Above and Beyond Regulatory Requirements: Rogue Valley Sewer Services
RVSS sewer rehabilitation work.
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ogue Valley Sewer Services (RVSS), based in Central Point, Oregon, is a sewer and storm water service provider for eight Oregon cities. It is remarkable for its affordable fees, its focus on innovation, and its management of programs like public outreach, pollution prevention, water quality, and permitting. Its program management, in particular, gained it a Municipal Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Award from the Water Environment Federation (WEF). In this interview, RVSS General Manager Carl Tappert speaks with Municipal Water Leader about his agency’s history and services, its recent award, and his vision for the future.
Carl Tappert: I’m a civil engineer by training with a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University. After I graduated, I spent 3 years in Malawi as a Peace Corps volunteer, came back,
28 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about RVSS and its history. Carl Tappert: RVSS is a special district and was formed in 1966. There was an election to create it. Our initial charge was to build a sewer interceptor that would connect four different cities’ sewer systems to a regional treatment plant. Those four cities were Medford, which operates the treatment plant; Central Point; Phoenix; and Talent, Oregon. Over the years, the area grew, and the collection system expanded with it. Eventually, the cities decided that they wanted to get out of the sewer business and held annexation votes with the result that their collection systems became part of our district. The exception is Medford, which still has its own collection system and operates the
Municipal Water Leader: Are your sewer and storm water systems separate?
PHOTOS COURTESY OF RVSS.
Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
moved to Oregon, and spent 5 years working for a private consulting firm. Later, I started working for the district as a district engineer, and in 2011, the former manager retired and I moved into his position.
treatment plant into which everyone’s waste flows. As it stands right now, eight different cities are part of our system. Six of them are connected to the regional treatment plant, and we operate all their collection systems. We recently annexed Shady Cove, which has an independent treatment plant that we operate. The last one is Gold Hill, whose system we operate under contract, though it’s not part of our district. In addition to our sewer services, we became involved with storm water in 1989. There was an unincorporated industrial region in our districts that was having a lot of flooding issues. Because it wasn’t part of any city, property owners chose to form a utility to manage its flood problems. An election was held, and RVSS became the operator of the storm drainage utility in the area. In 2004, the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Phase 2 permit requirements came into effect in Oregon. The larger cities adjacent to RVSS’s service area, Medford and Ashland, as well as smaller areas surrounding them, were required to obtain MS4 Phase 2 permits from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The smaller cities did not have the resources or expertise to implement the MS4 permit. These smaller cities were all located within RVSS’s district boundary and requested that RVSS serve as the permit holder. As an existing regional entity, RVSS had the staff and resources needed to implement a regional MS4 program and reached an agreement with the small communities. We have been the permit holder for the cities of Phoenix and Talent and for Jackson County since 2004. Up until this year, RVSS also held the permit for Central Point.
