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DEQ Requests Comments on a Wastewater Permit for Lakeside County Water & Sewer District

  • Madison McGeffers
  • December 09 2024

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is accepting comments on a proposed Montana Ground Water Pollution Control System (MGWPCS) permit and a draft environmental assessment (EA) for phase 1 Wastewater Treatment System Improvements for Lakeside County Water & Sewer District in Lakeside, Montana. 

Lakeside’s wastewater system is nearing capacity and in need of expansion and improved treatment. The proposed facility meets a critical need especially as the number of nearby houses continues to increase. The MGWPCS permit would authorize Lakeside Water & Sewer District to discharge treated wastewater into state groundwater via rapid infiltration basins, which are shallow earthen basins for the controlled infiltration of treated wastewater. The proposed permit package includes a Fact Sheet, which contains the technical rationale for the MGWPCS permit requirements, and an EA for the decision to authorize the permit. The EA evaluates any environmental impacts arising from the discharge permit and construction of the phase 1 upgrades to the Lakeside wastewater treatment plant.  

Construction work necessary for the phase 1 upgrades will begin in 2025. Discharge to groundwater as authorized by the permit would not begin until phase 2 construction is complete. DEQ is approving Lakeside Water & Sewer District to move forward with the first phase of construction for their treatment facility upgrades. Included in those upgrades is building a septage receiving facility that will eventually accept and treat septage from septic systems in the Flathead Valley. Additional approval for phase 2 construction is required before the septage receiving facility will be able to operate. Phase 1 construction will also include a force main to convey wastewater from the septage receiving facility to a new headworks facility at the existing Lakeside wastewater treatment plant and replacement of an existing wastewater lift station within the district’s collection system. 

DEQ is accepting public comments on the draft MGWPCS permit and the draft EA from Dec. 9, 2024, to Feb. 10, 2025. To view the draft permit, Fact Sheet, draft EA, and to learn how to submit a comment visit: https://deq.mt.gov/News/publiccomment-folder/Extension-PN-MT-24-14-MTX000307

Tags: Water and Press Release