By Sterling McGinn
Pentland Township is unable to establish a lagoon system, the state of Michigan said, and the township has abandoned the project.
At the May 19 regular meeting of the Newberry Village Council, Village Manager Allison Watkins told the board that she had received notification from Pentland Township Clerk, Greg Rathje, that the township is no longer pursuing a disconnect from Newberry’s wastewater treatment system.
“The state won’t allow us to build the lagoon,” Rathje said.
The Pentland board was trying to secure a permit from Environment Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to construct the sewer lagoon—an alternative wastewater treatment process. This system would send Pentland customer sewage to small ponds, where it would be broken down by sunlight, wind, and algae.
Pentland Township had been working for years to construct that lagoon with plans to disconnect from the Village of Newberry. Prior to that, Pentland Township and Village of Newberry had a longstanding disagreement and lawsuit centered on the village’s billing rate for Pentland’s wastewater use.
A lawsuit filed by Pentland in 2019 claimed that Newberry was unlawfully charging them 11.4 percent of what the village claimed to be the cost; their true usage, Pentland argued, is five and six percent of the wastewater flow.
Pentland Township refused to pay the village wastewater bills for years while the matter was in court.
That resolution came in March of 2024, when both municipalities signed a final order by consent. Pentland then agreed to pay $350,000 for services used since 2020.
Pentland began using an engineering firm, hired additional legal counsel and purchased property to begin construction of their own wastewater disposal.
But now, the State of Michigan is halting the project, and Pentland says they are unable to or unlikely able to move forward with the plan.
That possible outcome was addressed in the final agreement between Newberry and Pentland Township.
According to the final order by consent, “If at any time the Plaintiff (Pentland) learns that it will be unable to or unlikely to construct its wastewater system, Plaintiff’s counsel shall inform Defendant’s (village) counsel within fourteen calendar days.”
Also required by the order is Newberry’s next move: to implement a rate study to determine the future wastewater costs to connected townships. Other parts of the final order will work as a map for moving ahead.
“Stating that they are no longer pursuing disconnection, means that we will move from them paying a flat rate per month, to implementing a rate study and then them starting to pay as a bulk user—an REU [Residential Equivalent Unit] rate determined by the rate study,” Watkins said.
There is currently a rate study going on right now due to the village’s storage tank project. Watkins said that their attorney will reach out to Pentland’s counsel to see if they will accept the current rate study already in progress.
Pentland purchased a 40-acre parcel on County Road 457 for approximately $69,000 in 2023. Other costs incurred during the planning stages include attorney fees and engineering firm costs.
The future of the property on County Road 457 hasn’t been discussed yet, Rathje said.
In February of this year, Pentland submitted a letter asking for an extension through 2030 of the current flat rate of $6,600 they pay the village per month. The council agreed to send the item to the village infrastructure committee, which recommended the village wait on a decision until a rate study is complete and the SRF (State Revolving Funds) funds are established.
Watkins hopes to have more information on the matter for the village infrastructure committee meeting to be held in a couple of weeks.
“We would like a new agreement, and we want to make this work for everyone,” said Rathje.
The Newberry News will continue to follow the story.
