Salt Lake County says water company not adding fluoride
Mayor considers lawsuit over refusal to obey rule
"It's an issue of fairness," Corroon told the Deseret Morning News.
He said he doesn't plan to look at whether water should be fluoridated, but rather whether it's fair to other water companies that obey the law to let this company refuse.
"I haven't made a decision yet," he said. "I want to speak to some council members first."
He said he expects to decide shortly.
The public health board unanimously passed a resolution last week asking that legal action be taken to force Holliday Water Co. to comply with the fluoridation health regulation. Salt Lake County voters approved adding fluoride to drinking water in 2000 by a margin of 58 to 42 percent. The board, which directs public health policy in the county, subsequently created Regulation 33.
But an attorney for Holliday Water Co. said the shareholders don't believe they should be subject to the fluoridation rules and the company will fight any effort to force compliance, although it has the equipment in place in its treatment plant.
No, it's a question of upholding the law, counters David Wilde, county council member who serves on the board of health. "I think the health board tried to work with Holliday Water Co., and in fact almost bent over backwards. But there comes a point where you say you enforce the law or look the other way and pretend the law isn't what it is. I don't think we can do that.
"My personal feelings are neither here nor there. Voters voted for it."
Regulation 33 gave all public water systems in the county until October 2003 to begin fluoridating drinking water. Some, including Holliday Water, got the extensions they asked for. The others are now in compliance, said county health spokeswoman Pam Davenport, who declined to comment further because there may be litigation.
Holliday Water and the Salt Lake Valley Health Department have been doing a complicated dance around the issue for several years — the steps documented in minutes from board of health meetings and in the resolution/letter sent to Corroon.
Before the department adopted a fluoride regulation, it says, Holliday Water and other affected water systems were invited to help craft the policy. The day before it was to take effect, Holliday Water requested a blanket exemption, which was denied a month later. After that, Holliday filed suit in state district court appealing the decision, then dismissed it as part of a settlement with the board.
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