TUCSON, AZ (AP) -
Pima County is being forced to make a $700,000 debt payment on a sewer treatment plant in Marana even though the town has taken possession of the property and the Legislature said it was supposed to assume the debt.
The town pushed a state law last year that allowed it to take over the county's Marana Wastewater Reclamation Facility for just the outstanding debt. That's about $16.5 million including interest for the $27 million plant.
The Arizona Daily Star reports the county is challenging the constitutionality of the law.
The town lost several legal battles that began when it tried to annex the plant and take it over starting in 2007.
Controlling the plant allows the town to offset increased pumping by using the plant's discharge for groundwater recharge.
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