Goal
11 Exception Process
for Southern Deschutes County
for Southern Deschutes County
Board
of County Commissioners Public Hearing
at SHARC
in Sunriver, Oregon on October 28, 2015
at SHARC
in Sunriver, Oregon on October 28, 2015
Beginning
at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening, around 40 people gathered for a meeting to
present, discuss and make future plans regarding the Goal 11Exception, tying
the 2013 DEQ (Dept. of Environmental Quality) Steering Committee Recommendations
into the Deschutes County Comprehensive Plan and the Newberry Country Plan. ( PDF
- Deschutes County Comprehensive Plan and PDF
- Newberry Country Plan )
This
meeting was basically about changing the rules in Southern Deschutes County so
that people with smaller lots in the outlying areas of Sunriver and La Pine could be able put small septic
systems on their property along with their neighbors so that they could build
on them. Or, if their homes were already
built, they could decide upon a group onsite sewer system in their
neighborhoods.
This
is a “could”, and not a mandated requirement of the county. As it is now, this option is not available,
and that is what the Goal 11 Exception Rule is about; "to change an unreasonable
law and to amend it to make sense today."
Here
are maps and more information about the areas included in the areas
included: Goal
11 Exception Area Maps and Info.
Several
agencies were represented at the meeting, including Deschutes County, Oregon’s
DEQ and DLCD (Department of Land Conservation and Development). Local residents, Deschutes County Citizen’s
Action Group and other interested parties also attended.
Over
the past three years, there have been around 50 meetings to discuss how
Southern Deschutes County should properly handle their waste water in the
future. Prior to that, changes had been
made so that where standard septic systems and sand-filter systems were
previously approved, they were considered no longer adequate for new
construction and for systems needing replacement. ATT (Automatic Treatment Technology) systems
were mandated, but recently there has been a moratorium placed on those in some
areas also.
Deschutes
County Community Development inspectors determine which onsite system is
required on an individual basis. They
partially determine the system type by water tables, soil samples, etc. After that, the contractor or the homeowner
installs the required system. (Deschutes County Onsite
Systems.)
The meeting opened with a general background talk by Deschutes County. Then. there were presentations by DLCD and DEQ; input from community speakers; and then a follow-up and discussion of plans for the future.
The meeting opened with a general background talk by Deschutes County. Then. there were presentations by DLCD and DEQ; input from community speakers; and then a follow-up and discussion of plans for the future.
A representative from the Dept. of Land Conservation and Development gave testimony on why things should be changed.
Bob
Bagget from the DEQ in Bend gave his talk, maintaining why this exception rule
is recommended. He told meeting
attendees, in summary, that:
- There
is a documented health risk to clean groundwater in Southern Deschutes County;
- The
Goal 11 Exception provides solutions and is not a mandate;
- Low
interest loans will be available for those participating;
- DEQ
has met the burden of proof;
- DEQ
is working with other agencies to move things forward;
- There
is inevitable risk for groundwater contamination, but it is just not happening
right now, and if we delay this now we will be sorry for it in the future.
- There
are multiple lines of evidence and that area-wide ground samples have been
taken.
Speakers
from the South County Community then took turns speaking. Here are some of their concerns and questions:
- Cheap
nitrate tests were used to collect the evidence of contamination, and if the
commissioners go along with the madness they will not be re-elected.
- There
has been an omission of evidence that the DCC (Deschutes County Commissioners)
hasn’t never received.
- Over
the three years that it has taken to get ten recommendations, now only one is
being dealt with. Commissioners were asked
to read past minutes and find out the other nine recommendations.
- How
bad on a scale of either 1-10 or 1-100 was the pollution?
- What
is Bill Mason’s recommendation?
- An
example: If somebody’s well casing is
bad, why not make them fix it, instead of insisting that the whole town gets
new wells? The same with onsite systems
and sewers.
- Better
scientific monitoring should be done.
- This
is not about nitrates and is not about the future.
- There
were objections to the “health hazard” language.
- A
tape recording from a previous meeting was given to the DCC, detailing why some
of this is a bad idea.
- The
Comprehensive Plan is for the next 20 years, and we have to be very careful of
the language included. One reason for
this being that it sounds like So. County water is garbage and that is the
furthest thing from the truth.
- Also,
there could be misuse of the term “Sanitary District”.
- The
last three years will have just been a waste of time if this isn’t passed;
after 50 meetings and 750 hours of studying data.
- Stop
putting in ATT’s and put that money toward localized small sewers.
- One
man supported the recommendation, but felt that many wouldn’t be able to afford
the cost.
- Cluster
systems are a good idea in some areas.
- We
have good water and shouldn’t be telling everybody that we don’t.
- Are
we marketing on assumptions that might not happen?
So, as it turns out, some of the “health-hazard” language is necessary to provide a defensible burden of proof to get the Goal 11 Exemption passed. The Newberry Country Plan itself would not have any of this language included, it will just say that the Goal 11 Exception is in place. The language is being considered and worked on, however.
There
are also several other recommendations to be considered:
- Groundwater
Monitoring (by DEQ and perhaps OSU Cascades)
- Governance;
Sanitary Authorities and grassroots efforts
- Livestock
Ordinance on rural residential properties
- Groundwater
Monitoring on golf courses, RV parks and mobile home parks
- Stop
the moratoriums on ATT systems and coordinate with DEQ on rules
- See
how others have done the financing and financial aide
- Check
out Alternative Green Solutions
- The
Master Plan 3.4
As the meeting ended, it was decided to keep the public record open for several weeks (people can submit emails and letters to the DCC). There is no rush to pass the exception, though they will be working on it in a timely manner. Another meeting will be held in South County during the next couple of months, and will most likely be held in La Pine this time. More information can be found on the Deschutes County Website, and new links will be added to make things easier to find.
KTVZ was there and interviewed my husband, Cary Matthews, but they didn't end up using the footing in their broadcast. Here is the link to their news story:
