The foul sewage smells have stopped at the upscale Villas of Cattail Creek in Glenwood, and now the litigation that followed may be over too.

Howard County government has reached agreement on terms of a settlement with the developers and builders of the community for seniors that was built with a shared septic system that never worked and was later replaced, according to an announcement. The developers have also posted a $350,000 performance bond with the county to help guarantee the system will work, and have made other changes to eliminate seasonal odors emanating as late as last fall from the new replacement system. Both developments resulted from separate legal action, county officials said.

"We feel this was a really good settlement," said county solicitor Margaret Ann Nolan, who filed the suit in September, 2008. "We had a very strong case," she said.

After enduring five years of odors and multiple incursions daily from septic trucks to haul away sewage, residents of the 25 single family homes and 68 townhouses will hear details of the agreement May 17, and get to vote on it a week later. If a majority opt to be included and drop their private claims, each property owner would get $3,803.23 in cash and sewer tax relief worth another $5,643 over the next 28 years. In addition, the county will get $43,000 to pay for moving a sewer line, and $100,000 to oversee operation of the new sewage treatment facility at the development over the next five years. In total, the settlement is worth about $1 million, county officials said.

Homeowners who paid varying premiums to live in view of a promised golf course that was never built would get a small portion of that money back too, Nolan said. Those 15 buyers would divide $29,900, she said, though some buyers paid $25,000 or more for the promise of a golf course view.

If a majority of residents don't want to be included in the settlement, the benefits would be much more modest. In that case the county would still get the $43,000, plus $25,000 in legal costs, and $1,903 for each homeowner who opts in to use in overseeing the new treatment plant's operations. Then the residents private lawsuit would remain.

"I can live with it," said Renee Parcover, president of the condominium association. "I'm optimistic the community will find it favorable."

Jim Wilding, the association's past president, was more enthusiastic, though he hasn't seen all the details.

"The prospect of getting all this behind us is delightful to me," he said. "l'll have very big eyes and ears for it. If it's at all reasonable to me I'll be all for it."

The case brought about changes in regulatory controls that now allow county government to oversee such projects. Cattail, which is far beyond the reach of public water and sewer systems, could only build townhouses by using a shared septic system which was built under state regulations.

County executive Ken Ulman, a Democrat, said the suit showed the county will stand up for residents wronged by developers. Defendants in the suit included NVR Inc., the builder, and local developers Donald Reuwer Jr., and J. Thomas Scrivener, who initially through their attorney described the suit as a "political witch hunt."

"I am pleased that this community now has the fully functioning waste water system it deserves and that our agreement provides residents with financial compensation that will assist them in running that system for years to come," Ulman said in the announcement.

Now, Reuwer said Tuesday, "there's nothing to be gained by being unhappy at this point. Those people need to get on with their lives. It's good that it's over, and a shame that it happened." A spokesman for NVR declined to comment, and Scivener did not return a reporter's call.

But Republican Del. Warren E. Miller, who praised Ulman when the suit was filed, said he feels the settlement doesn't address a variety of issues it originally included. Those include the transfer of two water wells to the adjoining golf country club and other issues involving builder Ryan Homes, which is a subsidiary of NVR.

"The main thing is, we'll see if the residents are happy with it," Miller said. "I don't think this alleviates the need to do more." County councilman Greg Fox, a Republican who represents the area, said he's "glad Margaret Ann has stayed with this case over time," and he hopes the settlement will satisfy residents.

Nolan said the reason for the suit was "to get comprehensive relief as a whole. I think that is what we accomplished."

The suit alleged that developers consistently misled buyers on a number of fronts, from the non-functioning entrance gate to the size of the homes, promises of a 9-hole golf course that was never built and the poorly built septic system that even the developers acknowledged never worked. The new system was under construction when the legal action was filed.

Buyers were promised one-year memberships in the adjoining Cattail Creek Country Club, but weren't told that their own condo association funds were used to pay for the memberships. In addition, the developers allegedly allowed the existing country club golf course next door to siphon off thousands of gallons of water that residents might need in future years for their own wells. Buyers who thought they were getting 3 and 4 bedroom homes got 2 bedrooms instead, which the suit charged was blamed on a non-existent county law. In reality, state sewage regulations on the shared system was the reason for the smaller number of bedrooms.