Sagle wastewater plan stirs protest

Federal regulators have extended the public comment period for a proposal to dump treated wastewater from Sagle, Idaho, into the Pend Oreille River.

The comment period was originally scheduled to expire Friday, but it was extended through Dec. 27 after the Environmental Protection Agency received an influx of comments opposing the plan. A petition drive also has collected hundreds of signatures of local residents demanding the agency hold a public hearing on the idea, said Rosemary Shoong, a Sagle landowner leading the opposition.

Earlier this year, the Southside Water and Sewer District ran out of capacity to properly dispose of additional sewage in the district. On April 21, a building moratorium was imposed in the fast-growing district along the south shore of Lake Pend Oreille. Several property owners are now unable to build on their lots, but must continue to pay the system’s regular fees, Shoong said.

District officials are seeking a permit to discharge treated wastewater into the Pend Oreille River during winter, when aquatic growth slows and is less likely to be harmed by a spike of nutrients from the sewage. Shoong and other opponents of the plan want the district to keep the treated wastewater out of the river.

The current system dumps treated wastewater on a nearby 27-acre hayfield during the growing season. A complicated application formula protects the aquifer below by allowing only enough effluent to be dumped to be sucked up by plants.

The winter discharge proposal would require about $1.9 million in plant upgrades, compared with $2.2 million for the expanded land application option, according to a Sept. 30 letter to property owners from District Chairman Gary Wescott.

Even with the higher cost, the district would prefer to use an expanded land application program, Wescott said. “The problem being is to find the land to apply it on and being able to afford the land.”

The district is currently in negotiations to secure additional land, Wescott said, but he declined to provide additional details, saying the dealings are sensitive because the current owner of the property does not want to sell.

Disposing of the additional treated wastewater in the river is currently the best option, Wescott said. Shoong disagrees with the cost estimates and says land application would be cheaper in the long run. Unlike dumping effluent into the river, a land application program only requires a state permit, which likely would speed up the approval process, Shoong said.

A public hearing hosted by the EPA would allow both sides to present their evidence, Shoong said, adding that district officials have been reluctant to share information about the proposal. Shoong said she’s had to take legal action for greater access to district records.

The EPA has not yet decided if it will hold a hearing, according to an agency official quoted Friday in the Bonner County Daily Bee. The official, Robert Rau, could not be reached Friday. He told the Daily Bee the amount of opposition was surprising.

Shoong said local residents’ passion for clean water has fueled the fight.

“I live here for the water. I’ve seen places where they haven’t taken care of the water,” she said. “We depend on water for our life.”

Another opponent of the river discharge, Owen Marcus, said the Pend Oreille River already carries away the effluent from the nearby communities of Dover and Sandpoint, both of which are growing at a fast rate. Although the wastewater is treated, it still contains nutrients that rob the river of oxygen and contribute to blooms of algae and exotic milfoil. The river discharge permit also would require approval from Washington state, downstream. Marcus said this could be a steep hurdle.

“The state of Washington is tired of getting our crap,” he said.

Wescott said the wastewater discharged into the river would meet all state and federal clean water requirements. He said plan opponents are basing their case against river discharge on emotion. “They have no facts to support it,” he said.

Dredging and shoreline developments are greater threats to the river than treated wastewater, Wescott added.

Copies of the permit application and comment information can be found at www.epa.gov/r10earth. The EPA’s Seattle office may also be reached by calling (800) 424-4372.