OKTIBBEHA COUNTY — Concerned, but not worried.
That is the approach Oktibbeha County supervisors are taking with the recent issues facing East Oktibbeha Wastewater District.
The district’s planned expansion on Highway 182 eastward is paused because the city of Starkville, which treats the district’s wastewater, is studying its own water and wastewater systems and isn’t signing off on any expansions until the study is completed. The county has committed half of the district’s planned $7 million expansion through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, which the state fully matched.
Then, on Tuesday, Mississippi State University filed a lawsuit against East Oktibbeha Wastewater District in circuit court. The district uses MSU’s pumps to get its wastewater delivered to the Starkville treatment facility, and the university alleges East Oktibbeha is more than $500,000 behind on payments for that service.
The supervisors on Monday approved allowing board attorney Rob Roberson to organize a group meeting involving all parties — the county, city, MSU and East Oktibbeha.
“I guess there’s some stuff that’s been brewing for years and it’s finally come home to roost,” District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer told The Dispatch Friday.
Roberson told The Dispatch he has begun organizing the meeting as a mediation for the lawsuit. It would be led by a representative from the office of Northern District Public Service Commissioner Chris Brown and include representatives from the county and MSU. He also said he is working on securing representation from East Oktibbeha Wastewater District and has spoken with Mayor Lynn Spruill about attending.
“Frankly, the only profit margin that will be made by anyone in a lawsuit as it stands now is the lawyers that will be involved,” he said. “My goal is to make sure that the taxpayers and the people that are paying their water bill aren’t going to end up having to pay some legal fees that, frankly, can be avoided. That’s my gameplan — is to make sure this gets dealt with.”
No date for the meeting has been set, he said. If a quorum of the supervisors plan to attend, the meeting will be public.
The wastewater district serves about 30% of the county’s rural territory, mostly in Trainer’s and District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams’ district. In addition to the Highway 182 project, East Oktibbeha’s expansion plan includes the Habitat for Humanity subdivision on 16th Section Road, as well as parts of Old Highway 25, Poor House Road, Williams Road and Bethel Road.
“I certainly hope that we can resolve any kind of concerns that we might have,” Williams told The Dispatch Friday.
The clock is ticking on the funding plans for those projects. ARPA funding obligations must be set by the end of this year and spent by the end of 2026.
East Oktibbeha manager Dwight Prisock told the supervisors Monday that the final project details are ready to be sent to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality for final approval, pending the city’s consent.
However, Starkville is not giving the green light anytime soon. The city’s study on its water and wastewater system isn’t planned to be completed until around March. Starkville Utilities general manager Edward Kemp has said the study will identify the system’s capabilities and capacities.
Once the study is completed, Spruill has said it and the East Oktibbeha expansion will be brought before the board of aldermen for study and consideration.
MSU’s lawsuit is another factor. East Oktibbeha Wastewater District is dependent on MSU’s pumps to deliver its wastewater for treatment. The contract between the district, MSU and the city stipulates that after 60 days of non-payment, services may be discontinued after 30 days notice.
“All I’m concerned about now is (that) the people who need their services don’t have their services interrupted, and whatever the county needs to do to solidify that,” Trainer said. “That’s what I want to focus on.”
Fact finding
District 1 Supervisor Ben Carver and District 4 Supervisor Pattie Little are hopeful a meeting of all involved entities will shed light on the problems at hand.
“I’m learning as we go but I think some pretty serious issues need to be addressed,” Carver told The Dispatch.
Carver said he is focused on what it will take to get the problems resolved.
“I want to know what it’s going to take to provide services,” he said. “Not really to point fingers at this person or that person. Just to get the problem solved.”
Little said East Oktibbeha needs wastewater treatment and wants to understand if the city will have the capacity for the district’s proposed expansion.
“If the city says no, it’s kind of not going to come to fruition, I wouldn’t think,” she said. “There’s just a lot of questions that we can’t say, ‘Yes, we’re going to move forward,’ or ‘No, we’re not.’ There’s just a lot of information that has to be gathered before we can make any kind of decision.”
Board President and District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard did not respond to messages requesting comment.
Kevin Edwards is news editor and reports on Starkville and Oktibbeha County government.
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