Sikeston utilities board and drainage district to keep status quo until lawsuit plays out

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Sikeston Board of Municipal Utilities and the Richland Drainage District have reached a temporary agreement in their dispute over waste water discharged into district ditches, avoiding a situation the board's attorney said could have seriously affected facilities in the city's industrial park.

James Robison, attorney for the board, said he and drainage district attorney John Heisserer had reached an agreement "that we'll leave everything in the status quo until the court has a chance to decide."

"We're not confronted with an emergency situation at the moment," Robison said.

The utilities board and the drainage district had come to an impasse in recent weeks over the terms of a renewal contract permitting the city to discharge wastewater from its industrial park and power plant into district ditches. Under the current contract, the utilities board is allowed to discharge an average of 400,000 gallons per day of treated wastewater into a district ditch near Sikeston. The utilities board seeks an increase in the amount of discharge allowed to 1 million gallons per day, but the drainage district says its ditches are already at capacity and overflow during wet weather. The district wants to renew the contract under its current terms through 2013.

Robison filed a civil lawsuit on the board's behalf June 7 seeking a remedy from the Scott County courts. Robison hopes the courts will intervene and force contract terms suitable to the utilities board, which wants to increase the discharge limit because of expansion in the industrial park.

Under the new, temporary agreement, the two entities will continue to operate under the terms of the contract that expires Saturday until the matter is resolved in court, which could take months. A hearing hasn't been set in the case, but summonses have been delivered to all parties involved.

Robison had earlier expressed concern that the drainage district would cut the Sikeston Board of Municipal Utilities off from dumping its wastewater after the current contract expires. Robison said such action could shut down facilities in the industrial park like the Good Humor-Breyers ice cream plant, which employs about 800 people, according to figures provided by Sikeston officials.

Now such a crisis has been averted.

"It's never been our intention to cut them off," Heisserer said. "They can continue to operate until the end of time under the current contract, as far as we're concerned."

Heisserer said the drainage district has a good case and that if a judge rules in the district's favor and the current limits stay in place, Sikeston will not be significantly affected.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182