Lakeside commissioner warns SB564/HB803 would remove local input on large wastewater systems

Summary

Wayne Balow, a Lakeside commissioner and WWTA board member, told the Hamilton County Commission that newly introduced Tennessee legislation (SB564 / HB803) would let developers choose wastewater systems for subdivisions of 200 homes or more without local pre-approval and called the change a removal of local authority.

During the public-comment period, Wayne Balow identified himself as a Lakeside commissioner and a member of the WWTA board and alerted the commission to state legislation he said would change local wastewater approval processes.

Balow said a Senate bill that passed the chamber that morning—SB564 (and companion HB803)—"takes all of us, the local authorities, out of the process of providing any input upfront for new wastewater treatment systems in all of Hamilton County." He said the bill would allow a developer to build a system and then seek ownership or operation approval only after construction and warned about the liability and technical variation between systems.

Commissioners asked Balow for the bill numbers for follow-up (SB564 / HB803). Chairman Smith and other commissioners acknowledged the information; no formal action was recorded at the meeting, though commissioners discussed the bill sponsors and local delegation members that could be contacted.