CHAPTER 5
UTILITIES
Chapter Summary
Solid Waste
The EAPAB recommends the implementation of uniform rules and schedules for the entire peninsula with respect to the collection and processing of solid waste, including recyclable materials. The Board supports the promotion and expansion of special collection programs. Also recommended is a system for educating the public in regard to local waste management policies and solid waste litter control.
The Board also recommends expanding curb-side drain oil collection throughout the Englewood area, increasing the number and types of materials to be recycled, and expanding recycled paint programs. The EAPAB supports the concept of composting of organic solid waste and yard waste mulch programs.
Water/Wastewater
The Board recognizes the advantage that public utilities have over private enterprise in the area of water and wastewater service. There is also a benefit in utility consolidation when small, independent plants begin to approach their design capacity.
The EAPAB supports the concept of forming a regional or state-wide advocacy coalition of utilities in order to provide a unified position to legislative and regulatory bodies.
The Board also recommends that standards for the repair of roadway cuts should require no more than restoration to original roadway condition.
The EAPAB acknowledges the unnecessary expense of excessive regulatory requirements applied to water utilities and believes that the regulatory agencies should be required to demonstrate a reasonable need for any new testing procedures.
The Board recommends the establishment of an interconnection among the various major water supplies in this region. These interconnections should be available for voluntary water transfers at any time. An inter-local agreement should make resource sharing mandatory under emergency conditions.
The Board recommends inter-agency cooperation in the use of EWD sewage treatment capacity by CCU and the use of the CCU deep-injection reject well by EWD. The EAPAB also supports expedient permitting of ASR systems for potable and reuse water.
Telephone Service
While the Englewood area telephone service is divided between GTE and United/Sprint, the recent deregulation of the telecommunications industry leads the EAPAB to recommend no action at this time in regard to these utilities. The Board believes that the competitive open market will provide adequate and equitable service without outside intervention.
In the event that this is not the case, the issue of telephone service may be addressed at some point in the future.
INTRODUCTION
In Englewood it is somewhat more difficult to clearly discern exactly where the political boundary lies when it comes to the subject of utilities. The EAPAB addressed three distinct topics under the category of utilities.
* Solid Waste
* Water--potable water and wastewater
* Telephone Service
Solid waste and recyclable materials collection throughout the peninsula is performed by Englewood Disposal Company (EDCO). The same personnel in the same vehicles serve customers on both sides of the county line.
The Englewood Water District (EWD) provides potable water to a large portion of the Cape Haze Peninsula, and is expanding its central sewer program to eventually include the majority of that customer base. Rotonda Utilities (RU) provides potable water and wastewater service for the entire Rotonda community. Charlotte County Utilities (CCU) also serves a significant percentage of the peninsula's population. Unlike either CCU or RU, however, EWD utility service area spans both sides of the local political boundary. The EWD, established by State statute, is governed by a locally-elected five-member board of supervisors.
Telephone service in the Englewood area is divided between GTE and United/Sprint. Curiously, the dividing line for this service area does not coincide with the county line. This is, nevertheless, another division of service within the Englewood community.
SOLID WASTE
Consider Uniform Rules for Entire Service Area
* Collection schedules
* Recycling rules
As mentioned above, all of the solid waste collection for the entire Cape Haze Peninsula is performed by EDCO. While the collection vehicles do not change in appearance as they cross back and forth across the county line, their role, as well as the rules their operators must follow, are quite disparate.
* The solid waste stream is strictly segregated. All materials are directed to the disposal or processing facilities in the same county that they are collected in.
* Each county has its own unique program which controls the number and categories of recyclable materials.
* Sarasota County recycling program is mandatory; Charlotte County program is voluntary.
* Each county has a different program for holiday collection scheduling.
The fact that collection service in both counties is provided by the same agency makes solid waste a prime candidate for coordinated provision of services. It seems logical that all materials collected on the peninsula should be treated in the same manner and be directed to the same disposal facilities.
Unfortunately, in doing this citizens in one or both counties would experience some change in either collection fees or level of service. It would seem that the potential savings of a consolidated program could actually result in an enhanced level of service with no increase in collection rates.
Any alteration of the present system would need to ensure revenue neutrality on the part of the service provider. Changes should not be implemented unless there would be some financial benefit or a measurable advantage in level of service.
The EAPAB recommends considering the establishment of uniform solid waste and recycling rules and schedules for the entire service area of the Englewood Disposal Company.
Special Collection Programs
* Community Clean-Up
* Hazardous Materials Collection
Paints, pesticides, household chemicals, and other hazardous materials should not be disposed of in the normal waste stream. Their placement in a landfill can lead to contamination of the groundwater supply.
