Local News

County Approves Permit for Septic Lagoon Despite Opposition from Neighbors

Feb 10, 2016

On Tuesday Okanogan County released the final decision, approving a Conditional Use Permit for the Morgan Septic Lagoon. A.C. and Laurie Morgan who own Morgan and Son Septic Service applied for a permit to construct three septic lagoons on property located at 222 Hubbard Road, north of Riverside.

The county had issued a SEPA Determination of Non-Significance for the project back in December, which was also appealed by Jerry Hauf, however that appeal was dismissed by County Hearing’s Examiner Dan Beardslee, due to the fact that Mr. Hauf had not commented on the SEPA application within the allowed comment period, and therefore did not have standing to appeal.

Numerous people testified at the hearing on the Permit, with many neighbors expressing over possible contamination of their drinking water, concerns about odors emanating from the facility, threats of possible leaks and concerns over adequate easements over roads accessing the property.

City officials from around the county as well as current and former Public Health officials testified in favor of the permit, citing concerns that the only facility currently in the county, located near Brewster, is scheduled to be closed no later than June of 2020.

Randy Loucks, who operates the current septic facility testified for the need to have a new facility in the county to prevent septic having to be hauled all the way to George, Washington after his facility is decommissioned. Loucks said the cost to travel that distance would increase the cost to home owners having their septic tanks pumped from about $300 now to $1200-$1500.

Beardslee determined that this facility would be critical infrastructure for Okanogan County and surrounding areas, and that opposition to the project was based on unsubstantiated speculative concerns, that do not provide a basis for denying the permit.

In his approval, Beardslee did require several conditions to address the concerns of the opposition, including demonstrating legal and perpetual access to the property, and that the Morgans will be required to comply continuously with all Department of Ecology regulations pertaining to the operation of the facility.