Sewage relief in sight for East Log Cabin Road

TEACHEY — The members of the Teachey Board of Commissioners heard a presentation from a representative of Agri-Waste Technology (AWT) of Cary at their meeting on Oct. 13 on the company’s recommendation for a solution to the long-time sewage issue for residents on East Log Cabin Road. The company has been evaluating the issue under funding provided by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Dept, of Agriculture. AWT specializes in on-site wastewater treatment systems.

The representative, Kevin Davidson, said the company conducted site visits in 2024 at both the East Log Cabin Road community as well as the Calico Bay Road community which has experienced the same issues. They discovered both areas were experiencing untreated wastewater on the soil surface which contributed to untreated waste being introduced to surface waters of a nearby creek. This problem was forcing residents to have their tanks pumped frequently and, in some cases, even being forced to cut back on water usage in fear of the septic tanks overflowing. This not only affected the existing homeowners, but also created limited options for new construction in those neighborhoods.

“The soils in this area leave very, very few options that would be deemed affordable for typical onsite repairs,” Davidson said.

Davidson told the board that previous solutions to the problem seemed to focus on the East Log Cabin Road area being annexed into the Teachey town limits which most residents opposed. As a result, he recommended the town encourage the county to create a special sewer district for the community which the town could manage, but would not require annexation.

After evaluating all potential solutions, Davidson said the most cost-effective and manageable solution would be the installation of a STEP system, which is a large sewage tank that would be installed on each property with a filter and pump system. In that system, only filtered water would be pumped through a common main that would ideally connect to the gravity sewer line that exists along East Log Cabin Road.

In an interview with Duplin Journal after his presentation, Davidson said a selling point in encouraging residents to sign on to the solution is that the installation of the new larger tank on their property would be paid by the grant leaving their only cost a sewer bill he estimated would be approximately $50 to $60 a month which would be billed by the sewer district.

The board discussed the issue and agreed to consider the proposal at a later meeting after evaluating the solution and sewer district concept.

In other business, the town had scheduled a public hearing to consider changing the tax rate in town. However, after being advised by the town attorney that the requirements to change the tax rate in the middle of a fiscal year had not been met, the matter was dropped.

The town voted to pass a motion to change the name of the Teachey Park to Johnny H. Williams Jr. Park in memory of a well-respected town resident. There will be an official name change ceremony as part of the upcoming Oyster Festival on Nov. 8.