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Neighbor describes open sewage, asks Elko County to act on Humboldt Acres RV encampment
Summary
A neighbor told the Elko County Board of Health that multiple RVs on two lots in Humboldt Acres lack water, power and septic systems, causing sewage, odors and safety concerns; the county attorney said charges are pending but court processes move slowly.
A resident and landowner, Danny Lowe, told the Elko County Board of Health that occupants of two lots in the Humboldt Acres 2 subdivision have been living in RVs without septic, running water or electricity since January and are disposing of human waste on the ground.
"They are urinating and defecating on the property," Lowe said, describing as many as seven to 10 people at the site and reporting that one trailer burned after occupants were cooking meth inside it. Lowe asked the board to empower local officials to enforce the county's health and safety rules and to consider ordinances that would allow county building officials to act when state environmental health does not respond promptly.
Board members noted that county code requires septic systems in that zoning and discussed the limits of county permitting and inspection authority. Commissioner Andreozzi said the problem amounts to a life-safety and public-health risk, particularly for children, and suggested the county pursue cease-and-desist orders and personal delivery of notices by the sheriff when possible.
The county attorney told the board there are pending charges related to the properties and that building, zoning and law-enforcement investigators are conducting work that could support civil or criminal prosecution. "We can bring the charges, but we can't make the court ... move any faster than they do," the attorney said, and asked neighbors to provide photographs and other evidence to support enforcement actions.
The board did not take formal action at the meeting but asked staff to continue investigations and to engage state environmental health officials about capacity and next steps. Commissioners discussed whether the county should pursue a local ordinance to expand septic permitting or inspection authority, noting that changes could be limited by state law.
