The Town of Franklin is involved in a continuing dispute over what caused a new sewer line to wash out during flash floods in June, who’s going to pay for the repairs, and whether the line should have been built in the first place.

The line crosses the Cullasaja River and was nearly complete this summer when high, fast-flowing waters broke the line in half. The line crosses over the river, just a foot or two above normal water levels.

At the time, the town’s contracted engineers — McGill Associates — said the broken line was not a result of faulty design. McGill project administrator manager Jeff Bishop said similar aerial crossings could be found all over the state and during times of flood those crossings held. The engineering firm fingered Columbia, S.C.,-based construction company L-J Incorporated for the line’s damage, citing poor workmanship and materials, according to Franklin Town Manager Mike Decker.

The line has since been repaired by L-J Incorporated, but no decision has been made about whether the company will be paid for its work. The line, designed primarily to serve Macon Middle School, was paid for with a $400,000 grant from the N.C. Rural Center, $113,000 from the county school system and $28,000 from county government. Of the $536,206 budgeted for the project, approximately $340,000 had been spent when the line broke.

The sewer line has yet to be used, and now its future is in question as Macon County building inspector Jack Morgan has notified the town that the line is not in compliance because required permits were never filed.

The area where the line is located is in a floodplain and the line itself is in the Cullasaja River’s floodway, Morgan wrote in a letter addressed to Decker. Consequently, the area falls under Macon County’s Flood Damage Prevention ordinance, which requires that engineering plans indicate how the construction of the line will adhere to flood-proofing regulations.

The ordinance states that “new and replacement sanitary sewage systems shall be designed to minimize or eliminate infiltration of flood waters into the systems and discharges from the systems into the flood waters.” While the language is anything but specific, the sticking point is that plans to achieve this goal must be submitted to the county for approval.

Furthermore, no development is permitted without hydrological analysis to show that construction would not increase flood levels — essentially meaning create a makeshift dam.

“It is my responsibility as the floodplain manager to ask that the Town of Franklin comply with all requirements of this ordinance, beginning with the application process,” Morgan wrote. “Macon County has a very simple application that needs to be completed and signed by someone legally authorized by the Town and submitted to me.”

According to Macon County Planner Stacy Guffey, failure to submit plans appears to be a simple matter of oversight — the relationship between the sewer line and the ordinance was only realized after it was brought up by a resident. However, Decker said he was surprised that McGill, which has worked on several projects countywide, was not aware of the ordinance’s stipulations.

“It was one of the things I would have thought they’d look in to,” Decker said.

The ordinance most likely would apply to other sewer line crossings throughout Macon County, but enforcement cannot be retroactive.

“You always find things that are not in compliance,” Guffey said. “But you’ve got to start somewhere.”

The ideal river crossing for the line would have been underwater, but aerial crossings typically are cheaper than taking long distance routes around or going under troublesome terrain features. Also, Bishop said, McGill had “minimal” options when it came to designing the line, as they were bound by cost and gravity. The line is supposed to operate without a pump, and sewage only flows downhill, Bishop said.

Word has been passed on to McGill of the procedural violation. It will be the town’s responsibility to make sure the sewer line is at least structurally in compliance with codes. What will happen to the line should building inspector Morgan determine it’s not up to standards is unknown.

“It depends on what the non-compliance issues are,” Morgan said.

Portions of the line could be removed, or restructured — both of which would cost extra money.

“Expense is not the issue as far as I’m concerned in terms of enforcement,” Morgan said.

The town was scheduled to have a progress report on the line Tuesday, Sept. 20, but not all of the involved parties could attend the meeting. Following a rescheduled meeting held Sept. 26 parties were no closer to resolving the issue.