EDGEWOOD, Ind. — Town Council members said Tuesday that a town-owned waste treatment plant is only one of a few options they are considering to fight soaring sewage rates from the city of Anderson, aside from a joint lawsuit against the adjoining city.

“This is not set in stone,” said Councilwoman Jodi Norrick to a group of about 50 Madison County residents who attended Tuesday’s council meeting. “We’re a small community and we are working through this.”

The town’s sewage is currently pumped through Anderson’s waste treatment plant. But, a 600 percent increase in the last year has forced both Edgewood and Chesterfield to sue Anderson in Madison Superior Court, said town attorney Mike Austin. If that suit does not end the spiked costs, he said, Edgewood will need to find a cheaper way to dispose of their waste.

“I think we can say that the town of Chesterfield and the town of Edgewood are at battle with the city of Anderson,” Austin said.

So far, the council has enlisted Wessler Engineering to study numerous options on how to handle the town’s waste, including staying with Anderson.

The Indianapolis company, project manager Mary K. Atkins said, found that building an Edgewood plant would be the cheapest for the town, followed by pumping waste to Lapel.

Atkins said the company has learned the Lapel plant was built to expand, so the option is being explored further.

“We would be helping them to expand, so we would have a vested interest in that,” Norrick said, explaining that Lapel wouldn’t be able to raise rates as Anderson has. “We would be able to fight it.”

Staying with Anderson would be the most expensive of the three, she said.

“In our experience, it’s almost always more expensive to build your own plant,” Atkins said. “So, the rates that Anderson is charging are absurd.”

Anderson Board of Public Works Chairman Greg Graham said he could not comment on the rates because of the ongoing lawsuit. As far as the plant, he didn’t comment on it either way.

“I think every community has to do what they believe is best for their own future,” he said.

The plant idea initiated a packed town hall meeting Tuesday. Councilwoman Patricia Farran told the group that a public hearing on April 12 has been set up to discuss the proposal, “but that isn’t on the agenda tonight.”

Every person in the compact room kept their seats, then bombarded the members with questions and concerns after they finished standard business.

Although there have been at least two council meetings where rates and the plant were discussed, residents said they never received any notice of the consideration, a claim that the council disputed. Norrick said a notice was printed in The Herald Bulletin.

“There’s a sense that we’re not well informed on this,” said Ivy Tech Community College President Tom Snyder, who lives in the area. “I think this particular group of people represents a larger group that feels surprised by this.”

The major concern of the group was that the land isn’t in Edgewood limits; it’s located just northwest in Madison County territory.

“If Edgewood wants it, that’s where Edgewood needs to put it,” said Pam Jones, who lives about 2,000 feet from the land.

Austin and Norrick clarified that an option has been put on the contract, which is necessary in order to explore the option and draft any estimations. It has not been purchased, they insisted.

According to Edgewood Town Council documents, sewage rates through Anderson have gone from about $1 per 1,000 gallons to $6 in the past year. Austin said one reason is that Anderson operates on a dual sewage system that Edgewood residents don’t need.

“We’ve been forced to help address a problem that’s not our problem,” he said. “They’ve increased our rates by a factor of 6. Nobody is going to accept that. The best thing to do would be to look at alternatives.”

In other business

Edgewood Fire Chief Tim Stottlemyer informed the Town Council that the town has put Anderson Fire Department on alert for any major fires in the town. Stottlemyer said a ladder engine is out of service, and the department is making plans to ensure it regains full capacity. He said all county fire departments work with one another on major fires, but he has made a point to ask Anderson to be part of its first responders.

The facts

The town of Edgewood is exploring options to separate from city of Anderson sewage because of recent rate increases that are expected to continue rising. It will be discussed at an April 12 public hearing.

Location: Eighth Street Road, just past County Road 400 West

Build time: No more than one year

Cost: $3.9 million for construction

Funded: Town is looking at low-interest state loan; may roll some into town’s sewage rates

(Wessler Engineering)

Contact Christina M. Wright, 640-4883, christina.wright@heraldbulletin.com.