Montana's
real estate booms create a mountain of sewage. Montana Department
of Environmental Quality (MTDEQ) is overwhelmed with applications
for sewage disposal systems, so much so that most systems have been
built without an inspection. With more than 1,200 subdivisions seeking
state approval, DEQ approves almost everyone without ever visiting
the construction site. Groundwater contamination with nitrates has
been found in domestic wells, and in some cheap subdivision systems
standing sewage is evident on the surface. We are all upset if the
sewage is dumped into a river, but if it goes into groundwater nobody
seems to care. DEQ's Water Protection Bureau, Subdivision Section,
reviews new sewage treatment systems for all subdivisions statewide.
Their small staff is overwhelmed with a large amount of work. ~