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Council adopts updated wastewater rules by reference after health board approval
Summary
Missoula City Council adopted an ordinance incorporating the Missoula City‑County Health Board’s updated Regulation 1 (wastewater treatment and disposal systems), allowing new on‑site wastewater systems in engineered "fill" under DEQ criteria; the county previously approved the change.
The Missoula City Council on Aug. 25 voted 10-0 to revise Missoula Municipal Code Chapter 8.02 by incorporating the Missoula City‑County Health Board’s updated Regulation 1 concerning wastewater treatment and disposal systems.
Charlie Shane, environmental health manager and sanitarian with Missoula Public Health, presented the update, saying it aligns local code with recent changes to Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) rules that permit new on‑site wastewater treatment systems in engineered fill in specific circumstances. Shane explained that local regulation must be "no less stringent" than state standards and described the DEQ design and approval criteria now required for systems located in fill: engineered design reports approved before placement, additional soil testing, fill placed and compacted in lifts to meet stability criteria, certification and as‑built documentation within 90 days prior to final approval, and explicit prohibitions on using fill to overcome required horizontal or vertical setbacks such as steep slopes, floodplains, bedrock or high groundwater.
Shane told council the Board of Health approved the revised Regulation 1 on April 17, 2025, and that county commissioners adopted the change by resolution on Aug. 7, 2025. He said Missoula’s local interlocal agreement requires both the city council and county commissioners to adopt health board recommendations by reference. Shane described the revision as largely reorganizational (moving discussion of systems in fill into a design/location section) and said the update clarifies that systems in fill must meet DEQ criteria.
Councilors asked questions about who submits engineered designs, whether installers create the fill, and whether the change primarily affects county parcels outside city limits. Shane said proposed fill must be submitted by an engineer and approved by the health department, that engineered designs and certification will be required, and that the change is expected to apply mostly outside city limits where on‑site systems are more common.
No members of the public spoke at the hearing. The ordinance replaces the older text of Regulation 1 in the municipal code and instructs staff to file updated documents; the city clerk confirmed legal documents and proposed changes were attached to the agenda for the public record.
