A virtual stalemate involving nearly a dozen southeast Iowa counties has led to the possibility of a new organization forming to help unincorporated communities develop sanitary sewer systems.
Regional Utility Service Systems, or RUSS, was formed about 15 years ago. It has grown to include ten counties, including Lee, Des Moines and Van Buren.
The organization owns and operates sanitary sewer systems throughout the 10-county area.
The most recent project to come before RUSS was a proposed system in the Mooar/Powdertown area, near Keokuk.
Lee County Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Matt Pflug said adding a system should benefit nearby Chatfield Lake, which is polluted because of run-off from the community.
"We don't want the Iowa Department of Natural Resources involved," Pflug said. "We know what will happen then."
Despite the apparent need, four of the 10 member counties voted against it. A couple of the "no" counties have been trying to leave the group for years.
RUSS's bylaws say votes to pursue projects must be unanimous, so the organization stopped working with the residents of Mooar/Powdertown on the new system.
Lee County Board of Supervisors Chairman Ernie Schiller said the rest of the counties did not want that, so they started talking about forming a smaller version of RUSS. He said the new organization would eventually operate like the original version, just with members committed to rural sewer projects.
"In the eight years I have been on the (RUSS) Board (of Directors), I have never seen a more solid group going forward," Pflug said.
The Boards of Supervisors for the six counties have authorized their representatives on the RUSS board to explore the creation of the "mini-RUSS."
Schiller said the "mini-RUSS" would seek out new projects within its boundaries or even work with communities in neighboring counties. He said as projects are added, the new organization would receive enough money to pay for operations.
Schiller said the six counties hope to make a decision on whether to form the organization before the end of the calendar year.
