Elk Refuge Sewer District requests $1,565,947 from Teton County for sewer line to Elk Refuge Inn
November 04, 2025 | Teton County, Wyoming
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Monet Olson, owner of the Elk Refuge Inn and president of the Elk Refuge Sewer District, told the Teton County Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 4 that the district needs a county grant of $1,565,947 toward a $3,600,000 sewer project running from the town of Jackson to the Elk Refuge Inn in Flat Creek.
Olson said the area was identified in a 2024 TriHydro water-quality master plan as a high-priority area because monitoring has found elevated nitrite and nitrate levels in groundwater. "When we were identified with the TriHydro plan, we really recognized we need to take a different approach," Olson said, adding that the Water Quality Advisory Board recommended the district’s project for $3,100,000 earlier this year.
The district asked for roughly half of the project cost after "pretty significant pencil sharpening and additional support from the state," Olson said. She said the district has already secured a State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan at 0% interest and would cover remaining costs through state grants and that loan. Olson said the SRF loan repayment is estimated at $54,000 per year and that annual operating expenses are projected at $80,000, for a combined annual cost of about $135,000 if the county provides the requested grant.
Olson described the project as a gravity sewer collection main, approximately 8,000 feet of 6-inch pipe, with a lift station and grinder. She said the district currently comprises two parcels ("two ends") but the system is designed to serve roughly five times the current waste load and allows future connections under the county’s 500-foot LDR connection rule. Olson said the district’s special tax assessment already collects about $90,000 annually from the two current users and that neighbors will be required to connect when they develop or replace leach fields.
On readiness and permitting, Olson said the project has key regulatory approvals in hand, including permits or clearances from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, WYDOT, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the town of Jackson. "Our project is truly shovel ready," she said, and asked whether the county could confirm funding during fiscal year 2026 so construction could begin in April 2026.
Chair thanked Olson and noted commissioners would follow up offline; no formal county action was taken during the public comment period.
Questions and next steps discussed by commissioners and staff included the district’s potential role in a broader regionalization of sewer services, how future connections would be enforced or funded, and coordination with the Water Quality Advisory Board.
Olson said the area was identified in a 2024 TriHydro water-quality master plan as a high-priority area because monitoring has found elevated nitrite and nitrate levels in groundwater. "When we were identified with the TriHydro plan, we really recognized we need to take a different approach," Olson said, adding that the Water Quality Advisory Board recommended the district’s project for $3,100,000 earlier this year.
The district asked for roughly half of the project cost after "pretty significant pencil sharpening and additional support from the state," Olson said. She said the district has already secured a State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan at 0% interest and would cover remaining costs through state grants and that loan. Olson said the SRF loan repayment is estimated at $54,000 per year and that annual operating expenses are projected at $80,000, for a combined annual cost of about $135,000 if the county provides the requested grant.
Olson described the project as a gravity sewer collection main, approximately 8,000 feet of 6-inch pipe, with a lift station and grinder. She said the district currently comprises two parcels ("two ends") but the system is designed to serve roughly five times the current waste load and allows future connections under the county’s 500-foot LDR connection rule. Olson said the district’s special tax assessment already collects about $90,000 annually from the two current users and that neighbors will be required to connect when they develop or replace leach fields.
On readiness and permitting, Olson said the project has key regulatory approvals in hand, including permits or clearances from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, WYDOT, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the town of Jackson. "Our project is truly shovel ready," she said, and asked whether the county could confirm funding during fiscal year 2026 so construction could begin in April 2026.
Chair thanked Olson and noted commissioners would follow up offline; no formal county action was taken during the public comment period.
Questions and next steps discussed by commissioners and staff included the district’s potential role in a broader regionalization of sewer services, how future connections would be enforced or funded, and coordination with the Water Quality Advisory Board.
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