DEQ Issues Wastewater Permit for Lakeside County Water and Sewer District
The permit application garnered a high level of feedback and criticism
By Zoë Buhrmaster
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a wastewater permit to Lakeside County Water and Sewer District (LCWSD) on Monday to move forward with the first of a two-phase plan to upgrade and expand the facility’s capacity.
The Ground Water Pollution Control System (MGWPCS) permit will allow the flow of treated wastewater into groundwater via three rapid infiltration basins (RIBs) that will each require a specialized treatment to reduce nutrients and a groundwater mixing zone for nitrogen. To install the advanced treatment plant and complete the phase two expansion, LCWSD must apply for and receive DEQ approval again for design and construction.
The permit application garnered a high level of feedback and criticism. The DEQ extended the comment period twice and held a public hearing about the permit that attracted a crowd that filled out a Lakeside community room. The DEQ also met and consulted with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) in March, according to a press release, after the tribes voiced concerns about the potential impact on water quality downstream.
“The permit meets the standards of the Montana Water Quality Act and allows LCWSD to discharge treated wastewater into state groundwater,” the release states. “The EA addresses the MEPA requirements for the discharge permit and Phase 1 engineering plans for LCWSD to update and expand the wastewater treatment facility to accept, treat, and handle wastewater.”
The facility will be subject to discharge limitations for nitrogen and phosphorous, with a monthly discharge monitoring report sent to the DEQ and a requirement to report any non-compliances within 24 hours.
Alongside the permit, DEQ issued a list of responses to concerns raised in the public comments. The department acknowledged and corrected errors that commenters pointed out in some of the permit’s documentation, including corrections in groundwater monitoring and the characterization of the aquifer, alongside adding a section that covers the potential impacts to history, culture, and archaeological uniqueness, to which they state are none.