Mission Statement

The STEP Advisory Group was formed by property owners in Bear Lake and Onekama to provide information to the public about the TLCSA sewer project. The members of this group believe that sewer systems can be beneficial in general, but have concerns regarding the proposed project’s cost and need.

Given the unprecedented scale of this project in our community and its financial impact on families, we believe that citizens and their representatives must be fully informed about its costs, complexity, and limitations. Although the TLCSA has shared many materials with the public, there is still a dearth of information addressing many key questions. Why is a $58 million sewer project necessary when water quality in Bear Lake and Portage Lake is among the best in the state? How will the proposed sewer system spur economic development when businesses will have to pay up to 15 times more than families? Can our communities afford to sign on to a project that costs 20 times the combined budgets of member municipalities, and three years’ salary for an average family in the district? These are critical questions that must be considered before signing on to this project.

We also believe that taxpayers in the proposed sewer district deserve to hear fact-based arguments, not personal attacks or political rhetoric. Whenever possible, the materials on this website will cite to source materials, most of which are available on the site for your review.

We invite you to read more about the system, educate yourself on its cost, complexity, limitations, and risks, and make up your own mind as to whether it is worth the $108,379.20 per-family price tag ($60,498.40 with a full USDA grant). Click the links above to read about topics pertinent to the project, and to explore the largest repository of source diocuments on the project available anywhere.