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Commission adds 500-foot effluent requirement to protect groundwater, tables broader wastewater ordinance changes
Summary
After extended public comment and technical testimony, the commission voted to add a new Section 4 requiring any underground wastewater system within 500 feet of state waters to meet an effluent limit of 30 mg/L, and deferred the bulk of the proposed ordinance revisions for further review with health and state agencies.
The Garfield County Planning Commission voted to add a new Section 4 to its underground wastewater disposal ordinance requiring any underground wastewater disposal system located within 500 feet of state waters to meet a maximum effluent of 30 milligrams per liter of nitrogen. The body also agreed to hold the remainder of the proposed ordinance amendments for further review.
County staff opened the hearing by proposing a retitling of the rule to a "groundwater protection ordinance" and asking the commission to explicitly require higher treatment standards for systems near named water bodies (SEG 408-426, SEG 435-446). Staff said the intent is to protect shallow, pristine aquifers in areas such as Johns Valley, Mammoth Creek and Pine Lake and to clarify a previously referenced "level 3" standard and the mapping of protected rivers and creeks.
The staff proposal included two linked approaches: keep effluent standards (the chemical concentration target) and add a density/lot-size control. One option discussed was increasing the residential minimum lot size in certain areas from 6 acres to 10 acres and capping the total number of septic systems by dividing total area by minimum lot size (SEG 531-540, SEG 576-586). Staff and commenters said that both approaches (effluent limits and density limits) would help reduce the total nitrogen load to the aquifer.
Public commenters and technical presenters offered contrasting perspectives. Several residents urged the commission to retain the highest protections for "pristine" mapped areas, warning that any lowering of standards risks long-term contamination (Scott Hole, SEG 853-871). Property owners including Tracy Jarvis described buying land with different expectations about subdivision and expressed concern about the economic effects of stricter rules; Jarvis said her well is about 300 feet deep and questioned the contamination risk from septic (SEG 995-1046).
A technical presenter (Unidentified Speaker 3) showed monitoring results from alternative (level 3) or passive systems—recirculating gravel systems with wood chips—that the presenter said drove nitrogen concentrations from above 30 mg/L down to below 1 mg/L in some samples after the systems had been allowed to rest (SEG 1253-1262, SEG 1619-1633). The presenter argued these passive approaches can be inexpensive and long-lived, and urged the commission to write local rules that allow these tested systems with performance-based criteria rather than only prescriptive "level 3" equipment lists.
Commissioners and staff acknowledged regulatory limits: local ordinances can set local requirements but health-department and state approvals remain necessary for system types and large-scale sewer solutions. Staff recommended additional work with the local health department, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and wastewater engineers to refine proposed language, mapping and monitoring criteria (SEG 1069-1072, SEG 1490-1504).
After discussion, Unidentified Speaker 2 moved to add a new Section 4 stating that any underground wastewater system installed within 500 feet of any state water in unincorporated Garfield County must meet a maximum effluent concentration of 30 mg/L for total nitrogen; the mover also proposed tabling the remainder of the amendments for further analysis and review (SEG 2066-2076, SEG 2070-2076). The motion was seconded, approved by voice vote, and the commission set a possible next review date for the broader ordinance amendments at the March 19 meeting, contingent on staff work (SEG 2099-2114).
The commission's action is procedural: it sets a local requirement that will apply to future permit applications; specific approvals for system types, construction, monitoring or deviations remain subject to health-department and state review.
Representative quote: "It goes to nothing because the bugs keep working," said the technical presenter (Unidentified Speaker 3), describing how passive wood-chip systems reduced nitrogen in test samples when wastewater was allowed to sit and denitrify (SEG 1631-1636).
