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Peppers Ferry board reports budget figures, FEMA claims and 174 months without effluent violations
Summary
Jeffrey Worrall, the town's Peppers Ferry representative, told Pulaski council the regional wastewater authority is operating within permit limits, seeks roughly $9.27 million in FEMA recovery for Hurricane Helene damage, and adopted a modest 3.3% budget increase for 2026–27.
Jeffrey Worrall, a Peppers Ferry Regional Wastewater Treatment Authority board representative, told the Pulaski Town Council that the authority is operating within its permit and financial expectations and is pursuing recovery of significant storm damage costs from FEMA.
Worrall said the authority is permitted for an average discharge of 9,000,000 gallons per day and reported ‘‘174 consecutive months, that’s 14 and a half years, without an effluent violation.’’ He told council the current billed amount across member jurisdictions is $4,979,231 of a $6,943,435 fiscal-year budget and that Pulaski’s billed share to date is about $2,082,998.
The authority adopted a 2026–27 budget of $7,460,883, a 3.3% increase over the current year; Worrall said the town’s share will rise by about 0.64 percentage points. Council questions focused on the timing of budget spending and whether capital outlays explained the apparent difference between year-to-date spending (about 71.7%) and the proposed increase.
Worrall described damage from Hurricane Helene to pumps and pump stations on the New River and said the authority has recovered $220,397.76 to date and is seeking roughly $9,265,109 more from FEMA, a figure that includes betterment work—moving equipment out of flood zones and switching to submersible components. He said the authority has hired a consultant with FEMA experience to assist with the claim.
Worrall also said the authority adopted clerical revisions to its rules and regulations in April; the Department of Environmental Quality has received the revisions and will publish a 30-day public notice. He praised current executive director Ryan Hendricks for his management and noted the recent passing of former executive director Clark Walcraft.
The presentation closed with Worrall offering to answer follow-up questions and promising to provide details the council requested about capital and operating spending.
The council did not take a formal vote on the update; the discussion served as an informational briefing and a prompt for future budget and operating questions.
