Campton Hills questions district's capacity

Campton Hills is asking state officials to review an independent study that suggests the Wasco Sanitary District is taking on more customers than it can handle.

The study, performed by Baxter & Woodman Consulting Engineers in Crystal Lake, shows the rural water and sewer district has requested and received more connection permits from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency than it has the capacity to serve, village officials claim.

Now, the village wants the IEPA to do a thorough review of the sanitary system, which serves the downtown Wasco area and other parts of Campton Hills, trustee Jim Kopec said.

"If you don't have sewer capacity, you can't really plan for anything," Kopec said, referring to potential development proposals in the village. "We basically want them (state officials) to tell us whether or not there's capacity in the district."

IEPA spokeswoman Maggie Carson said Thursday the Wasco Sanitary District already is under investigation for "unresolved violations," but it was not immediately clear if the violations were related to capacity.

Carson said the agency would consider all aspects of the village's study on its next site visit to the sanitary district, although the visit has yet to be scheduled.

"Our goal is to work toward compliance," she said. "If the situation is such that the IEPA finds it necessary, we do have the authority to enlist the attorney general, state's attorney or the U.S. EPA," which can levy fines and fees.

Kopec said the village paid about $2,500 for the study last summer when officials were looking into whether Campton Hills' incorporation a few months prior required the village to take over the district, a separate taxing body that serves roughly 1,000 customers west of St. Charles. It turned out the village was unable to absorb the district because the sanitary system serves some customers outside village borders.

According to the study, the IEPA has issued enough permits that the Wasco Sanitary District could end up operating at 126 percent capacity, although not all of the permitted developments have been built yet. State officials were unable to confirm whether that is the case.

Sanitary district President Raul Brizuela said Thursday he would reserve comment on the village's study until after district engineers could review it for themselves.

Sanitary district attorney Charles Muscallero did not comment on the study either, but he blasted village officials for immediately releasing it to the press.

"I find it highly inappropriate for them to issue a press release rather than contact the Wasco Sanitary District," he said. "Obviously, they're not looking out for the public good, but for publicity."