ARIZONA DAILY STAR: Thurs., June 12, 2008

Judge rules for Marana in sewer- system bid

By Brian J. Pedersen

Maricopa County judge ruled Wednesday that Marana has the right to own and operate its own sewer system, the first step in the town's effort to control wastewater produced by its residents.

Last July, Marana severed a 1979 intergovernmental agreement with Pima County that called for the county to provide wastewater service to Marana residents. Marana officials have said they want control of their own sewer system so the effluent produced from wastewater can be used to offset the town's groundwater pumping.

"The citizens should be in control of our community, not someone else," said Mayor Ed Honea, who called the legal victory a major event on par with the town's 1977 incorporation and its annexation of the Ina/Thornydale/Orange Grove area in the early 1990s.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Kristin Hoffman, through a partial summary judgment, ruled Marana "owns the non-flow-through portion of the sewer system within the town" and therefore has the right to operate that system. She also ruled Pima County has "no authority to provide sewer services to Marana without Marana's permission."

Pima County officials also claimed a victory because no ruling was made on who has control of the Marana Wastewater Treatment Facility, near North Luckett and West Trico-Marana roads.

"The central issue is the plant," said County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry. "That's the multimillion-dollar issue. We always anticipated they would get the pipes."

FULL STORY: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/243394