Five years of court battles ended Tuesday when the Arizona Supreme Court denied a request from the town of Marana to review a case related to wastewater systems.
The Arizona Court of Appeals sided with Pima County in June, saying the town lacks legal authority to own or operate a sewer plant it seized from the county earlier this year.
County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said he will ask state and federal authorities to take action because, without the proper legal authority, Marana is operating the plant in violation of the Clean Water Act.
Marana also must pay $170,000 to $180,000 in legal fees to the county, as awarded by the court.
The Supreme Court decision ends a legal battle that started in 2007.
Marana, meanwhile, is not pulling back on its plans to own and operate its own wastewater system.
"Just like any other community in the state of Arizona, we have the legal right to operate our own wastewater system," said Town Manager Gilbert Davidson.
The Town Council last month approved a ballot initiative for the March town primary election to ask voters to give the town legal authority to own and operate the county plant and other wastewater facilities connected to it.
Davidson said the town wanted to exhaust all its legal options in the case, but the town is dedicated to moving forward on the issue with the ballot measure.
"We want to be able to operate our own wastewater system to fully manage every drop of water in our community," he said. The town wants to make its own decisions on water management, costs, water quality and development services, he said.
The Town Council held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss the wastewater system, but there was no discussion in public.
The town previously contracted with the county for wastewater services, but it wants to run its own service to have more control over development.
An election is "their choice," Huckelberry said.
But for Pima County, the issue has always been about the town taking over the plant in north Marana at less than full value under a "fraudulent" state law, he said.
Marana asked for - and got - a new law from the Legislature that allowed the town to take the county's plant by paying only the outstanding debt.
Marana took over the plant in January but has paid just $40,000 on the $18 million debt and interest. Huckelberry said the full value of the plant is around $27 million.
The county's challenge on the constitutionality of the state law is still pending in court.
"Our primary job is to protect ratepayers, and that's what we've done," Huckelberry said.
Davidson maintains the town is moving in the right direction, but added he would like to reach a settlement with the county to buy the facilities.
Contact reporter Becky Pallack at bpallack@azstarnet.com or 573-4346. On Twitter @beckypallack
