New septic tank rules fought

BOISE – Coeur d’Alene homeowners and builders are fighting stricter septic system rules that they worry could stand in the way of building or expanding pricey lakefront homes.

But Panhandle Health District officials say the new rules, which require bigger drain fields and septic tanks for some large homes, are needed to protect the lake from leaking sewage. Barring legislative action, the regulations are expected to take effect later this month.

Lawmakers rebuffed one attempt earlier this week to overturn the regulations. Then, on Friday, opponents of the rules introduced another such bill.

That bill, Senate Concurrent Resolution 121, next goes to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee for a hearing. Regardless of what happens to the bill, both sides are promising to talk about potential compromises.

Statewide, it’s the number of bedrooms in a home that determines the required size of a septic system. The Panhandle changes would be based on the square footage of a home, which would mean requiring larger systems for average-size homes. For an extremely large home, the rules might require a septic system as much as four times larger.

Without offering specific evidence, opponents say the new rules, which would affect all of North Idaho, are scientifically unsound.

By limiting options for development, they contend, the rules would violate property rights. And they want a process for reviewing and exempting individual properties.

Larger drain fields may not fit on some lakefront parcels, preventing owners from expanding existing homes, said Greg Delavan, president of the Coeur d’Alene Lakeshore Property Owners Association.

“We had some extreme concerns over their approach,” he said. “It’s an out-of- balance analysis.”

The rules will hurt middle-income people who bought when lakeside parcels were affordable, Delavan said. Many are retirees and vacationers who do not heavily use septic systems, he said.

Marshall Chesrown, CEO of Coeur d’Alene-based Black Rock Development, said the bedroom-based method might not be ideal, but the changes are “just way too restrictive.”

Black Rock, which has several large projects in Eastern Washington and North Idaho, is pressing lawmakers to overrule the change.

Chesrown said Black Rock developments have their own water treatment systems and will not be affected by the change. But, he said, he opposes measures that hinder development on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

But Idaho’s septic system standards are the most lax in the nation, and health district environmental specialists “say the current septic standards offer marginal safety,” Panhandle Health spokeswoman Cynthia Taggart wrote in an e-mail to the newspaper.

Health district officials are “aware of damage by the high failure rate of septic systems and of their need for repairs,” she wrote.

Taggart said the requirements help protect lakes. For example, it’s “pretty easy to overload” systems if many people attend a party, she said.

“This change really doesn’t apply to your average home,” she said. “It applies to your homes that are the trophy homes, the big homes.”

In a letter to lawmakers Tuesday, Panhandle Health Director Jeanne Bock said the rules are “founded on sound science, tempered by a moderating political perspective – in other words, the science could support stricter limits, but reality imposes some practical limits.”

“These changes are for the protection of those very waters which the homeowners now enjoy, and those waters are safe and clean in part due to Panhandle Health District’s adherence to the rules,” Bock wrote.

Delavan questioned the motive behind the regulations.

“Clearly what they want to do is stop the monster trophy homes that some people are building around the lake,” he said. “That has become a problem for many of us, but I’m not so sure this is the right approach.”

Bill Fanning, an agent with Tomlinson Black Waterfront, said the district’s square footage estimates are unrealistic.

Many lakefront properties are already unbuildable because of rules requiring minimal set-backs from the water, Fanning said. A requirement for larger drain fields would eliminate more, he said.

Fanning said he’s planning to squeeze two 3,800-square-foot homes on lakefront lots under current rules. The changes allow him two 2,100-square-foot houses.

“We’re talking about million-dollar areas, this is waterfront,” he said. “That is not a mansion. That is a normal-sized custom home.”

While builders can fit more bedrooms in a tract home, custom-built homes have more open space, he said.

Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, who sponsored the bills to overturn the rules, said Panhandle Health didn’t negotiate with landowners before proposing the rules. He said the change would have “a huge potential impact.”