How complicated can one line be? If it’s the Edgecomb sewer line, very.

When Edgecomb selectmen meet Monday, Dec. 16 to set the sewer rate, it will be the next step on a bumpy, 20-year path from the original overboard discharge system (OBD) to the current sewer line running under the Sheepscot River.

Along the way, the question of handling wastewater from the Davis Island area has been marked by contention and questions.

According to the 2010 Edgecomb annual report, as far back as 2000, Wiscasset and owners of the Sheepscot River Inn & Restaurant discussed placing a line under the river to handle wastewater. At the time, the restaurant had an OBD license to discharge up to 4,500 gallons a day into the river.

The discussion never jelled and the property owner stepped aside in 2002 to let the town begin its own negotiation with Wiscasset. Those discussions came together with a signed interlocal agreement in 2006, the 2010 annual report explained.

The Wiscasset wastewater department provided the Boothbay Register with a copy of the agreement. In it, Edgecomb would pay the same rates as Wiscasset residents. In the interim, a TIF agreement was made between the town and the owner of the Sheepscot River Inn property to help finance construction of the sewer line, which Edgecomb owns. According to Wiscasset Water District, there are approximately 65 customers who are residents of Davis Island and responsible for the maintenance of the private lines and a pump station.

According to sources including real estate listings and Boothbay Register files, Lincoln County District Court and the Maine Legislature's website, the ensuing 14 years brought significant activity for the 30 acres of land, including foreclosure and property transfers, the dissolution of a corporation, a state law establishing the Edgecomb sewer district, a lawsuit, and freedom of information requests from Davis Island residents concerning wastewater bills.

Selectmen are now deciding their response to a 30% increase in Wiscasset’s sewer rate.

Edgecomb residents have been charged at a rate of $27.36 per 300 cubic feet for the past five years, as set by the Edgecomb sewer district. The Wiscasset increase brings the cost for Edgecomb to $31.20 per 300 cubic feet and the need to increase fees to offset a shortage of $600 per month.

The Boothbay Register recently met with the Wiscasset wastewater treatment plant’s superintendent, Rick Gates, to ask about the rate increase and the relationship with Edgecomb.

Gates explained, the bulk of the $201,000 increase in the 2019 wastewater budget was caused by consent agreements negotiated with the Department of Environmental Protection totaling $76,000, and a $100,000 capital reserve requested by the town’s auditor. With only 810 customers, the Wiscasset sewer system has 18 pump stations. “I’ve never seen a small customer base with this many pump stations,” Gates said. Maintaining the system is costly and the equipment is aging, Gates said.

In a Dec. 5 email to Edgecomb selectmen, Davis Island resident Jim Lamson expressed frustration over the sewer rate. “I feel like we are beating a dead horse ... since 2011, we have paid rates that were about 14% higher than what Wiscasset charged its own citizens.” Lamson wrote that the Edgecomb sewer district does not have to maintain a plant and equipment like Wiscasset. He asked selectmen, “What am I missing?”

Lamson’s email continued,  “Of all the things we have asked for, I think the thing most important is transparency. We have rates to pay, but are not privy to the bills the town receives from the sewer district.” He said the town’s billing process “has been kept somewhat secretive or quiet” and asked for selectmen to provide details at the next meeting.

Asked about the agreement that set sewer rates for Edgecomb, Gates said a contract was signed by the selectmen, but he added: “If they want to discuss it they are welcome to come here and discuss it.”