PAPILLION, Neb. (AP) — A lack of drainage infrastructure is blocking progress and growth in one of the few places still available for development in Omaha’s metropolitan area.

The Legislature on Thursday will debate state Sen. Sue Crawford’s bill aimed at making it easier to pay for a sewer system that would be built in stages and eventually cost $220 million.

The bill would allow cities and villages to form a public agency with a county to manage an entire region’s sewer system.

There’s a push for legislation as Sarpy County prepares for the construction of a freeway, which would cross the southern portion of the county that currently lacks sewers.

The first phase of sewage work would begin in 2019 should the bill pass.