Good News! Because many of YOU spoke up DEQ has extended the public comment period by 30 days to Feburary 10th! DEQ is proposing approval of disposal of all the county septic waste near Flathead Lake.

Late Monday, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality announced, that based on public requests it was receiving, it would extend the opportunity for public comment by 30 days on DEQ's recently released 300+ page technical proposal to permit the disposal of septic waste from 30,000 septic systems in the county, at Lakeside County Water and Sewer District (LCWSD) located one mile north of Flathead Lake. The new deadline is now Feb.10th! This extra time is critical for the hard work we are doing and that needs to be done to analyze this proposal. Watch for updates; we will keep you informed.

Citizens for a Better Flathead works to foster informed and active citizen participation in the decisions shaping the Flathead's future and to champion the democratic principles, sustainable solutions, and shared vision necessary to keep the Flathead Special Forever. Since 1992 we have been working to secure policies that will keep the Flathead the place we love as it changes and grows.

Times a wasting. Act Now!

Speak up now for Water Quality

We need your help! Please Scroll Down to find a sample message for sending an email to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to request additional time for public review and comments on DEQ's recently released 300+ page technical proposal. This proposal aims to permit the disposal of septic waste from 30,000 septic systems in the county, at Lakeside County Water and Sewer District (LCWSD) located one mile north of Flathead Lake, and was published on December 9th. Further details are provided below.

We urge you to join us in requesting that, given the busy winter holiday season, residents of Flathead and all stakeholders be granted additional time to thoroughly examine and understand the complex technical issues presented in this proposal. This extension is necessary to allow for the seeking of independent technical expertise to evaluate whether the proposal will indeed have no significant impact on local water quality, including the numerous shallow wells and the renowned Flathead Lake, as tentatively concluded by DEQ. Your prompt action is critical.

These green fields along HWY 93 South to Hwy 82 and more fields and holding ponds to the left of this photo (not shown) are the proposed location of a new 700 unit subdivision and a massive proposed expansion of the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District (LCWSD) from 310,000 gallons per day (gpd) of sewage to 900,000 gpd of septic waste and sewage. This is, without question, from our research to date, the worse possible location for this major expansion and disposal of septic tank and sewage and wastewater in the valley. This disposal area sits over a very shallow aquifer connected to Flathead Lake and other water bodies in the area.

Click here for the Information Packet DEQ just released about this permit. Please note that this page suggests that DEQ has made a final decision, but they have not. They will first consider public comment. Also you will not find any mention of septic waste on this page--both of which are misleading.

Public comments are due January 10th, but you must ask right now for more time to comment, which will hopefully extend that deadline if lots and lots of folks request this.

It appears that DEQ is not disputing that the fragile groundwater aquifer underlying this disposal area is connected with the lake and river, as well as to multiple ponds and wetlands in this area—while DEQ still concludes there will be no significant impacts from this expansion. We strongly disagree. Citizens for a Better Flathead and North Shore Water Alliance will be working hard to gather the facts and expert opinions needed to show this permit should not be granted, but we need more time. And we need YOUR help to get that time! See suggested comments below and emails to send to, to urge the DEQ to provide a public hearing and 60 days of additional time for written comment.

Click Here to donate to support our work. This is expensive and vital work. Thank You for your support!

The following brief comment serves as a suggestion you may use --just copy and paste-- as is, but also feel free to personalize:

To: Sonja Nowakowski, DEQ Director and Lindsey Krywaruchka, DEQ Water Quality Division

I respectfully request that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality extend the public comment period for the Lakeside County Water and Sewer District’s (LCWSD) PERMIT NUMBER:MTX000307, LCWSD Rapid Infiltration System and the expansion of the LCWSD wastewater treatment plant by an additional 60 days and hold a public hearing as well, as this is a complex issue of critical importance to the Flathead’s water quality, economy, human health, and quality of life. To receive this 300+page release of very technical information, that you have been working on for two years, just as this busy holiday season consumes us, does not provide me or others the time needed to study this proposal, ask questions, and make thoughtful and informed comments.

Sincerely,

Add Your Name and contact information (phone, email, address – to the extent comfortable)

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Send your request for more time for public comment and a public hearing to both of the following:

MT Department of Environmental Quality Director, Sonja Nowakowski at sonja.nowakowski@mt.gov

MT Department of Environmental Quality. Water Quality Division Administrator, Lindsey Krywaruchka at lkrywaruchka@mt.gov

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Comments on the plan itself can be emailed electronically to DEQWPBPublicComments@mt.gov until January 10, 2025, or longer if an extension of time is granted as we hope it will be.

You may also mail your comments to:

Sonja Nowakowski, DEQ Director and Lindsey Krywaruchka, DEQ Water Quality Division

DEQ Water Quality Division

Water Protection Bureau

PO Box 200901

Helena, MT 59620

More reasons to support our on-going work. Help us meet our budget goals and more...

It's a good day to support our work for you and this Great Place.

With support from you and others, we have invested 100's and 100's of hours over the past two years attending meetings, testifying, and researching the multiple threats to the valley's water quality including:

Proposed major expansions of the disposal of partially treated septic tank and sewage wastewater to groundwater just one-mile north of Flathead Lake (the worse possible location for this type of waste disposal).

Challenging in court the failure of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) to abide by state law when issuing water rights (the same violations made in the water bottling plant fight) and how that failure harms not only the rights of those with existing water rights, but also now DNRC's failure to consider how high capacity wells can draw-in contamination from near-by sewage disposal areas or Super Fund sites.

Leading the challenge to secure a better cleanup plan for the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company Superfund Site.) (Read more on this here and here.)

Your support is needed to help us to hire and pay for much needed experts, including hydrologists and attorneys as we do the work necessary to protect the Flathead Valley's water quality.

Your support also helps us to continue our core work to call out bad land use policies that simply add unaffordable housing and housing and growth that is not supported by adequate infrastructure. We work to secure policies that ensure that growth respects the character and livability of our small towns and neighborhoods and prioritizes affordable housing.

Click Here to read our year-end letter and more about the work we are doing.

As we celebrate our 32nd year, we want to say again how critical your support for our ongoing work has been. Thanks for supporting our work to keep the Flathead a Great Place!

Click Here to Donate.

Please share this email with your friends and neighbors and ask them to get involved.

Citizens for a Better Flathead ~ 406-756-8993 ~ citizens@flatheadcitizens.org www.flatheadcitizens.org

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