he Missouri Supreme Court has ruled against the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) in its appeal of prior judicial rulings in the case of Zweig, et. al. vs. MSD.
The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled against the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) in its appeal of prior judicial rulings in the case of Zweig, et. al. vs. MSD. For the ruling, click here. In response to today’s ruling, MSD issues the following statement:
MSD is very disappointed with today’s decision. However, MSD respects the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision and thanks them for the considerable effort expended in making the decision.
It is important to note that MSD funds wastewater services and stormwater services through separate revenue streams. In 2010, and as a result of the Zweig lawsuit, MSD was forced to switch back to a hodge-podge system of taxes to fund stormwater services. This taxing system has continued a decades’ long level of inadequate and inequitable stormwater service for customers. Today’s decision dictates this level of service will continue.
For those customers residing outside of I-270, stormwater service will continue to be generally non-existent. For those inside of I-270, a basic – yet, still lacking – level of stormwater service will remain in place.
A review of today’s decision will need to be conducted. As such, MSD has not yet determined what its course of action will be in response to the ruling. What we do know is many customers continue to live with stormwater problems that negatively impact their quality of life. We are also well aware that the solutions to these problems are outside the financial capabilities of the individuals and subdivisions that are left to deal with them. To these customers, we restate our commitment to find a long-term funding solution that provides adequate and equitable stormwater services for all MSD customers. Once we have had adequate time to review the decision and evaluate options, MSD will make an announcement as to how we plan to fulfill that commitment.