El Paso County health official warns Regulation 43 will force many Green Mountain Falls cesspools to be fixed or removed

Kat McGarvey, environmental health division director for El Paso County Public Health, told the Green Mountain Falls Board of Trustees that Colorado's updated Regulation 43 has been approved at the state Water Quality Control Commission and will change how on‑site wastewater is handled at resale. "Regulation 43 was recently heard by the Water Quality Control Commission on March 10. They did approve regulation 43 at that level," McGarvey said, and she warned the county will have to amend local rules once the new regulation has a final effective date.

McGarvey explained a central consequence for this mountain community: "when a property is sold or a cesspool is discovered on any property as part of the resale process, it will have to be removed, abandoned, or brought into conforming condition." She said counties have discretion on some implementation choices, and El Paso County plans to be "creative" in evaluating each parcel because many lots are small, rocky and lack adequate soils for conventional systems. County staff noted variances will remain possible but strictly limited and require engineer justification and Board of Health review.

Trustees asked specific questions about family transfers, technical fixes and whether adding a septic tank ahead of an existing cesspool could qualify as conforming treatment. McGarvey said placing a tank in front of a cesspool can improve treatment (effectively creating a seepage pit) and may be considered as part of a variance or mitigation strategy, but she emphasized state and county rules and site‑by‑site engineering will govern final decisions. El Paso County staff estimated the county has more than 34,000 on‑site systems overall but said the precise number of cesspools in the local area is not specified.