N. Idaho Homeowners Aim to Flush New Sewage Rules

By Associated Press

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — Homeowners and builders in this northern Idaho city are fighting stricter septic system rules that health officials say are needed to protect Lake Coeur d’Alene and other area lakes from sewage contamination.

State Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, has sponsored two bills to overturn new rules that would require larger septic systems at houses to prevent sewage from reaching water bodies.

However, Panhandle Health district environmental specialists say Idaho’s septic system standards are the most lax in the nation.

In an e-mail to The Spokesman-Review, Panhandle Health spokeswoman Cynthia Taggart wrote that those specialists “say the current septic standards offer marginal safety” and that district officials are “aware of damage by the high failure rate of septic systems and of their need for repairs.”

In Idaho, the number of bedrooms in a home determines the required size of a septic system. In the Panhandle, changes would be based on the square footage of a home, resulting in larger systems for average-size homes.

Panhandle Health Director Jeanne Bock, in a letter to lawmakers, wrote that the new septic system rules “are for the protection of those very waters which the homeowners now enjoy.”

But area home builders say the new rules would reduce the size of homes they could build.

(c) 2007 Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.