Flathead County Health Board Forwards New Septic Regulations to Commissioners
Since 2004, the county has largely required pressure septic systems. The proposed new regulations would allow for gravity-fed septic systems, a method that has been criticized as a lower treatment standard.
By Zoë Buhrmaster
Flathead City-County Health Board officials adopted the findings of fact for a new set of septic regulations on Tuesday afternoon that would allow the construction of gravity wastewater systems in the county for the first time since 2004. The new regulations and construction standards will be forwarded to the Flathead County Commission for a public hearing and review.
Commissioner Pam Holmquist, who serves on the board of health, said that the new regulations would give property owners more options when it comes to septage treatment, while keeping pressure dosing systems as the preferred method of treatment. Flathead County currently mandates uniform pressure systems, allowing variances based on site-specific requests.
“We’re still going to look at the specifics, look at the rules, look at what DEQ says, soil types, all that stuff is going to be looked at,” Holmquist said referencing permits for gravity systems. “We are not loosening the rules.”
Pressure systems treat waste by using a pump or siphon to distribute effluent evenly to drain fields. Gravity systems discharge wastewater to a drain field as incoming wastewater displaces it from a septic tank, resulting in unequal distribution. Though the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) permits both system types, pressure systems “outperform” gravity systems because of their controlled distribution and versatility. The state recommends pressure dosing when possible.
Flathead County made the move to require pressure systems in 2004 to help set higher wastewater treatment standards, Joe Russell, the former health officer who oversaw the regulation two decades ago, said in a letter he wrote opposing the proposed changes.
“Allowing gravity-fed and gravity-dosed systems in Flathead County is a step backwards as it relates to treating sewage to an adequate level,” he wrote.
On Tuesday, Don Barnhart was the only board member to vote against the adoption. Holmquist abstained from the vote due to her position as commissioner.
“There’s a reason they’re saying it’s a preferred method,” Barnhart said. “I still believe sometimes that gravity is not treatment, it’s disposal.”