Mississippi suburbs offer to quadruple sewer payments to Memphis. Will the city budge?

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify how wastewater in Collierville is treated. The town maintains its own treatment plant.

Memphis' Mississippi suburbs want the city of Memphis to keep treating sewage from across state lines. And Horn Lake and Southaven are willing to pay up to do it.  

On Nov. 5, as the parties continued to duke it out in court, attorneys for the Horn Lake Creek Basin Sewer Interceptor District sent Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland a proposed deal — Horn Lake, Southaven and DeSoto County are willing to pay 4½ times the current rate to stay on Memphis' sewer system for another 30 years.

"For the past 45 years we have enjoyed a good and mutually beneficial relationship with Memphis regarding sewer service. What we are offering in exchange for substantially higher rates is to continue that relationship rather than engaging in the current extensive and expensive litigation," Charles Davis, the chairman of the sewer district, wrote. 

More:Memphis solid waste fees threaten to fall short of needs

Previously:Memphis says it soon won't treat sewage from Southaven, Horn Lake. The suburbs are pushing back.

Over the past 11 months, Memphis has been asking a federal judge to rule that the city can't be forced to treat Mississippi sewage at the T.E. Maxson Wastewater Treatment Plant in southwest Memphis past 2023, when the current contract expires. 

Memphis leaders have yet to acknowledge the proposal, attorneys for the sewer district said in an email to The Commercial Appeal. Memphis officials declined to comment Friday. 

Stateline battle continues

At present, it does not appear that Strickland's administration is willing to budge. Memphis' attempt to jettison Mississippi sewage is part of the administration's effort at infrastructure retrenchment — raising rates or cutting off service to suburbs that have grown at what city officials believe is at Memphis' expense. 

Last year, city chief communications officer Ursula Madden described the lawsuit as the city looking out for its interests. "Memphis residents can no longer shoulder the burden of supplying amenities for municipalities outside of Shelby County and the state of Tennessee." 

In multiple media interviews and appearances, Strickland has noted the population growth of Memphis' Mississippi suburbs and posited that Memphis has subsidized that growth. He has mentioned a tax on those who work in Memphis and live in Mississippi to help pay for infrastructure. 

That stance from Memphis' chief executive follows years of suburban growth surrounding Memphis in both Tennessee and Mississippi. Bartlett, Horn Lake and Southaven have all more than doubled in population over the past 30 years. All of three of those municipalities rely on Memphis for wastewater treatment. Collierville has seen similar growth, but it also has two wastewater treatment plants of its own. 

While Memphis has sought to cut off the Mississippi suburbs from its sewer system, it has not done so with Tennessee suburbs. Instead, for the past several years, Memphis has routinely negotiated with each municipality for progressively higher rates per 1,000 gallons. 

The Mississippi sewer district is offering $1.80 per 1,000 gallons treated. According to the letter the district sent to Memphis, it pays $0.40 per 1,000 gallons now. That's compared to the $3.32 per 1,000 gallons rate Memphis charges retail customers within city limits. 

In its offer to Memphis, the Mississippi sewer district noted the amount of debt Memphis has issued to rehabilitate the T.E. Maxson facility in southwest Memphis, which serves the southern half of the city and the Mississippi suburbs. Keeping the Mississippi suburbs, and increasing how much they pay, would help pay down that debt, the sewer district argued. 

"We are aware from prior communications that the City has stated it has no interest in discussing the District remaining on its treatment system. But with such large fees and new debt service..., City leaders should consider Memphis' current residents and their utility bills before rejecting this offer outright. We would welcome an opportunity to explore such an arrangement," the letter said. 

Samuel Hardiman covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter at @samhardiman.