Midway residents have long complained living near the Heber Valley Special Service District affects their daily lives, and some worry it’s a possible health hazard.
The treatment ponds are along the Provo River near the Legacy Bridge. Particularly in the spring when temperatures warm, the smell can be strong – and some locals say they get sick when the odor is at its worst.
The special service district has applied to become an industrial protection area. The county planning department sent a letter about the application to residents near the ponds about upcoming public hearings.
If the application is approved, the designation would help shield the facility from what Wasatch County manager Dustin Grabau has called “frivolous lawsuits.” In a discussion in April about the possible change, he said local leaders are interested in “credible concerns” about the ponds, and making the facility an industrial protection area would not provide legal protection if major issues were found.
With the application process underway, Wasatch County Councilmember Kendall Crittenden said the intent of the area has been misunderstood by some members of the public.
“The Facebook chatter on this is that the purpose of this is to protect the sewer plant so that they don’t have to update anything or whatnot,” he said. “And I think that’s the furthest thing from the truth.”
Councilmember Steve Farrell agreed, mentioning that development creeping closer to the treatment ponds could mean more people are affected by the smell.
“We just want the sanitation district to have some form of protection against this type of ‘I’m here now, you need to move’ attitude,” he said. “And there’s a lot of false information being put out by the citizens as it relates to the plant.”
Their counterparts on the Midway City Council, however, have said they’re opposed to an industrial protection zone.
At a meeting Sept. 18, Midway resident Ryan Davis asked the city council to take a strong stance against the application.
“Legal immunity – that’s enormous. That’s an enormous power play to push it through in that amount of time. This should not happen,” he said. “And representing Midway citizens, you guys should be throwing a fit, an absolute fit.”
The application process involves public hearings in October with the Agriculture Protection Area Advisory Board, the Wasatch County Planning Commission and the Wasatch County Council.
Midway residents who want to learn more about the application are invited to a question-and-answer session at the town hall Monday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m., hosted by Mayor Celeste Johnson.
Locals can object to the application or ask for it to be modified by writing to the county planning department. Emails can be addressed to planning@wasatch.utah.gov; letters can be mailed to the Wasatch County Planning Office, 35 South 500 East, Heber City, Utah, 84032. Comments must be received by Oct. 4.
Meanwhile, scientists are working behind the scenes to understand what causes the smell and what health effects, if any, the ponds might have. The Utah Department of Health and Human Services is conducting a risk assessment for a toxin called hydrogen sulfide, which has a rotten-egg smell and can cause symptoms like headaches, fatigue and respiratory problems. Data collection ran through this summer and will resume next year from about mid-April through mid-July.
