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State Regulators Approve Plans to Upgrade Septic Systems

The Yellowstone Club paid a $64,000 fine and nearly $30,000 for investigation and cleanup costs

By Associated Press

BOZEMAN — State regulators have approved plans by the Yellowstone Club to upgrade the septic systems of three businesses as part of a penalty for a March 2016 spill of treated wastewater into the Gallatin River near Big Sky.

The private resort community paid a $64,000 fine and nearly $30,000 for investigation and cleanup costs after a breach in a holding pond spilled 30 million gallons (113 million liters) of wastewater. Because the water had been treated it wasn’t a health hazard, but it violated state pollution laws.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports the Department of Environmental Quality has agreed to the club’s plans to upgrade septic systems at the Riverhouse Bar and Grill, the Corral Bar and the Riverside Trailer Courts. All three businesses are near the river. The work is expected to cost about $174,000.