Senate hearing presses Waste Management Authority on sewage backups, staffing and proposed $15 monthly waste fee

Senators at a July 21 hearing pressed the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority over recurring sewage overflows in St. Thomas, staffing shortages and a proposed residential solid-waste collection fee of $15 a month. Interim Director E. G. Griffith and wastewater and engineering managers described a near-term pump installation and a coordinated cleanup with Public Works and the Department of Health, while senators sought clearer budgets, vacancy lists and timelines.

The Waste Management Authority told the committee it plans to install a larger electric pump at a collapsed 42-inch sewer line near Banco Popular and run work from 6 p.m. into the night so crews can lower sewer levels and allow cleanup behind the Windward Passage Hotel. Keith Smith, wastewater manager, said in testimony that the temporary diesel pump in place was undersized and prone to clogging and that "we're actually turning that manhole into a pump station" tonight to get levels down. Senator Fonseca demanded a date to clean the visible raw sewage, saying, "Give me a date when you're gonna clean up the filth, the sewage back of Windward Passage Hotel."

Why it matters: senators repeatedly framed the overflows as a public-health and environmental hazard that is discharging to the ocean and affecting neighborhoods and businesses. Griffith said underground collapses across the island — including two failures near Banco Popular — have forced the authority to prioritize permanent repairs islandwide, delaying some visible cleanups. He said FEMA has provided billions for underground repairs after earlier testing found pipes breaking during inspection.

Budget, staffing and retro pay: the authority reported 171 employees, with two enforcement officers on St. Thomas and one on St. Croix; staff told the committee 104 employees are owed retroactive pay from negotiated wage increases and that the authority is carrying roughly $19 million in accounts payable to local vendors. Griffith said the authority is still roughly $5 million underfunded for current-year needs and that until the authority reaches break-even it cannot sustainably add enforcement officers: "I'm not going to sacrifice paying my contractors to hire more officers that we currently cannot afford," he said. Senators requested up-to-date actuals for personnel, fringe, supplies, other services and capital outlays, and asked the authority to provide a vacancy listing, including how many vacant positions pay under $35,000 base salary (HR estimated about 15 staff under $35,000 before hazard pay).

Proposed residential fee and collection options: the authority is proposing a residential solid-waste collection, disposal and maintenance fee equivalent to $15 a month ($180 a year) on property tax bills; government properties and central government units would be exempt, and commercial properties would not be assessed, the authority said. Griffith defended collecting on property tax records rather than through WAPA (the electricity utility), saying he fears funds collected through WAPA could be at risk if WAPA faces financial distress. Multiple senators pushed back, saying meter-based collection through the utility would better capture multiple units on a single parcel and warned the flat $15-per-parcel approach “grossly underestimates” actual producers of waste in areas with many rental units. Senator Clifford Joseph urged legal and financial safeguards such as a lockbox to protect funds if the authority uses WAPA as a collector.

Tipping fees, tires, and other revenue: the authority reported roughly $2.3 million collected to date in tipping fees and projected $3.0–3.5 million for the current fiscal year. Waste Management officials also described plans to pursue fees on tires and oil at point of sale, modeled on other local tackle-fee approaches, to create additional dedicated revenues.

Grants, capital projects and audits: Eloise Brown Moore, lead grants administrator, told senators that the authority expects to use CDBG-MIT funds and other grants to close and expand landfills (Anguilla closure budgeted at $46.7 million and a new landfill budgeted at about $60 million in testimony) and that some grants — including a Clean Water Act construction grant and smaller capital improvement awards — remain in procurement or extension processes. Brown Moore described a recently amended capital line to buy a generator for the Petrido Francis wastewater treatment plant and said the Christian Sewer System work on St. Croix has approximately $1.3 million remaining and is expected to be expended by Sept. 30. The authority said audits are current through 2023 and that a 2024 audit will begin in August.

Consent decree and long-term repairs: the authority said it has completed many "low-hanging fruit" obligations under a consent decree and is about 39% through required work; officials said long-term projects remain and that the total cost has not yet been finalized. Senators asked for clearer cost estimates and schedules for consent-decree milestones.

What was directed at the hearing: senators asked the authority to (1) provide updated actual expenditures and personnel/fringe figures by island; (2) provide a listing of vacancies and positions below $35,000 base pay; (3) supply the number of employees who receive federal reimbursement and hazardous-duty pay; and (4) coordinate with Public Works and the Department of Health to prioritize and schedule cleanup operations behind Windward Passage once the new pump lowers levels. The authority committed to installing a larger pump on the night of the hearing and to return next week to clean affected areas with Public Works if the pump operation succeeds.

The hearing closed with senators stressing urgency and asking the authority to return with detailed numbers on staffing, retro pay totals, and clear schedules for both emergency cleanups and longer-term capital repairs. No formal votes or ordinances were taken during the hearing.

Ending: Senators and authority officials agreed that the islands need a sustainable revenue plan to match long-term wastewater and solid-waste repairs, and several senators said they expect to follow up quickly with committee requests for the data the authority promised at the hearing.