CAS
Continued from page 1
district or sub district," Stickels
said.
Srickels noted that courts have
upheld the county's policy of set-
ring. different rates for sewer dis-
tricts as being fair and equitable.
According to Stickels, County
Council will hold a public hearing
in December to set sewer rates be-
fore tax bills are sent out.
Rates for the Dewey Beach San-
itary Sewer District are based on
usage, while rates for the expand-
ed district are based on linear feet
of froniage. CAS's latest argu-
ment is that the county cannot jus-
tify the sewer project as an expan-
sion of an existing sewer district,
while at the same time setting
higher rates for the West Re-
hoboth Expansion of the Dewey
Beach Sanitary Sewer District.
CAS's argument is identical to
one repeatedly raised by Wash-
ington, D.C. attorney William
Green.
Green, who owns property in
north Bethany Beach, sued Coun-
ty Council over what he considers
an inequity in the assessment rates
per front foot between the
Bethany Beach sewer district and
the North Bethany Beach expan-
sion.
The typical annual sewer bill is
about $249 in Bethany Beach and
nearly $1,232 in North Bethany
Beach. Unlike the Bethany Beach
sewer system, the North Bethany
sewer system was built without
state or federal funding.
In May, Superior Court Judge
N. Maxson Terry upheld the coun-
ty's sewer assessments by ruling
that nothing in state law prevents
County Council from setting a
new rate for each area added to a
sewer system. Green has ap-
pealed the court's decision to
Delaware Supreme Court.
By law, referendum approval is
required in order to establish a
new sewer district. On two occa-
sions, County Council held refer-
endums to establish a sewer dis-
trict in the Lewes and Rehoboth
Beach area. However, property
owners voted overwhelmingly in
opposition to the establishment of
a sewer district.
The county is not required to
hold a referendum in order to ex-,
pand an existing sewer district.
In June of 1993, CAS filed legal
action in Delaware Superior Court
over the creation of the sewer dis-
trict. The group argued that the
county improperly dubbed the
sewer project an "expansion" of
the existing sewer district in order
to circumvent a referendum vote
on the unpopular project.
CAS later dropped its suit after
state and county officials man-
aged to slash the projected sewer
rate by about 40 percent from
$937 to $547 a year for the aver-
age-sized home lot. In addition,
the county lowered the one-rime
connection fee in the sewer dis-
trict from $2,000 to $500 for the
typical single-family home lot.
"CAS has saved you $1,500 so
far," Bierman said. "We'd like to
save you more."
According to Bierman, the aver-
age sewer rate should be $480 a
year based on Environmental Pro-
tection Agency (EPA) guidelines.
"We believe the Environmental
Protection Agency ... should come
to our rescue," Bierman said.
In addition to concerns over
sewer rates, CAS has criticized
county and state officials for al-
legedly sidestepping the prepara-
tion of an Environmental Impact
Study (EIS) of the sewer project.
The group believes that an EIS
would have required the county to
take mitigating measures to man-
age growth.
In August of 1993, Gerald L.
Esposito, director of the Water
Resources Division of the
Delaware Department of Natural
Resources and Environmental
Control (DNREC), signed a "find-
ing of no significant impact."
Specifically, Esposito stated:"The
review process indicated that ei-
ther significant environmental im-
pacts would not result from the
proposed action or significant ad-
verse impacts have been or can be
eliminated by making changes in
the project. Consequently, a pre-
liminary decision not to prepare
an EIS has been made."
Michael Tyler, president of Cit-
izens Coalition, said the sewer is
promoting "unrestrained growth".
Citizens Coalition is a group of
citizens promoting responsible
land use and the preservation of
the quality of life.
The group is concerned that
traffic from unbridled develop-
ment along Del. 1 will slow re-
sponse times of emergency crews
and dramatically affect air and
water quality.
CAS and Citizens Coalition
have asked Peter Kostmayer, re-
gionai administrator for the EPA,
to review why an EIS was not pre-
pared and to impose a moratorium
on further development until the
study is completed.
Mable Granke, a member of the
Rehoboth Beach Planning Com-
mission, urged those present to
write Guy. Thomas R. Carper and
demand that development along
Del. 1 be staged based on safety
concerns along the highway.
Property owners wishing to
contribute to CAS's legal fund
should make their checks payable
to CAS. The mailing address is
P.O. Box 113, Nassau, DE.
19969.
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