HARDIN COUNTY, Ky. (WDRB) -- Clumps of black sludge sit in a creek in the woods behind Tommy Furlong's home.
It comes from an Airview Utilities plant in Hardin County, and the 73-year-old retired soldier says he's lost hope in the fight for a fix.
"After you live with it for so long, you have to just accept it," Furlong said. "It's not necessarily going to improve."
The newly formed Bluegrass Water Utility Operating Company wants to buy Airview and seven other wastewater treatment companies throughout Kentucky serving 1,300 customers.
"At Bluegrass, we're going to do whatever fix is necessary to provide the best service for the lowest possible price for the consumers," Bluegrass Water CEO Josiah Cox said.
But the attorney general's office wants to block the deal, as Bluegrass has no real stake in Kentucky — no offices and no employees. Instead, its parent company, Central States Water Resources of St. Louis, would contract out billing operations and maintenance.
"As proposed, the acquisition subject to the application is not in the public interest," Assistant Attorney General Kent Chandler wrote in a brief after a public service commission hearing in July. "The Attorney General is sincerely worried about the level of service that an out-of-state entity with no presence in Kentucky can provide."
What to do with Airview has been a subject on the state's plate for years. A WDRB News investigation exposed a decade of environmental violations against Airview utilities in 2015. The company allowed water containing high levels of E.Coli and other harmful bacteria to flow out into a creek.
The sewage system needs a new chlorine contact tank, dechlorination equipment, a new flow-meter and its tertiary lagoon cleaned, according to records from Kentucky's Public Service Commission.
State violations said Airview's systems "lacked maintenance." Owners Martin Cogan and Larry Smither tried to legally abandon Airview Utilities in 2016. A plan to connect the failing sewer system to the city of Elizabthtown's lines never happened
Three years later, it looks like little has changed as black sludgy water surrounds the system hidden back in the woods near Furlong's home.
At one point, Kentucky regulators moved to suspend Smither's license, yet he continues to operate today.
"The Airview wastewater treatment plant is currently over 40 years old and needs significant upgrades," Smither said at the Public Services Commission hearing in July.
Despite concern from the AG's office, Central States Water Resources has a long track record of taking on troubled sewer systems. According to the company's website, it operates 11 utility companies in states including Missouri and Arkansas.
"There are a number of contractors that have the ability to service Kentucky," Cox said.
Cost to customers is an underlying concern. Central States Water Resources endured a court battle after it boosted rates on a group of customers in Missouri as much as $125.
Cox has promised significant upgrades and repairs in Kentucky, but how they'll be funded is not yet set.
"We're still exploring that right now," Cox told regulators in July. "We're applying to commercial lenders. We've got a private equity partner we're working with as well."
Ultimately, the Public Service Commission has final approval on Airview and the other companies Bluegrass Water wants to acquire. A decision is pending.
Furlong is less than optimistic.
"I don't feel confident the situation is going to improve," he said.
Tommy Furlong
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