The wastewater treatment plant for Chattanooga is located at Moccasin Bend.Chattanooga wants clarity about its sewage.
The city filed a lawsuit against the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority this week, asking Chancery Court to rule on a dispute about who needs to build and run some sewers.
Lawmakers planted the roots of this issue in 2001, when Hamilton County and its municipalities adopted urban growth boundaries under a state mandate. The plan outlined where cities could annex in the next 20 years.
According to an agreement, when Chattanooga took in some new land, it would have to provide a sewage system within three years. The WWTA agreed to cede control of any sewer infrastructure it had developed in those areas to the city.
Now, 12 years after that original agreement, Chattanooga has 16 newly annexed territories and its leaders say they don’t know whether they have to provide sewage service.