Septic haulers using McComb’s wastewater treatment plant may see an increase in fees, City Administrator David Myers said Tuesday.
Myers said he first looked into the possibility of having the board approve a rate increase after he learned a company was driving from Richland to McComb for dumping.
Myers is proposing raising rates from $7 to $40 per thousand gallons. The city board is expected to vote on the matter at next Tuesday’s meeting.
“The McComb wastewater treatment plant is only one of the few that allows this type of dumping so that’s to our advantage,” he said. “That’s the reason why they were coming, is we had some of the lowest prices in this area to dump septic and other stuff.”
Myers said he is also proposing for the city to have at least $1 million in liability insurance coverage in case a company dumps contaminants into the treatment plant.
Selectman Tommy McKenzie asked how much money the city is making from septic hauler dumping.
“Not a whole lot, Selectman McKenzie, because of the fact that the fee is so low,” Myers said. “I think that now we’re going to generate a lot more.”
Mayor Quordiniah Lockley said the fact that McComb’s wastewater treatment plant is able to process leech should be an asset.
“In the past, Mr. CA (city administrator), it was easy to dump in a lagoon. However, (Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality) is abandoning lagoons, so you have to have a facility now that can process it,” he said. “Every wastewater facility cannot process it and that’s why we’re one of the few that can actually process the leech.”
McKenzie suggested having Pike County and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality assist with the city’s costs to pump out septic haulers’ contents.
“We’re doing a service for these folks allowing them to come and dump in our plant,” he said.
