parcel as a fertilizer. Treated liquid effluent would be sprayed in some areas of the parcel as irrigation. The city has spent about $700,000 already on designs for the project. "Basically, what I've heard is they (DEQ officials) have had enough. My assumption is they're getting pretty frustrated with Ashland," said Mike Freeman, city administrator. But the city is working as quickly as possible to shore up its plans, Freeman said. In the next few weeks, consultants are expected to begin evaluating three spray plan alternatives: piping sewage to Medford, upgrading the treatment process in Ashland, which would continue to release effluent into Bear Creek, and finding another way to properly irrigate the hillside. Modifications to the original plan include replacing high-pressure sprayers with low-flow sprinklers, flooding the property or installing a drip irrigation system, Gasik said. Mayor Cathy Shaw said she's confident consultants will finish their review in the next two months, but that the simplest solution would be for the city to plow ahead on its original plan, with the proposed modifications. "We're absolutely in the middle of a project and we have an agreement with the DEQ that we will meet our obligations," she said. " It's incumbent on the council to follow through." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA