Looking for a solution that doesn't stink

On behalf of local septic tank pumper Jim Geis, the Crook County Commissioners hosted a special meeting on Friday to seek guidance on the proper disposal of domestic sewage.

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) changed its rules on “land spreading” a few years ago, with the county following suit a couple of years later in the regulations instituted in 2018 for small wastewater systems. According to those rules, domestic septage can only be land applied on the property at which it was generated.

Having not been previously aware that this was the case, Geis has recently been seeking a new place to take the sludge from his customers’ tanks.

The City of Sundance declined to accept it on the basis that old sludge would likely interfere with the biological balance of its lagoon, while the Town of Hulett, Geis said, “Will not accept any sewage, period”.

Dale Lee and Bradley Ellis from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) appeared by video link at the special meeting to answer the question posed by Commissioner Fred Devish: is there a way to make the rules work for Geis’s business?

“Jim’s run out of places to take it,” Devish said – except for Gillette, he pointed out, which is a lot of miles to transport the sludge.

Lee responded that there are, in fact, several ways for Geis to proceed. He is still able to land apply on a homeowner’s own property, he said, as long as it takes place according to the rules.

The regulations state, for example, that septic dumping must occur at least a thousand feet from adjacent properties and 300 feet from a private road, water body or stream. According to County Attorney Joe Baron, the landowner must obtain a permit for this action.

For commercial dumping where the sludge is coming from multiple sources, Lee said, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can issue a license. There will be reporting requirements, he noted, and there may be a need for sampling.

“There are ways forward,” Lee said. “The applicator simply needs to work with the EPA and see if he can get a permit.”

According to Lee, additional options include transporting the sludge to Spearfish or Belle Fourche, both of which operate mechanical sewer systems that would not be affected in the same way as a lagoon based on bacterial balance.

Commissioner Kelly Dennis added that he had visited with two people in Gillette regarding the cost of using their private lagoon and is waiting to hear on the cost.

“From what I understand now, there is a way forward,” and one that meets with the state and county standards, said Devish to summarize this information.

Commissioner Bob Latham asked if the permitting would allow Geis to continue operating.

“We’ll have to talk this over,” Geis responded, explaining that his wife and son are also involved in the business and Geis himself is old enough he could simply retire and his customers would have to pay the “high prices” of other businesses that provide this service.

Ralph Goodson, present in the audience, commented that it might be worth seeking further clarification from the EPA. Geis’s business is small enough that it might not cause them much heartburn and the process might be easy, he said.

Devish reiterated that the county is obligated to meet (or surpass) the standards set forth by the state and therefore cannot do much to help by changing its own regulations. Lee agreed, explaining that the DEQ delegates its authority to the county, so the county must meet all of its standards – if it did not, the DEQ would have to step in.

The county could always just build its own lagoon, Geis responded. Devish noted the potential expense of such an enterprise.

“I would hate to lose a business to rules that don’t make sense for us, but there are rules for a reason and a couple of ways out of this. They just need to be explored,” Devish said.