Owners of septic systems in Blaine County turned out in force Tuesday to battle a proposed ordinance that would mandate professional management of all such systems through the creation of a county water and sewer district.
The proposal, a joint effort between Blaine County, the South Central Health District, and development consultant Devleoping Green, was introduced in late February. Blaine County Commissioners reviewed the proposal on Tuesday during a public hearing.
The creation of a Blaine County Onsite Water and Sewer District is intended to better regulate the approximately 3,600 septic systems throughout the county to ensure the health and quality of the water supply.
While several citizens acknowledged such a proposal may be a good idea in the future, they maintain that now is not the time.
The ordinance proposed to the commissioners on Tuesday is designed to simply determine whether septic systems should be professionally managed. If so, a separate ordinance would be established this summer that would hammer down the details of the plan, such as the rules, policies and fees.
Ken Worthington, of Bellevue, wondered how the commissioners could approve such a system without all of the details.
"I don't see how you can initiate something without the full scope," he said. "You need to get everything out front so people know what's going on. You can't initiate something then put the rules in after the fact."
At least five other citizens echoed Worthington's concerns, with one going so far as to accuse the county of using the proposal as a fund-raising tool.
Vern Thomas, of Ketchum, noted that the county is currently reviewing a workforce housing ordinance that would establish a fee on all new homes over a certain size in unincorporated Blaine County.
"You can't tax the hell out of them and then on the other end (impose new fees)," he said.
Len Harlig, a former Blaine County Commission member, said he had a "different perspective" on the issue.
He said it appeared that the complaints from the public weren't directed toward a lack of details in the ordinance, but the fact that people might have to pay a fee.
"I predict that even if you had all of the detailed costs at this point, people would still say it's not a problem yet, let's wait until the future comes and then deal with it," Harlig said.
Morgan Brown, of Developing Green, said earlier this month that the fees would probably be in the range of about $5 a month. Meanwhile, the city of Hailey charges close to $30 a month for water and sewer services.
"It's going to cost your citizens a few bucks," Harlig, who owns a septic system, told the commissioners. "This is one more fee. It's not the end of the world—it could be the beginning of our future."
He added that requiring citizens with septic systems to pay a small fee to ensure the quality of the county's water supply shouldn't be an issue.
"You can't afford to be wrong on this," he told the commissioners.
Still, the commissioners decided unanimously to table the ordinance and review it a later date when all of the details have been proposed.
"I don't see the harm in delaying the approval of the enabling legislation," said Commissioner Tom Bowman.
Martin Flannes, of Developing Green, said all of the rules and policies should be worked out by the middle of this summer.
