Missoula County seeks $500,000 CDBG to replace failing septic systems for low‑income homeowners

Kayla Talbert, grants administrator for Missoula County Grants and Community Resources, told commissioners the county will apply to the Montana Department of Commerce for a Community Development Block Grant administered by HUD to fund a septic‑replacement program for low‑to‑moderate‑income (LMI) homeowners outside Missoula city limits.

Talbert said the county is "requesting $500,000 over 3 years" and expects to structure awards as grants to LMI owners with no repayment required so long as a five‑year deed restriction remains in effect. She said the program would prioritize systems that are failing or out of compliance and estimated an average replacement cost of $35,000–$45,000 per home; the county’s internal goal is to assist about four homes per year but staff said that is not an absolute cap.

Public-health staff supplied technical context. "Since the inception of our septic permitting program, we've issued over 19,000 septic permits," Charles Shane, environmental health manager at Missoula Public Health, said, and warned that failing systems can lead to backups, odors and contamination of groundwater and surface water used for recreation and drinking. Shannon Terry, director of environmental health, added that some areas have triggered creation of special management areas—Seeley Lake was cited as an example—where septic systems have shown measurable impacts to water quality.

During public comment and commissioner questions, residents pressed staff on program scale, eligibility and how failing systems are identified. Jonathan Simon of a Condon condominium community urged a strategic, countywide approach rather than a narrowly scoped pilot. Gary Lazarowski said the county should invest in monitoring for nitrates and phosphorus before replacements become a far costlier problem. Talbert and public‑health staff said detection is often complaint‑driven or triggered by pumpers, change-of-ownership inspections, realtor disclosures, aerial imagery or other adjacent work, and that federal procurement rules (contractor registration via SAM.gov and formal bidding) affect how quickly the county can deploy funds.

Talbert said written public comment on the application will be accepted through Missoula County Voice until November 20, and that staff will submit the completed application to the Montana Department of Commerce; if the county receives the award it aims to launch the program in 2026. The commission did not take a formal vote on the application at this meeting.