State Representative Joseph McNamara (D-Warwick, Cranston) plans to submit legislation that enable municipalities to forego Department of Environmental Management mandated upgrades of sewage disposal systems for five years.

The only exception to the moratorium would be in situations of an “imminent health danger”.

“The cities and towns are under such financial distress…this would provide some relief for the ratepayers, who are struggling to make ends meet as it is,” said McNamara.

Warwick Senator Michael McCaffrey (D-Warwick) plans to introduce a similar bill in the Senate.

The legislation’s passage could offer relief to Warwick Sewer Authority (WSA) ratepayers.

Mayor Scott Avedisian and the Warwick Sewer Authority Board recently deliberated in a closed session, and decided by a vote in open session without public deliberations, (by then Avedisian had left the meeting), to go forward with a “consent agreement” with the state DEM. DEM wants improvements to the treatment plant that would further reduce the discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus.

At board member Aaron Guckian’s beckoning, WSA Executive Director Janine Burke gave a brief summary as to why the process was moving forward.

She said given the fact that Cranston and West Warwick had already consented, the city would likely lose the ensuing legal battle, and wind up costing the city an additional $500,000 to $750,000 in legal expenses.

That consent agreement however, would collectively cost the WSA an estimated $14 million for the upgrades, plus an estimated $1 million per year in additional operating expenses.

Spreading the costs amongst existing sewer users, the average ratepayer would pay an additional estimated $130 per year in sewer operating expenses.

The consent agreement has been forwarded to the city council, which might be hesitant to sign onto the agreement given the political ramifications of forcing ratepayers to pay yet higher rates.

Councilwoman Helen Taylor (Ward-3) is a staunch opponent of placing additional sewer costs on ratepayers, who she believes are paying more than enough money already.

“Let’s face it, there’s no money. The WSA always comes around looking for more money because they don’t have any. We would just like to know where all the money has gone,” said Taylor.

With that in mind, Taylor said she supports McNamara’s legislation.

The crux of the issue centers on the plant’s discharge of effluent into the Pawtuxet River. The DEM wants the WSA to agree to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus, which the DEM says pollutes the waters. Under the draft, the discharge of nitrogen would drop from the current allowable level of 10 milligrams per liter to 8. The drop in phosphorus would be from one to .1 milligrams per liter.

With the state and city struggling with a slew of issues – 12.7 percent unemployment, ranking amongst the worst states in the nation, the second highest per capita government debt in the nation (over $6,000 per resident), annually increasing property taxes, increasing sewer usage rates – McNamara said relief from this DEM mandate could assist the people of the city in weathering the economic storm.

Avedisian, when asked yesterday about the issue, said that he thought it would do well for Warwick in the short-term, but wondered about its prospects of attaining passage, and if it would end up costing taxpayers more over the long run.

“It’s good for us in the short-term, but don’t think DEM and EPA are going to like it,” said Avedisian, who added that there would likely be strong opposition to the bill by environmentalists.

Council President Bruce Place (Ward-2) said he was a proponent of the McNamara bill at Monday night’s council meeting.

McNamara, who will speak again with the mayor and the council president before submitting the bill, said he too is concerned about the environment, but that today’s economic climate requires compromise.

“In economic times like these everyone needs to realize that Rome wasn’t built in a day and that government policy is built through compromise,” said McNamara.

Warwick resident Roy Dempsey, who leads the grass roots group of Governor Francis Farms residents opposing the costs of the sewer project in their neighborhood, agrees with McNamara. Dempsey, however, said he hasn’t seen any evidence of the need to upgrade the plant.

“I’d like there to be a more active discussion as to why we’re being forced to upgrade the plant when there has been no proof whatsoever that the plant is causing pollution,” said Dempsey.