Disposal of these hazardous materials has been addressed through periodic community-wide collection programs. On specific days, two to four times per year, citizens are allowed to deliver these materials to a temporary collection site in the community.
These programs should be continued, promoted, and expanded whenever feasible. Some effort should be directed to investigating other possible commercial uses--similar to the paint program described below--for additional hazardous materials.
Education
* Enhance education regarding waste management policies
* Solid waste litter control
New residents as well as temporary guests in this area may not be aware of local waste management policies. They may come from areas where recycling programs do not exist or are different than those here.
An extra effort should be made to identify new residents and provide them with information on the local solid waste and recycling programs. Tourist accommodations should be encouraged, if not required, to post information regarding local waste management policies.
Most solid waste is packaged in trash bags or bundled as yard waste. The recyclable materials use open bins for storage and collection of loose materials. The collection vehicles also utilize open hoppers for recycled materials pickup. Loose papers, individual plastic shopping bags, and newspaper sleeves are often blown out of the bins on windy days, and out of the collection vehicle hoppers as they travel along their route.
The recycling policy education program should include information on how to package recycled materials in a way that will minimize the volume of recyclables which become roadside litter.
Recycling
Curbside Oil Collection
* Establish area-wide curb-side drain oil collection
Used motor oil (drain oil) can pose a significant environmental hazard if not disposed of properly. The best way to ensure that materials such as this are handled and disposed of correctly is to provide a simple and efficient means of collection.
In some areas, EDCO is participating in a curbside drain oil collection program. All of the EDCO vehicles are properly equipped to accommodate curbside collection of this material. The Board recommends that the curbside drain oil program be expanded to the entire EDCO service area.
Increase Recyclable Categories
* Expand the recyclable materials list
The number of different types of recyclable materials should be expanded as markets develop/expand for these materials. Any increase in the volume of recycled substances will represent a decrease in the refuse stream destined for landfill disposal.
Landfill capacity is not a renewable resource. The full impact of reducing the solid waste stream into landfills should be considered when evaluating the financial aspects of collecting and marketing new categories of recyclable materials.
Expand Recycled Paint Program
A recent innovation in recycling efforts evolved, in part, from a hazardous materials collection program. This involves recycling the paints collected during these hazardous waste collections. A local paint manufacturer processes the discarded materials and combines them with fresh paint to produce a high-quality product which is then marketed at a substantially lower price than comparable paint.
This program should be instituted in areas which do not already have one. In locations where this program is available, it should be promoted and expanded, both in collection of material to be recycled and in distribution of the reprocessed product.
Composting for Solid Waste
Certain types of organic solid waste products are suitable for composting. Composting these materials reduces the total volume going into landfills. New technologies have emerged recently which greatly enhance the efficiency of the composting process.
In addition to composting, some types of yard waste can be converted into mulch. This mulch product can then be made available to the public for little or no charge.
WATER /WASTEWATER
General
In the following discussions dealing with public vs. private utilities and utility consolidation, the term 'utility' refers strictly to water utilities. These include both potable water and wastewater utilities. Other utilities, such as electrical power and communications services, operate in completely different environments and must be evaluated under separate criteria.
Recognize Advantage of Public vs. Private Utility Operation
From a financial standpoint, there are two clear advantages that a public utility has over a privately operated utility.
* Public utilities are not subject to taxes
* Public utilities do not need to generate a return on investment
In a competitive marketplace, where a given level of service must be delivered at a specific price, any provider which has fewer expenses will have a definite advantage. The absence of property taxes and the corporate tax structure imposed upon the private utilities gives government owned and operated facilities a decided fiscal advantage.
Private utilities must generate some return on the investment of those who provided the capital for the creation of the utility. This return on investment, plus the taxes paid on the profit which provides that return, must ultimately come from the pockets of the rate payers who subscribe to the private utility.
A compromise position in the public/private debate is the operation of a publicly-owned utility with private management. While this approach is working very successfully in Cape Coral, it is not clear that the advantages of this system warrant the recommendation of local implementation at this time.
Recognize Benefit of Utility Consolidation
While public utilities have an advantage over private providers, many of the same financial principals which govern private enterprise apply equally well to government run facilities. The most applicable principal in this application is the economy of scale. A single, large operation is generally more efficient than many small entities. This is due to the elimination of duplication of services such as administration and many operational functions.
Wastewater utility consolidation is not always beneficial. In general, smaller wastewater utilities and package plants are more economically feasible in emerging areas where population densities are fairly low. As the customer base for these smaller treatment facilities grows, the viability of these utilities decreases. When the demand on these plants begin to approach their design capacity, regulatory requirements to provide for expansion generally make it beneficial to consolidate the facility into a regional treatment plant.
