Legislators seek state money for Lynchburg sewer upgrades

Federal stimulus money has kept Lynchburg’s sewer construction program going strong for two years, but state funds are needed to keep the work on pace, the city’s legislators say.

If state money doesn’t come through, the city may have to raise its sewer rates, which already are among the highest in the state.

State Sen. Steve Newman and Del. Scott Garrett are asking the General Assembly to provide at least $2.5 million for the next two years to help the Hill City deal with the most costly project in its history. It’s commonly called CSO, for combined sewer overflow.

“If we do not do something on the CSO project this year or next year, I think those rates are apt to go much higher,” Newman said.

The two Lynchburg-area Republicans are pleading their case to other legislators in General Assembly committees this week by two methods.

Newman and Garrett would prefer the assembly add $78 million to a statewide bond package already making its way through the legislative process.

Those millions would complete Virginia’s obligation to help Lynchburg and Richmond upgrade their sewer systems, Newman said. They also would speed up Lynchburg’s progress on building new sewer lines, he said.

Both cities are under a federal order to stop storm-water runoff from flowing into sanitary sewer lines, and ultimately to stop untreated sewage from flowing into the James River after heavy rains.

The upgrade began in 1989 and was expected to cost $208 million in Lynchburg.

It has cost $220 million to date, and 104 overflow points have been fixed, city officials say in reports to the legislators.

The remaining cost is estimated at $280 million to fix the remaining 24 overflow points, which are in hard-to-reach places such as beneath buildings.

Lynchburg City Manager Kimball Payne said the city has reached its debt limit and can’t borrow money to finish the upgrades.

The city has mostly met the financial aspect of its agreement with the federal government to fix the sewer system, he said.

Still, the city could be subject sanctions from the federal Environmental Protection Agency for continuing to have overflow problems, Payne said.

Newman and Garrett are working with Richmond-area legislators to win approval of more funding, either by amending the state budget for the next two years, or by adding the total state share of CSO costs to the bond package.

Lynchburg has paid $154 million toward its CSO upgrades. The federal government has contributed $41 million over the years, and the state government has provided $25 million.

Newman said a perfect solution to the overflow problem may not be possible.

“At some point we have just got to do as much as we can on that project and ask the federal government to relent on the rest,” Newman said.

“The ratepayers in Lynchburg could be put in a terrible situation if we don’t solve this problem,” he said.