Big Stink At Round Mountain Officials Are Finally Working Together To Clean Up Mess At Septic Dump

County commissioners and health district officials have stopped pointing fingers at one another and agreed to work together to resolve a messy problem out at Round Mountain.

For 18 years, Roto-Rooter and other septic haulers have been dumping human waste and restaurant grease at the 80-acre disposal site near Rathdrum.

In recent years, neighbors started to complain about the stench and lack of oversight at the septic dump, which is perched on the edge of the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. They also worry about contamination of their wells.

More than 2 million gallons of septic sludge are dumped there each year.

While county officials have questioned why the Panhandle Health District doesn’t do more to enforce operations at the site, health officials explain that they don’t have any enforcement authority.

The state has no rules or standards to govern septic disposal.

The Panhandle Health District has made inspections of the site, but “we were looking for things that affect public health, and not necessarily those things like whether there’s an attendant on duty,” said Ed Hale of the health district.

The county, which issued a conditional use permit to the operator, is the entity that can allow or close down the operation, but shutting down the facility, which is owned by Roto-Rooter businessman Gary Adams, would be like closing the only toilet in town, officials say.

Sewage treatment plants won’t take the highly concentrated waste, nor will the landfill, because the waste has too much water in it.

While the situation isn’t ideal, “we have nothing to indicate that that site has had a negative (environmental) impact,” said Ken Lustig of Panhandle Health District at a meeting Thursday with the Kootenai County Commissioners.

In response to neighbors’ concerns, the commissioners have been temporarily renewing Adams’ conditional use permit while they try to find an alternative solution.

The county considered taking over the responsibility itself, as it has with solid waste disposal, but a state law prohibits counties from managing septic disposal.

So instead, they plan on beefing up the conditions for the permit and asking the health district to inspect the site to make sure it meets those conditions.

The commissioners and county staff also discussed requiring a performance bond to make sure the operator lives up to the conditions in the permit.

“My understanding is the site is still a suitable site,” Commissioner Dick Panabaker said.

“The problem is how it’s being maintained.”

Lustig said the health district would be willing to conduct inspections and report back to the county, but it can’t take enforcement action itself.

The county and health district agreed to work together to draw up new conditions for the new permit, which would be based on land application guidelines for wastewater contained in the 1997 Kootenai Regional Long-Range Wastewater Facilities Plan.

The conditions could include better fencing of lagoons and lining lagoons with plastic or a claylike material to prevent seepage to the groundwater.

Worried that the county was planning on closing the facility, Adams and the owner of B&B Sani-Kans have been discussing their alternatives, Adams said.

“We’re looking at building a facility that de-waters the sludge,” Adams said.

The water winds up clean, and the sludge is dry enough to use as fertilizer or take to a landfill, he said. But the cost is much higher than land application.

“Basically, I’m waiting to hear what they (the commissioners) have to say and I guess a decision will be made then,” he said.

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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: DUMPING GROUNDS Each year, more than 2 million gallons of human waste and restaurant grease are dumped at the waste site near Round Mountain.