The utility consolidation programs which both counties, as well as EWD, are currently undertaking are clearly appropriate at this point in time, given the nature and extent of regional growth patterns.
There is, however, a limit to the extrapolating curve of this consolidation advantage. Once a utility reaches a mature area-wide status, there is no longer a compelling impetus to merge or consolidate these sizable and stable utilities.
Support Utility Advocacy Organization
One possible means of enhancing the utilities influence with the State and Federal legislature, as well as the regulatory agencies, would be to form a regional or state-wide coalition of local utilities. An advocacy organization such as this could work from a broad base of support to ensure that the utilities' position is taken into consideration as legislation and regulations are formulated.
Construction Restoration Standards
* Roadway cuts for water lines
Utilities should be encouraged to use non-destructive methods of installing water transmission lines. The utility's obligation to its customers, however, dictates that they utilize the most cost-effective construction methods. In many cases directional boring and other methods which preserve the road's surface are either impractical or substantially more costly than open cut installation.
When open cuts are required, the utility is required to repair the damaged pavement upon completion of the facility installation. The standards for this repair should be such that the road is restored to its previous condition.
In some cases, utilities are being required to reconstruct the disturbed section of road to standards far in excess of the original construction. This reconstruction is also required for an excessive distance on either side of the roadway excavation.
While the utility should not be excused from appropriate restoration of damaged roadways, neither should they be burdened with the expense of reconstruction in excess of original road condition. Every penny spent by a public utility ultimately comes from a rate payer's pocket.
Potable Water
Recognize Cost to Consumer of Excessive Regulatory Practices
Ensuring a safe and reliable supply of potable water is a public interest which should be monitored and regulated by governmental agencies. There should be a practical limit, however, on the degree and nature of the testing requirements placed upon water utilities. In some cases utilities are required to perform tests for minuscule amounts of materials even though there is no known adverse effect from exposure to these elements.
There is a direct cost to the consumer for the performance of every test, evaluation, and study required by government regulations. The Board does not suggest that safeguarding the health and well being of the people should be carelessly compromised. At some point, though, the regulatory requirements must be balanced with common sense; the financial impact to the consumer caused by these superfluous analysis must be considered.
Establish Multi-Jurisdictional Water Supply Interconnection
* For emergency situations
The Englewood area, and the regions surrounding the Cape Haze Peninsula, feature several major potable water facilities.
* Charlotte County Utilities
* Englewood Water District
* North Port Utilities
* Rotonda Utilities
* Sarasota County Utilities
These potable water utilities should develop an inter-local agreement which would provide for the interconnection of all of these facilities. This interconnection would permit the utilities to continue to serve their customers in the event of a catastrophic failure or mishap at one or more of the facilities.
The actual utilization of this interconnection should be at the sole option of the supplying utility except in the case of an emergency. The inter-local agreement should clearly specify what types of conditions constitute an emergency mandating water transfer. This description should specifically exclude conditions which arise directly or indirectly as a result of inadequate or improper comprehensive planning.
This agreement should not prohibit non-emergency transfer of surplus water, but neither should it provide a vehicle to circumvent sound resource and growth management.
Wastewater
Support Inter-Agency Cooperation
* CCU utilization of available EWD treatment capacity
* EWD/RU utilization of CCU injection well for reject
The CCU wastewater treatment facility which serves Cape Haze Peninsula residents is operating at near-capacity level. In order to keep pace with the growth in their service area, CCU will need to increase the capacity of this plant, construct a new additional facility, or find some other means of handling the collected wastewater within the next three to five years.
Siting, permitting, and constructing another facility on the peninsula would likely be a difficult and costly process. Transferring the collected wastewater to a centralized plant on the mainland would involve installing a pipeline across Charlotte Harbor--not a recommended undertaking.
The EWD regional wastewater treatment facility is presently being expanded with the participation of RU. This new construction will increase its treatment capacity from 400,000 gallons per day to 1.6 Million Gallons per Day (MGD). The 130 acre site at the EWD regional facility is capable of supporting expansion well in excess of the ultimate build-out treatment demand for the entire peninsula.
While specific ultimate build-out data for the entire peninsula is not currently available, 2020 projections for the EWD service area sewage treatment demands is estimated at 3.5 to 4 MGD. The biological treatment facilities currently being installed at the EWD are capable of handling 600,000 gallons per day. These two treatment 'tanks' occupy less than one-half acre each. With a potential treatment density of nearly 1 MGD per acre, it is obvious that the existing EWD site is without a practical capacity limit with respect to Englewood area sewage service.
