A local developer was told in 2009 that his new subdivision wouldn't have to connect to town sewer, but buyers of the homes are now being told they must connect, and with a whole lot of "he said, she said," it isn't clear how the situation unfolded or what will happen next.

Scott Blagden built a group of homes on Cromesett Road, and received a letter from former Sewer Superintendent David Simmons dated October 27, 2009 that states:  "There will be a sewer stub installed at the intersection of Cromesett Road ... but the existing homes in these neighborhoods will not be receiving a sewer stub for their individual property and therefore will not be assessed a sewer betterment and/or be required to connect to town sewer."

At its August 20, meeting, the Board of Selectmen, which also serves as Sewer Commissioners, voted not to grant abatements to the residents of the four properties in the subdivision, saying that Simmons acted outside of his authority when he told Blagden that the homes would not have to connect to town sewer. The Selectmen say that only the Sewer Commissioners have that power.

However, Simmons says that the 2009 Board of Selectmen granted him the authority to write the letter.

"I was directed to send that letter by the Board of Selectmen," Simmons said. "They agreed with the engineers that they weren't going to sewer that street as part of the Oakdale/Cromesett project because it was too expensive."

At some point, apparently, the plans were changed, and each property was given a lateral pipe that would allow it to connect to town sewer.

"They changed the design to include this area but they never told anybody. … That was a lack of communication on their part," he said. "They should have had a public hearing with these people and said, 'By the way, we're changing things.'"

Former Selectmen say they didn't tell Simmons to write the letter.

"That's patently false," said former Selectman Bruce Sauvageau, who was chair at the time the letter was written. "Mr. Simmons had no authority to write that letter. He had no permission from the board."

Sauvageau says that Simmons was not in a position to assure Blagden the homes wouldn't need to be sewered. "He should not have sent that letter or made any commitment like that unless the board had given written approval."

Former Selectman Jane Donahue says she has no memory of anybody directing Simmons to write the letter.

"I don't recall specifically directing Mr. Simmons to write this particular letter to Mr. Blagden," she said.

Despite the disagreement over who said what to whom, and who had the authority, Simmons says that the town was right to install sewer stubs should the residents want to connect to town sewer some day.

"We would have been negligent if we didn't [install stubs] … because eventually they would have had to tie in," said Simmons, noting that even high-quality septic systems have a finite lifespan.

Some residents of the subdivision felt blindsided when the Selectmen rejected their abatements — effectively telling them that they'd have to tie into sewer and will begin getting charged betterments, the cost each property owner must pay when their property is "bettered" by the installation of town sewer.

Blagden said that the design of the subdivision would make it difficult to connect to town sewer, but according to Water Pollution Control Facility Director Guy Campinha, that's not necessarily grounds for an abatement.

Levitt wrote in a letter requesting an abatement that the stub installed by the town was not installed deep enough in the ground to allow for a sewer pipe that uses gravity to keep the flow of sewage moving.

The longer a sewer pipe is, the further down it goes, because gravity keeps the sewage flowing.

Levitt also wrote: "I understand that an uphill run would result in the town providing a pump, but I would be required to power and maintain that pump in perpetuity."

Levitt also says in the letter that he believes the town is still legally obligated to honor the commitment made by Simmons in the 2009 letter.

Abatements are sometimes granted because of "hardship," but these properties are unlikely to qualify, Campinha says.

Blagden says he understands the position of the board, but says if a promise was made, the town should follow through.

"It was formally represented that it was going to be done a certain way by the town," said Blagden. "If you're a private citizen or you're a landowner and you present something … believe me, the town's going to hold you to that."

Wareham began expanding the sewer system to more neighborhoods in the last decade in an effort to reduce pollution in the town's waterways.

The Cromesett Road area is under sewer Contract 2, and each homeowner is charged an $18,000 betterment fee. Contract 2 covers the Oakdale neighborhood as well, and is part an important chapter in the tumultuous history of the sewer expansion project.

Residents of Oakdale and Cromesett would be paying $21,339 each, had they not successfully argued at Town Meeting that the assessment processed was flawed, and had the betterments capped at $18,000.

This created a funding shortfall that is now in excess of $1 million, and has been growing as other residents have sought — and received — abatements.