Smaller septic systems planned at fairgrounds

Grant County changes design due to city pressure

MOSES LAKE - The Grant County commissioners changed the septic system plans for the Grant County Fairgrounds amidst pressure from Moses Lake, according to commissioner LeRoy Allison.

The original plans for a large on-site septic system to increase capacity at the fairgrounds met with opposition and it made more financial sense to build it differently, Allison said. The commissioners are planning to have a series of smaller tanks built instead.

Commissioners are now planning to build a series of smaller septic systems to avoid connecting to Moses Lake's sewer system.

The City of Moses Lake prefers the fairgrounds connect to the city, believing a septic system poses a health risk.

"We feel the cumulative totals of all of the effluent, that over the years has been discharged into these drainfields that have septic systems, is a contaminant to the water quality of Moses Lake," Moses Lake Mayor Ron Covey said.

Covey said the law requires the fairgrounds to connect to the city's system and the county commissioners did not comply.

Moses Lake City Manager Joe Gavinski said if the fairgrounds connect to the city, annexation is required by the city. He said the county is reluctant to annex the fairgrounds into Moses Lake because the city's policy requires land adjacent to the fairgrounds to be annexed into Moses Lake.

County Commissioner LeRoy Allison said the county is not enthused about annexation because the city may exert more control over which events the fairgrounds can hold. In the past he cited a city ordinance forbidding livestock within city limits, indicating it prevents many of the fair events and competitions.

The decision to change plans stems from strong opposition from the city when the county applied to the state for the appropriate permits, Allison said.

Allison said the City of Moses Lake appealed the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) determination of non-significance. The SEPA environmental checklist stated there are no probable significant adverse impacts on the environment due to the septic project, according to the determination of non-significance.

Covey said the city appealed to the Department of Ecology to have the permit denied. The city engineer said it would cost about 50 percent less for the fairgrounds to connect to the sewer system, he added.

"The engineer from Moses Lake got ahold of ecology and ecology raised enough issues, it looked like it was going to be a very expensive proposition to try and move forward with the large on-site septic system," Allison said.

"They withdrew that SEPA once they knew that ecology was stepping in to 'put a thumb on it,' and that's the way I'll describe it, put a thumb on our ability to put in a large on-site septic system," he said.

Allison said the change is also to take advantage of the septic systems at the fairgrounds. Instead of constructing all new ones, the commissioners are upgrading the ones already there and building new ones.

The 4-H building is receiving new restrooms, which entails a new septic system. Some buildings are replacing existing facilities and other buildings require a new small septic system to be installed.

"We were just hoping to upgrade all of the systems out there so that we knew they were all new and working well," he said.

Allison said the commissioners decided it is better to have the smaller tanks than connecting to the city.

The bids for the bathrooms haven't been called for yet, Grant County Commissioner Richard Stevens said, but once the specs have been reviewed, construction companies may start bidding on the project.

Facility Manager Vern Cummings said he hasn't seen the specs yet, but it will take about a month to review and approve them.