The Wilson County Commission voted 17-8 to reappoint Commissioner Jeff Joines to the Water and Wastewater Authority board. The authority faces state penalties and a federal Clean Water Act lawsuit tied to failing septic systems near Mt. Juliet.

The vote took place at the commission's Monday, Sept. 21, meeting, as Main Street Media reported. Joines, a recently elected District 7 commissioner, voted for his own reappointment.

Among those also voting yes were Robert Moxley, Chad Barnard, Jerry McFarland, James Smallwood, Kevin Costley, Haskell Evans, Jeremy Hobbs, Tommy Jones, Lauren Breeze and William Glover. Six additional yes votes and all eight no votes were not identified in the public meeting record.

The Lebanon Democrat reported community opposition to the reappointment.

What the authority means for Mt. Juliet

The Water and Wastewater Authority of Wilson County (WWAWC), founded in 1975, provides water and wastewater services to customers in the more rural parts of the county. The agency has been under scrutiny for problems with its residential STEP (Septic Tank Effluent Pump) systems.

Fox 17 reported in December 2025 that the authority faced $165,000 in mandatory penalties and up to $812,000 in additional civil fines over longstanding issues with those systems. At the time, the authority had about 4,000 STEP customers paying $65 per month. Eighty-three percent of that revenue went to contractor Adenus Solutions to operate and maintain the systems.

The Southern Environmental Law Center also filed a lawsuit alleging a STEP system serving Ridgewater Estates in Mt. Juliet was illegally releasing polluted wastewater into a tributary of Old Hickory Lake, according to the Fox 17 report. The status of that lawsuit and the state enforcement actions as of September was unclear.

In April 2026, Fox 17 reporter Madeleine Nolan wrote on X that tensions remained high over the STEP issues.

@maddienolantv: "Tensions high in Wilson Co. as residents demand answers over ongoing STEP system issues. Standing wastewater, odors, mosquitoes, and now a 5% rate increase expected. No timeline for a fix."

Joines will continue to vote on how the authority addresses those problems, including any decisions about the Adenus contract. The WWAWC board had postponed a vote on whether to continue that contract in late 2025, and the outcome of a scheduled Dec. 18, 2025, follow-up vote has not been made public.