Residents ask Columbia Falls to oppose county rollback of pressurized septic rules

Residents used the council's public-comment period to press the city to oppose proposed county changes that could allow a return to gravity-only septic systems.

Shirley, speaking on behalf of the Everflat Neighborhood Association, said the group's more than 300 constituents support maintaining the current pressurized septic regulations and urged the city to send a letter or pass a resolution to the county asking it to oppose the rollback. "Our over 300 constituents would support the notion of staying with the pressurized system," Shirley said.

Derek Fisher, a county resident who said he lives near Columbus Park, thanked Mayor Barnhart for defending the current rules and urged the council to keep neighbor notification and existing land-use protections in place. "Thank Mary Barnhart for standing up for clean water, and against going backwards towards gravity systems," Fisher said.

Mayor Barnhart said she will attend the public hearing in Livingston and offer voice support for maintaining the pressurized-system standards; several council members expressed informal support for that step. The council did not adopt a formal resolution or vote at the meeting; Mayor Barnhart said she would go to the hearing and speak on behalf of her own viewpoint and indicated she would welcome council members' support.

The matter remains an intergovernmental issue with the county as the primary decision-maker; public commenters requested that the city make its position known in advance of the county hearing.