Septic waste disposal poses challenge for county

Northwest Montana News Network

During Thursday's County Health Board meeting, Mayre Flowers said that 2.5 million gallons of septic tank contents are poured onto the ground in Flathead County each year.

"That actually could be a low number," Health Department Director Joe Russell said.

Ten years ago, Russell said, there were 25,000 septic systems in Flathead County.

"You could probably add 7,000 since then," he said.

If the average 1,000-gallon septic tank is pumped every five years, the number of gallons of pumped septage could reach 5 million per year.

"There is an issue here that we really need to make a higher planning issue," Russell said.

Flathead County, though, has few alternatives to pumping septic waste into land-application sites scattered throughout the valley. Kalispell's wastewater treatment plant doesn't have the ability to treat the county's septic waste and the county doesn't have facilities of its own.

When Russell addressed the county commissioners on Thursday about how the county deals with septic waste, he told them: "Can you see the fact that we've got a train running down the track, and in the near future, the track's going to be gone?"

The issue arose out of a neighborhood skirmish involving an application by Shur Clean Action Septic Service for a new disposal site near Bigfork.

The site on the Duane Lee property off of Lee Road and Montana 82 is about half a mile from another Shur Clean application site.

James Bonser, who lives near the proposed site, made a lengthy appeal to the Health Board and asked that it veto any permit the Montana Department of Environmental Quality grants to Shur Clean.

Bonser, accompanied by a contingent of Bigfork residents, said he took issue with the environmental assessment provided by the state environmental agency.

On all 20 predicted impacts listed in the environmental assessment, the DEQ checked "none" in every box. Bonser, who provided a four-page investigation, said that 13 of the 20 predicted impacts would be "major." He also complained that pumper applications have little to no public input or review.

"Someone, meaning the pumper, the landowner or the DEQ have made decisions on our behalf," Bonser said. "There's no accountability in the process."

Bonser, whose home is on a septic system, said no one is denying the fact that septic waste needs to be pumped.

"But let's step out of the dark ages," he said. "We need to go into the 21st century."

Along with his request that the county deny the proposed site, Bonser said Shur Clean's site nearby is violating numerous conditions on his pumper permit.

"We gave [Russell] enough data to sink [Shur Clean] three or four times," Bonser said.

Ian Cenis, owner of Shur Clean, said that because of neighborhood pressure, the proposed site likely will never be used for septage application.

Cenis solicited 35 farmers in the valley during the past year, and Lee was the only one who responded as a possible application site.

Cenis said that it's getting nearly impossible to find suitable land, and if he doesn't have land on which to pump sewage, he can't run his business.

"I'm getting real close to getting put out of business," he said. "I've contacted every treatment plant in the valley. No one can take it."

Cenis also referred to a letter to the editor by Edd Blackler, a Democrat running for House District 9, and said that Blackler and others were giving false information.

"This is my livelihood, and there have been letters that are way misleading," Cenis said. "This is far from a well-developed area."

The outcome of the situation is still "up in the air," according to Russell.

He contacted the Department of Environmental Quality and told it to put a hold on the permit until he and the Health Board can look at more information.

"I think our board has heard a sufficient amount of information to be concerned about this site being used," Russell said. "I don't want this to look like we're putting a pumper out of business. We've never had a problem with this guy."

Bonser said that if Russell signs off on the permit for Shur Clean, the county will have to hire more workers in the Health Department because "we will be on him like stink on septic."