DEQ receives over 200 comments, will hold public hearing on Lakeside County Sewer District permit

The Department of Environmental Quality received over 200 public comments on a proposed Montana ground water pollution control system permit for Lakeside County Water and Sewer District over a two-month comment period. 

In response, DEQ will hold a public hearing on Feb. 27 in Lakeside to receive further community input.  

“The decision to hold a public hearing and further extend the comment period was made to ensure that DEQ has all the necessary information to make an informed permitting decision,” DEQ stated in a press release.  

An estimated 24,000 septic tanks in the valley – growing due to rural development -- have resulted in a need for treatment and disposal for sewage beyond available Flathead County facilities.  In March of 2024, Flathead County commissioners entered an interlocal agreement with LCWSD, providing the district with funds for facility upgrades in exchange for handling septic wastewater disposal.  

LCWSD currently serves Lakeside and Somers. The facility, near the intersection of U.S. 93 and Somers Road, was installed in 1987.  

Waste water there is treated, placed in aerated ponds, then transferred to holding ponds before being spray irrigated.  The district was having its own capacity issues with limited area in its holding ponds and found that upgrading its facilities may be more cost-effective than continuing to build ponds.  

The new facility would include a rapid infiltration system in addition to the existing holding ponds, allowing LCWSD to discharge treated domestic water into ground water on their current site. The proposed ground water permit would increase the current capacity of 310,000 gallons a day by 200,000 gallons, or roughly 800 potential households’ wastewater.   

Phase I of the plan includes construction of a new screening and grit removal facility and septage receiving and treatment facility. Phase II would be a specialized wastewater treatment facility to handle LCWSD’s normal wastewater flows along with septage, increasing treated water to roughly 900,000 gallons a day total. 

Designs and construction for the new facility are estimated to cost $26 million, provided largely by grant funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. While rate increases are not expected for Phase I, Phase II may result in increases if a state revolving fund loan is required beyond available funds.  

The LCWSD timeline originally planned for construction to begin this winter. However, local watchdog groups have opposed the project since its early stages.  

“The problem is that while all stakeholders support the general concept of a durable solution to septic systems in the Flathead, political deals were inked predetermining where to dispose of wastes, and to what level wastes would be treated, without using sound science on the level of treatment needed to adequately protect local water quality,” Citizens for a Better Flathead stated in their overview of the project.  

The proposed rapid infiltration system would inject treated water into groundwater at a shallower depth than private wells and is not expected to affect drinking water quality. In 2023, a groundwater monitoring network was established at LCWSD and is expected to provide ongoing, publicly available monitoring of the aquifer should the new process be put in place. However, CFBF raised concerns about how residents’ drinking wells, in addition to Wiley Slough, Ashley Creek and Flathead Lake, could be affected by the discharge.  

“The project's location simply could not be worse and is very concerning because both Flathead Lake and the Flathead River - which would receive pollutants from the LCSWD discharge – are already classified as 'impaired' for excessive nitrogen and phosphorus pollution,” CFBF stated in their report.  

Previously, LCWSD General Manager Rodney Olson asserted that the district is dedicated to the health of the lake. Product released into groundwater is estimated to be 78% cleaner than what LCWSD’s current facilities can generate. 

“The new facility represents a new source of total nitrogen in this location. However, the wastewater and septage to be received and treated by the new facility is wastewater that already exists in the Flathead Lake watershed and is currently treated to much lower standards. This project therefore results in a net reduction of total nitrogen discharged in the greater watershed,” the DEQ draft EA for the project reads.    

The public hearing will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 27 at the Lakeside Quick Response Unit Community Room, located at 201 Bills Rd, Lakeside, MT 59922. DEQ has stated its officials will not be responding to comments during the hearing. 

DEQ is accepting public comments on the draft MGWPCS permit, Fact Sheet and draft EA through Feb. 27, 2025. To view the documents, learn how to submit a comment, or for more information about attending the public hearing in person or virtually, via Zoom, visit: https://deq.mt.gov/News/publiccomment-folder/Public-Hearing-and-Second-Extension-MTX000307

To learn more about the facility upgrade project, visit https://rpa-hln.com/lcwsd/.