Peachtree City's Water and Sewage Authority got technical at its called meeting Wednesday night.

The authority was asked to determine whether sewer service was “available” to a subdivision since a manhole was only 150 feet away. The subdivision, Kedron Estates, was originally designed to have homes hooked up to septic tanks until the health department questioned whether it should be served by the sewer system.

Eventually, WASA decided the sewer service was available on a 4-1 vote, despite pleas from developer Jimmy Halligan that it would be too costly to provide sewer access to the subdivision.

Kedron Estates consists of 28 homes on one-acre lots that were originally projected to be on septic tanks. But the Fayette County Health Department has asked WASA whether the sewer service is available within the 500-foot limit set by state law.

WASA General Manager Larry Turner said making sewer service available to Kedron Estates would be costly since two lift stations would be needed. Attorney Doug Dillard, representing Halligan, argued that the authority could determine the sewer service is not available based on financial concerns.

Dillard said some roads in the subdivisions have already been paved and would have to be dug up to lay sewer pipe. He also said state environmental regulators have said it is up to WASA to determine how it interprets the word “available” in the state law.

“The distance is not the issue,” Dillard said. “It's the topography that's the problem.”

Halligan said the Fayette County Board of Health had originally approved the subdivision for septic tank use but later it questioned whether the property should be served by sewer instead. Halligan said he had done his homework on the development, but the health board caught him off guard and could delay his property.

Doug Warner, WASA's attorney, said it was up to the authority to decide if it wanted to make the sewer service available to the Kedron Estates subdivision.

WASA member John Gronner said he felt Halligan should be taking the issue up with the Fayette County Board of Health. Authority member Mike Harman said he was worried where the board could draw the line between “economically available” and “not economically available.”

After the authority voted to send a letter to the health board indicating the sewer service was available, Dillard said Halligan “will try and get it out of somebody,” referring to the extra costs of putting in sewer service.

Turner said the authority could not spend public money on private projects, but it could help Halligan in other ways.

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