After years of controversy, including months of back-and-forth debate, Victoria will finally be able to move forward in building a new sewer plant.

In late September, the Concerned Citizens for the Health and Safety of Victoria offered to meet with city officials to mediate, hoping to come to a solution rather than send the issue to court on Oct. 8. Then, just hours away from when the case was scheduled to start, an agreement was reached. The city agreed to 11 conditions ranging from annual water tests to landscaping.

We are glad to see both sides of this issue were able to come together and work out a deal that will benefit all of Victoria while still taking the citizens living near the proposed site into consideration. We applaud both the city and the Concerned Citizens for their willingness to work together and develop a plan that will safeguard the health of nearby residents and the environment while still meeting the city's need for a new sewage facility to serve all residents of Victoria.

According to City Attorney Thomas Gwosdz, almost all of the 11 points were already included in the city's plan - except for changes to street access and a longer groundwater monitoring period. Under the portion of the mediation agreement concerning street access, a new service road from the plant to Southwest Ben Jordan Street will be the primary road. The secondary access road will be to Odem Street and is only to be used when the primary road is unaccessible.

The portion concerning groundwater monitoring says the city will annually monitor the groundwater for 15 years at an up-gradient site at the plant, a down-gradient site at the plant and the property directly across the plant currently owned by Rose McNary.

We are glad this controversy is drawing to a close, and we encourage the city to abide by this agreement so the new plant can be constructed without any further problems, disagreements or delays. After all, this is something our city needs to keep up the standard of living for everyone. While we recognize no one wants a sewer plant in their backyard, we thank and applaud the Concerned Citizens for their willingness to enter mediation and make an agreement with the city.

Now, we look forward to the continuation of the process to build a new plant. While the planning moves forward, we encourage city officials to always keep this list of conditions in mind. An agreement only works if both parties abide by it, and we expect the city to make good on all the promises they have made to the Concerned Citizens, as well as safeguarding the health and needs of all Victorians.

This editorial reflects the views of the Victoria Advocate's editorial board.