Palouse lagoon plan could require county code change
February 28, 2019
The quest by the City of Palouse to meet new requirements of the Washington State Department of Ecology for its wastewater treatment system took another turn two weeks ago as a plan for a lagoon will require a change in county code.
The realization came two months before an April deadline.
“Nothing about this project has been easy,” said Michael Echanove, Palouse mayor. “Of course a lagoon’s not permitted. Why would anything go right on this? We will be asking for another extension.”
City Administrator Kyle Dixon met with county commissioners Feb. 4 to discuss a possible code change, which would be needed if the city is unable to annex needed land on the northeast edge of Palouse.
“There would be some gymnastics involved in getting that area annexed,” said Dixon. “A very unsure route either way.”
The private land would require five or six property owners to allow the city to annex an estimated 50-acre total, to build lagoons to store treated wastewater. The project would also require pipes to run on an abandoned railroad bed to direct the effluent to and from the site.
Most of the treated wastewater would be used to irrigate a crop. The rest would be discharged into the North Fork of the Palouse River at approved times of the year.
The lagoon option is one of several still being considered, including higher technology such as ultra-filtration and reverse-osmosis.
Whitman County has no provision for municipal wastewater storage in unincorporated areas.
“We don’t have that in our code, nor was it envisioned,” said Commissioner Art Swannack.
If Palouse does pursue this option, Swannack indicated that he and the commissioners would need to research the matter, with a public hearing process to follow.
Because the Palouse plant discharges into the river, the city has a special permit administered through the state’s Department of Ecology. In 2015, when the permit came up for review, the temperature of the facility’s discharge water was deemed too high.
The DOE directed Palouse to reduce it, as well as cut the nutrient totals from the plant, particularly for nitrogen and phosphate.
The high nutrient levels are a problem because it feeds algae in the river. Algae depletes the water’s oxygen.
Palouse has spent an estimated $160,000 to $180,000 on engineering fees on the wastewater work so far.
“And we haven’t done anything yet. We’re on about Plan F now,” said Echanove.
As for the April deadline, an extension, if granted, would be for one year, the second extension Palouse has asked for during this process.
“We expect to get it,” said Dixon. “Nothing’s given, but they see our good-faith efforts.”
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