SEELEY LAKE – At the July 16 Seeley Lake Sewer District Board meeting, Missoula City/County Health Department Environmental Health Specialist II Jim Erven told the Board that if the proposed sewer system were scrapped by the voters in the District, there would be a government response of some kind.
“One thing that will not be acceptable is a do nothing option,” said Erven
Erven felt the need to make a statement at the Board meeting after the Health Department saw the agenda item considering putting the proposed sewer to a vote of the electorate.
“We have several known violations within the special management area that we have not taken a forceful role in seeking compliance on because the sewer project is so close to actually happening,” said Erven.
Erven explained that the response from Missoula County and/or the Montana Department of Environmental Quality could be a case-by-case basis like addressing failing septic systems by requiring stricter regulations.
“We would pursue bringing the properties that we know are in violation into compliance. So again, I’m not trying to say that in a threatening way but I need the public and I need the Board to understand the implications of their decisions,” said Erven.
In a follow up email to the Pathfinder, Erven clarified that the Health Department does not have a list of non-complying properties. However compliance issues are regularly found.
Erven wrote that property owners, realtors or potential buyers frequently ask the Health Department to research septic permits to make sure the current use of a property is permitted. In this process the Heath Department finds many properties that are out-of-compliance with the health codes due to having undersized systems. Systems can become undersized when the use of the property changes such as adding a bedroom to a residence or changing the services available at a business.
While this is a common way to learn about compliance issues, the Health Department also has the authority to take actions against out-of-compliance properties they learn about that are not being sold or proposing changes in their use.
In his email, Erven explains that when a property is found to be out-of-compliance the Health Department looks at several factors when deciding how to handle it including when the increased use was added, type and age of the septic system, environmental impacts and potential solutions that exist.
Because Seeley’s public sewer system would correct these compliance issues, the Heath Department has not always been taking enforcement actions that would most often require the property owner to either upgrade the septic system or remove the increased use.
If a system has failed, meaning it is no longer taking the wastewater at the rate of application or is a direct threat to the public or environmental health, the Health Department has been taking more formal and immediate action to bring it into compliance.
Erven wrote that, to his knowledge, there are not any septic systems in the District that are currently failing.
“What I was trying to illustrate with my comments at the meeting is that measures will need to be taken to clean up the groundwater no matter what happens,” wrote Erven. “This could come in the form of stricter regulations on replacement systems, further restrictions on new or increased use, swifter enforcement of existing regulations, orders from the Health Board and/or DEQ, or some combination of these. I would expect that none of those alternatives would come with the kind of funding opportunities that are currently available.”
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