SEELEY LAKE - I investigated our Sewer situation. Here’s a simple summary:
The county is not issuing septic permits where nitrate levels are elevated, so businesses and residents have turned on each other instead of building consensus. The Sewer Board is an extension of this division and is also now expected to serve as a community planning body of civic vision, a task outside its purview.
County assumptions justifying a treatment plant are neither convincing nor dismissible. The county seems to be acting conscientiously but it has also failed to build consensus. We keep hearing about what happened to the folks in Linda Vista. That result was also a failure to build consensus. I’m not pointing fingers. Blame is easy. Consensus is hard work.
The core issue is groundwater standards, not surface water standards. Our groundwater, no matter where it goes, exceeds nitrate standards. Without action it will continue to do so.
The nitrates will dilute but not before leaving the vicinity where new septic systems permits are sought. Most local groundwater probably doesn’t enter the lake and the impact of what does is speculative.
Sewer District boundary location was influenced by funding eligibility based on household income and lot size. Admirable work has been done securing grants. It doesn’t matter if a selected neighborhood is enticed by grants if it doesn’t constitute a tax base sufficient to collateralize completion bonds. The viability of our arrangement is uncertain. The entire system hangs on this issue, which could discourage property owners from signing user agreements.
Some want a wastewater treatment system. Others want to downplay wastewater problems and/or apply alternatives. All options pose escalating threats and costs. Lake pollution cannot be ruled out. Completing a system invites cost overruns and regulatory vulnerability. Grant cancellation is imminent if we drag our feet. That’s just the foreseeable problems. This is the hand we have been dealt.
We can consider a watershed-wide district to supersede current arbitrary Sewer District boundaries. This is not a new idea. Since all would be taxed, it won’t pass unless all are assured clean water, regulatory security and compliance assistance. Other tax relief opportunities are also not slam-dunks.
The Board might focus on two equal-priority goals. 1. Expedite Phase 1. 2. Pursue tax relief.
I favor clarity and consensus. The District Court will tell me what I think when ruling what the Board must do. Regardless, we have a lose-lose situation we must convert into a win-win.
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