Click Here for Graphic
The EAPAB recommends that an interconnection be established to allow CCU to utilize EWD sewage treatment capacity. Eliminating the need for CCU to expand or construct new facilities will represent a savings to their customers. The revenue generated from this use will allow EWD to spread their capital investment in plant capacity over a broader customer base. This will result in a savings for EWD rate payers.
A complementing situation exists with respect to reject water disposal. The EWD site includes a surface storage pond to retain reject water from the sewage treatment facility. The capacity of this retention pond is adequate for current demand under normal conditions. As plant capacity is increased, however, additional reject storage may become necessary.
CCU has a reject water deep injection disposal well on the peninsula which has permitted capacity well in excess of current demand. This well is capable of providing the additional reject capacity which the EWD facility may require.
The EAPAB recommends that this CCU injection well be made available for disposing of excess EWD and RU sewage treatment reject water.
ASR Systems
Encourage SWFWMD Acceptance/Permitting
* Potable water
* Reuse water
Aquifer Storage and Retrieval (ASR) involves injecting surface water into deep aquifers for later retrieval and use. This method of water storage is much more efficient and cost effective than surface storage in either tanks or retention ponds.
As long as it can be demonstrated that the water to be stored is no less pure than the aquifer used for storage, there does not appear to be any sound reason that this system should not be used.
This type of storage would not be suitable for storing post-process potable water, but it can be used to store water supplies--from rivers or other surface sources--for later retrieval and processing into potable water.
ASR could be used for direct storage of reuse water from wastewater treatment facilities. This water could be transferred directly from the ASR site to the reuse destination.
The counties should encourage SWFWMD to expedite the approval of this water storage system for both potable and reuse water storage.
TELEPHONE SERVICE
Present Service
Englewood area local telephone service is presently provided by either GTE or United/Sprint. Customers in the southern and the eastern portions of the peninsula are served by United/Sprint. GTE provides service to the remainder of the Englewood area.
This division has led to some inequities within the area. Residents served by United/Sprint are able to place toll-free calls to the three primary Englewood exchanges (473, 474, 475). Calls placed to any of the Venice exchanges, however, are charged as toll calls. Likewise, Charlotte county residents within the GTE service area must place a toll call to reach Murdock or Punta Gorda.
Last year an Extended Calling Service (ECS) route was established through a petition to the Public Service Commission (PSC) for the GTE service area from Englewood to Sarasota. The ECS provides a flat twenty-five cent fee in place of the timed toll for calls.
A petition to the PSC was circulated last year in an attempt to institute a similar ECS for the entire Charlotte County service area. This matter was brought to the attention of the EAPAB. In response, the Board issued a 'to whom it may concern' letter on October 25, 1995 endorsing the establishment of this service.
Prior to PSC action on this petition, the Federal Communications Act of 1996 went into effect. This legislation deregulated most communications utilities and significantly altered the role of the PSC. Consequently, all petition action pending at that time was terminated.
Deregulation
There is a specific purpose for the establishment of utility monopolies or 'franchise areas' which is of direct benefit to the consumer. That purpose is to ensure uniform availability of service without an overbearing burden of infrastructure. With utilities such as water, sewer, and electrical power, the duplication of massive infrastructure--water and sewer mains and power lines and poles--makes competitive service within any area impractical.
The same was once true of telephone utilities. Technological advances in microwave, satellite, and fiber-optic communications have all but eliminated the need to maintain government control over telephone service. The potential for multiplexing two-way communications over the existing cable television network further emphasizes this point.
Future Service
It may take a while for some people to adjust to shopping for telephone service as they do for other commodities. But as the telecommunications marketplace evolves and becomes more mature, people will accept selecting a communications provider and program which suits their needs. It will, in time, become as routine as subscribing to a newspaper, selecting a lawn care service, or buying a sack of potatoes.
The free-market system that will evolve in telecommunications should be no different than any other market; if there is adequate consumer demand for a viable product, someone in the private sector will find a way to provide that product.
An excellent example of this is the program being presented by GTE. They are making five distinct plans available for their existing customers. These plans provide a variety of balanced trade-offs between monthly service base rate and toll-free calling area. With these plans, the consumer can tailor their service to their calling habits.
This flexible array of various calling plans may not provide an atmosphere of equality for all citizens--where everyone has the same, equal level of service. In a competitive marketplace this is a good thing. Would product equality be praised if all potatoes came in fifty-pound sacks?
The EAPAB does not recommend any action in the area of telephone utilities other than to ensure the availability of adequate information and education for the utility customer.
Send Email to jfellin@ewol.com.
The HTML code for this page is provided and maintained by: EngleWood OnLine!