NATCHEZ — Even without the promise of a future plant nearby, the organization created to manage waste sites near Rentech continues to exist and spend money.

The St. Catherine Creek Utility Authority currently operates on a $100,000 loan from the county and $5,000 a month from Rentech. But no one knows if that check may stop coming, since Rentech has said it no longer plans to open the proposed coal-to-liquid facility in Adams County.

The authority was created in 2007 to maintain the wastewater and landfill sites associated with the former International Paper property, and it was structured to accept liability for areas Rentech did not want to buy as part of its purchase of the land. Adams County Board of Supervisors Vice President Mike Lazarus said as part of the agreement Rentech agreed to pay the authority $5,000 a month.

The problem, Lazarus said, is that that agreement is not in perpetuity.

St. Catherine Creek Utility Authority Member Stephen Guido said the biggest bills the authority has are the costs of monitoring the wastewater and landfill sites under its purview. The authority doesn’t have a funding source other than the Rentech money, and Guido characterized it as “a board without power.”

“Rentech gives us so much money a month, and we pay for everything out of it,” Guido said. “Without Rentech, the county would be footing the bill on something.”

The plan, Lazarus said, was for Rentech to open the landfill and the authority would be funded through its operations.

“Maintaining that landfill, that is perpetual,” Lazarus said. “There are expenses that go along with that, and you have got to pay somebody to haul that stuff — who is going to pay it when Rentech quits paying the $5,000 a month?”

In 2008, the board of supervisors gave the Economic Development Authority — the forerunner of Natchez Inc. — a $100,000 loan, which the EDA then loaned the utility authority to cover start-up expenses. At the time, the EDA and the utility authority were composed of the same members.

When Natchez Inc. was created, it took on the books of the EDA. Natchez Inc. Director Chandler Russ said the authority has not made any payments on the $100,000 loan, but that due to how the loan agreement was structured it is not delinquent.

“Essentially, I show $100,000 on my books as to be paid from the St. Catherine Creek Utility Authority, and then the balancing entry is that I owe $100,000 to the Adams County Board of Supervisors,” he said.

Lazarus said it may be time to consider restructuring the utility authority.

“I would love to see it go back to the Natchez Inc. board,” Lazarus said. “I think that way when Natchez Inc. is having their regular meetings, they could take care of the utility authority business while they are still there, just adjourning one meeting and opening another.”

Russ said Lazarus’ idea is one that could be explored, but he also said that, “without fully understanding the details of the organization and its costs, it would be premature to say without stepping on my board.”

The St. Catherine Creek Utility Authority board meets on the third Wednesday of every month at the Natchez city council chambers.