Lake County Board of Health approves vault-system wastewater variance for Alpenflow campground

A majority of the Lake County Board of Health voted March 10 to grant a variance that will allow vault-style onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) for the proposed Alpenflow campground, conditioned on the campground obtaining its conditional use permit and several installation and maintenance requirements.

A board member said during deliberations that “the applicant has demonstrated that the proposed vault system will provide equal or greater protection of public health and the environment when compared with a conventional OWTS system under the specific circumstances presented at this site,” framing the board’s rationale for approving the variance.

Ann, a Lake County Community Planning and Development staff member, told the board the county had followed up with Jeff Davis on well-permit options for parcels larger than about 35 acres. Ann summarized three potential permitting paths: a domestic well permit (covering up to three households and an acre of irrigation), a commercial-exempt well permit monitored by flow meter and limited to about 108,400 gallons per year (roughly one-third of an acre-foot), and a non-exempt permit requiring augmentation when projected usage exceeds exempt thresholds. Ann said applicants may submit professional calculations if they believe the standard worksheet overestimates water use.

The applicant, who provided an email verification from Jeff Davis, told the board the commercial-exempt threshold is roughly 108,600 gallons per year and said commonly used per-person water-use estimates for a campground can vary widely (staff calculations cited 2–5 gallons/day per person in some meetings; the applicant discussed 5–8 gallons/day assumptions). The applicant also said the subject parcel is not currently inside the Lake County augmentation umbrella plan boundary, a factor that affects whether augmentation would be required.

During public comment, a representative of BEC offered support and said the group could provide resources or consultants to help prevent prolonged delays to lodging development. Another commenter, Sarah, reminded the board that county practice typically asks applicants to “plan for the max” when assessing capacity and resource needs.

The board then closed the evidentiary portion of the hearing and deliberated. In addition to the finding quoted above, board members commended staff for navigating dated and sometimes ambiguous code language and emphasized the board’s duty to protect public health.

The motion to approve the Alpenflow OWTS variance included six conditions the board read into the record: 1) the variance automatically lapses if the Alpenflow campground conditional use permit is not approved or if the campground use ceases; 2) vault privy systems must be installed according to the engineering design submitted with the application and must comply with all applicable construction setback and operational standards contained in Colorado Regulation 43; 3) vault tanks must be pumped and serviced by a licensed septage hauler on a regular basis and whenever tank-capacity alarms indicate the tanks are approaching capacity; 4) the applicant must provide an annual third-party inspection report verifying that vault tanks remain watertight, are not leaking, and are properly maintained; 5) the applicant must maintain records documenting pumping and maintenance and make them available to the county upon request; and 6) a sign must be posted at each restroom facility with contact information for Lake County Public Health for reporting sanitation issues.

A board member seconded the motion; the chair announced the variance was granted and directed staff to draft findings of fact reflecting the decision for later approval by the board.

The board’s decision does not itself change well-permitting status or water-right requirements; Ann and the applicant noted that whether a commercial-exempt or non-exempt well permit (and any required augmentation) will be needed depends on final, project-specific water-use calculations and applicable augmentation boundaries.

Next steps: staff will prepare written findings of fact for the board’s approval at a subsequent meeting, and the applicant must proceed with the conditional use permit process and meet the conditions of the variance if the campground use proceeds.