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Council rejects proposed septic‑hauler rate increase after heated public hearing; amendment removing out‑of‑county surcharge had passed
Summary
City utilities proposed raising hauled‑waste (septic) rates in a multi‑step increase to approach cost of treatment; the council approved an amendment removing a 50% out‑of‑county surcharge but ultimately voted down the ordinance as a whole after extended public comment from haulers, campground owners and residents citing affordability and holding‑tank impacts.
City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU) presented a proposal to revise Title 10 fees for hauled wastewater (domestic septage and grease waste) that would raise the hauler charge to a uniform 8¢ per gallon in a stepwise change and eliminate a long‑standing 50% surcharge for out‑of‑county loads.
CBU and consultant Crowe LLP said hauled septage has a far higher pollutant concentration than ordinary sewer flow and that treatment costs at the Dillman Road plant justify raising fees. Steven Stanford told the council that EPA figures show domestic septage is roughly 67 times more concentrated than ordinary sewage and that Crowe’s cost‑of‑treatment calculation was about $0.17 per gallon. Utilities proposed phasing toward that level; CBU’s preferred near‑term change was 8¢/gallon.
Council considered Amendment 1 (sponsored by Councilmember Asari) to remove the 50% out‑of‑county surcharge and to correct a drafting error. After discussion and public comment, the council approved Amendment 1, 5‑2.
That did not resolve opposition. Dozens of public commenters — septic haulers, campground operators and residents who use holding tanks — described how CBU bills haulers by prepaid truck tickets and said many customers (campgrounds, marinas, low‑income holding‑tank households) would face large increases. Haulers said tickets are purchased by truck capacity (not metered gallons) and that mixed loads are often charged at out‑of‑county rates, which complicates equitable billing. Campground operators said frequent pump‑outs (weekly for some holding tanks) make the proposed change especially disruptive.
CBU said the existing rate structure was overdue for review after 25 years and that sampling and metering improvements are planned; the utility said it would explore technologies (RFID access cards, flow meters) to allow volumetric billing rather than truck‑ticket billing.
After more than two hours of discussion and public testimony, the council conducted a roll‑call vote on the ordinance as amended and the ordinance failed by roll call, 0‑7.
Votes at a glance: - Amendment 1 (remove out‑of‑county surcharge): passed 5‑2 (roll call recorded at SEG 3110‑3122). - Ordinance 2025‑44 as amended (hauled wastewater rate increase to 8¢ stepwise): failed by roll call, 0‑7 (vote recorded at SEG 5030).
Council and staff next steps: Utilities staff said they will continue work on sampling and metering options and recommended revisiting the fee structure in the next full rate case; councilmembers asked staff to explore differentiated rates for holding tanks versus concentrated septage and to consider phased approaches or additional customer assistance programs.
