Lake County Board of Health conditionally approves vault privy variance for Leadville backcountry cabin

The Lake County Board of Health on April 9, 2025, voted to conditionally approve a variance allowing a limited-use vault privy supplemented by an incinerating toilet and a gray-water tank to serve a temporarily occupied backcountry cabin at 11715 County Road 7 in Leadville.

The variance, requested by applicant Samuel Beard, permits a vault-style gray-water tank in place of a traditional on-site wastewater treatment system (OWTS) for a single-room, under-400-square-foot cabin in the county's backcountry zone. The board's approval is subject to the applicant addressing minor engineering redlines identified by the county's consultant and to deed-recorded restrictions limiting occupancy and setting recording costs as the property owner's responsibility.

County staff described the legal framework for the hearing, noting the Board of Health's authority to hear variance requests under section 1.9 of the Lake County on-site wastewater treatment system regulations and relevant Colorado regulation 43. Anne, county staff, told the board that approval must be based on evidence presented by the applicant and that any approval and its conditions will be recorded on the property's deed; recording costs will be borne by the owner.

During his presentation, Samuel Beard, the applicant, described the proposed two-part system: an EcoJohn-brand style, propane-powered, waterless incinerating toilet to handle solids and a separate gray-water tank to receive sink discharge. "When you're done using the restroom, you hit a button. It drops the solid waste down into a sealed, incinerating chamber," Beard said, adding that the unit produces sterile ash and vents directly outside the structure. He said the preferred fuel supply is a larger, removable propane bottle that could be removed when the cabin is winterized, and that the unit requires limited 12-volt power supplied by an on-site solar system.

Beard told the board that the incinerating toilet reduces the risk of septic failure in intermittent-use, high-elevation cabins. "With the system we have put forward, that risk is completely eliminated because all of your solid waste and liquid waste is all incinerated, and is contained right there," he said. He also described operational details: ash is emptied after many uses (manufacturer guidance cited as roughly every 50–80 uses), gray-water will use biodegradable soaps, and gray-water will be pumped out or transported off-site to an approved dump site in northern Colorado rather than discharged on-site.

County staff and the board confirmed technical and operational points. Anne said the county referred the applicant's engineer designs to SEH, the county's land-use and septic engineering consultant, and that SEH returned minimal redlines; staff recommended conditional approval pending satisfactory resolution of those comments. Anne also reiterated that the deed must record occupancy limits for backcountry structures (no more than 90 consecutive days or 180 days in a year) and that the restriction is permanent and runs with the land.

One member of the public who identified himself as Jay Tucker and said he lives in Virginia spoke in support of the application. The transcript also recorded that a neighboring property owner had inquired but did not object. Board members asked about propane storage, access for pump trucks, venting and snow-shedding protections for the vent pipe; Beard and staff responded that the propane bottle would be removable, pump-truck access is possible, the venting runs inside the structure before exiting under the eave to avoid snow damage, and the manufacturer had approved the planned configuration.

After public comment and questioning, a board member moved to conditionally approve the variance to allow a vault privy in place of a traditional OWTS for the temporarily occupied backcountry structure on the property known as 11715 County Road 7 in Leadville (parcel number 2747-3500-00-025). Commissioner Elseth seconded the motion. The board voted in the affirmative and approved the motion. Anne said staff will follow up with the applicant to record the approval and associated deed restriction.

The board's approval does not remove the requirement that the applicant address the engineering comments from SEH prior to finalization, and it requires that the deed record the occupancy limitation and any other conditions of approval. No regulatory appeals or timelines were stated in the hearing record.

Votes at a glance: The transcript records a motion to conditionally approve, a second by Commissioner Elseth, and the board voice vote resulted in affirmative votes and approval; no roll-call tally by name appears in the record provided.

The board concluded the hearing and closed the meeting at about 2:13 p.m.