SANDPOINT - It's a hallmark of civilization: you flush, and it's gone. Wastewater treatment is taken for granted by most, but in reality it is a technically complex and potentially costly issue, one the city of Sandpoint has been dealing with for some time.

Case-in-point, the Sandpoint City Council considered at its Wednesday meeting comments to be submitted in response to a pending outfall permit for the city's existing wastewater treatment plant on the shores of the Pend Oreille River.

At least one council member considered the new permitting an opportunity to consider the future of the facility and its impact on the environment.

Plant permitting

The 68-year-old plant is currently operating under a temporary administrative permit issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. The permit allows the city to discharge treated wastewater into the Pend Oreille River. That permit expires the end of the month, according to Sandpoint Public Works Director Kody Van Dyk.

Meanwhile, a new five-year permit is ready to be issued, pending the conclusion of a 30-day public comment period. The city's comments relate to the conditions of that permit, including mercury monitoring, phosphorous and dioxin modeling, and a $2 million extension of the existing sewer outfall that is failing to properly mix with water in the Pend Oreille River, Van Dyk said.

Another permit issue the capacity of the plant. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality pegs the plant's capacity - erroneously, according to Van Dyk - at 3.6 million gallons per day. The city claims it's 5 million. It's an important distinction. A lower permitted volume could end up forcing the city to make expensive modifications to the plant.

That's because an engineering study is automatically triggered when treatment volumes at the plant reach 85 percent of capacity. That study could in turn trigger capital improvements, up to and including relocating the existing treatment plant, according to Van Dyk. That's a bill taxpayers would have to pay. So a 5-million-gallon-per-day capacity would theoretically push the need for a study and subsequent improvements further into the future.

Catalyst

That might not be a bad thing, however, at least according to Councilwoman Shannon Williamson. It's inevitable that plant improvements will be necessary, based on past studies, she said. Better to look ahead now and at begin planning for those capital costs.

"We've come to that point where those improvements are needed," Williamson, who holds a doctorate in marine science, said after the meeting. "This whole permitting process is a kind of catalyst in that larger process of determining which direction we go as a city."

Williamson noted that the river is already reaching its capacity to handle elements like phosphorous without repercussions such as algae blooms. She noted that, unlike the current temporary permit, the new permit will have phosphorous discharge limitations.

"I think we need to be forward-thinking in the long term, investing in studying what it's going to take to protect water quality and provide the services to the residents of the city that they need, and at the same time allow us to grow," she said. "It's not like we're not going to grow. It's time to take a closer look."

As far as the cost, Williamson said it was in the city's best interest to plan ahead for the inevitable. The plant, she said, is at the point where the city will have a hard time keeping phosphorous levels within the limits of the permit. Beginning to address such issues now will save taxpayer money in the long run.

As for the ongoing permit negotiations, Van Dyk remains optimistic.

"We've had good discussions with the DEQ," he said. "If we can justify 5 (million gallons per day), the EPA will do what DEQ recommends."

Idaho is one of only three states where the EPA, a federal agency, has "primacy" over issuing permits for wastewater discharge, according to Van Dyk. That's changing due to state legislation enacted in 2014, but the handover to state permitting control has a 10-year phase-in period.