CENTRE — A lot has happened since The Post was first to report, in May 2010, that Cherokee County has failed for a decade to enforce a sewage law written specifically to protect Weiss Lake.

In that article, Probate Judge Melvyn Salter said he was eager to enforce the law but lacked the authority.

As The Post first reported, the law directs the County Commission “through the county health department” to “compel connection of existing privies, water closets and septic tanks in resort areas which are not designed or operated in full compliance with all state and county regulations.”

Salter explained last year that the only way he could assess fines on landowners who did not comply with the law was “by the approval of the County Commission.” However, some commissioners reportedly have long-expressed doubts about the county's responsibilities regarding the lake, citing the fact that much of the property in dispute lies inside Alabama Power's flood easement around the 30,200-acre reservoir.

To clarify the matter, in June 2010, Salter asked then-Attorney General Troy King for a ruling on exactly who is responsible for implementing the law.

“When I receive his opinion, it will give direction as to how to proceed with enforcement,” Salter said last spring.

In September 2010, King sent a letter back to Salter that clearly laid out the correct chain of command.

“The responsibility of enforcement ultimately lies with the Cherokee County Commission,” the AG wrote. “It is the county commission under the local law that has the authority to assess civil fines for violations and failure to connect.”

Shortly afterwards, the county began negotiations with other Weiss Lake shareholders, including Alabama Power and the Cherokee County Health Department, to try and work together to begin the process of cleaning up Weiss Lake. Rough drafts of proposed sewage enforcement ordinances have reportedly made repeated trips between the offices of attorneys involved in the negotiations over the past several months.

In February, state Health Officer Dr. Donald E. Williamson made a special visit to Centre to repeat King's interpretation of state law: Stopping the flow of sewage into Weiss Lake is the job of the Cherokee County Commission.

“If the County Commission doesn't pass regulations the only thing we can do is begin enforcing the process with the tool we have,” Williamson said. “That is arrest warrants and going to court with individual people on a one-on-one basis. And we think that is not the best way to solve this.”

During his February visit, Williamson explained that his office and members of the state Board of Health (BOH) were so concerned about the condition of Weiss Lake that they were considering a solution never before contemplated.

“We would propose to do something we have done in no other place in the state,” Williamson said. “That is to issue a variance to allow for holding tanks.”

As Williamson explained it, the variance would allow the County Commission to work with the local Health Department to establish an annual permitting process and pumping schedule. Frequency would be based on use and serve as a temporary measure for thousands of recreational lot owners around Weiss Lake who do not properly dispose of their sewage.

“What we think this would do is decrease the amount of illegal discharge into the lake and create an incentive to develop decentralized systems,” Williamson said. “It will also be an incentive for individuals to be permitted and have approved holding tanks that are likely to stand the test of time.”

The process took a few months longer than planned, but last week Williamson and the state Health Department finally voted to grant the variance.

On Thursday, Area Environmental Director Jim Hollins told The Post it is now time for local officials to follow through after what he called “a very good start.”

“With that variance, we have everything we need to get started,” Hollins said. “This is a good first step in a series of steps towards solving the problems around Weiss Lake.”

He continued: “The next step is getting the county ordinance passed.”

Salter told The Post he hopes to see that happen before the Crimson Tide hosts Tennessee on the third Saturday in October.

“I presented a final ordinance for consideration on Aug. 8, and I hope to present that ordinance for public consideration at the Aug. 22 meeting,” Salter said Thursday. “And I hope to see the ordinance passed by Oct. 10.”

Hollins said once the ordinance is passed by the County Commission, cleanup efforts can begin after just a few more details are ironed out.

“The local Board of Health will still have to set fees, the process for issuing permits, and the size of the tanks,” Hollins said. “But I think the ball is rolling along pretty good, so far.”

Salter said it will be imperative, going forward, that there be open channels of communication between Alabama Power, the Health Department and the county government in order for the current efforts to clean up Weiss Lake to be successful.

“Alabama Power is already beginning to enforce their easement more stringently, but this ordinance, when we get it passed, will be the real enforcement tool for dealing with the sewage problem we have around the lake,” he said.