Board of Health - Regular Meeting

Uh, the Lake County Board of Health will now conduct a public hearing. This statement I'm reading shall be incorporated into and made part of the record on these proceedings. The board of health has jurisdiction to conduct a public hearing on a variance application under section 1.9 of the Lake County on-site wastewater treatment system regulations. The purpose of this hearing is to consider whether the variance application should be approved. In consideration of the matter, the board of health will address section 1.9 of the Lake County on-site wastewater treatment system regulations as authorized in Colorado regulation 43. The procedure to be followed in this hearing will be as follows. Members of the board will disclose any exparte communications. County staff will make an initial presentation. The applicant may then make their presentation. After that, any persons either supporting or opposing the applicant may present evidence and there is an option that such presentations shall be limited to a certain number of minutes. Supporting and opposing witnesses may be questioned by the board. Once questioning is concluded, no further questioning is permitted unless granted by the chair. The applicant may then present any rebuttal evidence. The parties and witnesses are asked not to submit redundant, irrelevant, or cumulative evidence. If someone has already made the point that you wish to make, simply say so. The chair will also require that all comments be made to the board and that there be no dialogue between the applicant and members of the audience. At the conclusion of the evidentiary portion of the hearing, the chair will entertain a motion to close the evidentiary portion of the hearing

and the board will discuss and weigh the evidence. Then there will be a motion to dis to close the discussion phase of the public hearing. The chair of the board of health will entertain a motion on the application. The motion may take the form of one of the following recommendations. Approve the application with no conditions. Approve the application with recommended conditions. Approve the application with newly identified conditions or deny the application. The board's decision will be in the form of a notice to approve or deny. Are there any objections to the jurisdiction of the board or to the form or substance of these proceedings? None. Hearing none, I will now ask each board member of health if you have any if you've had any exparte communications to disclose and if so, please disclose them now. Sam Vera reached out to me. I um referred the email and communications to our attorney. I did not correspond back. He also called me and I accepted the phone call [Music] and asked him if this was going to come up in front of the board and then told him that I couldn't discuss it. Um, so we talked for some time but I expressly told him I couldn't discuss this matter. So, uh, county staff now may now make their initial presentation. Thank you so much. Um, so I'm just going to go over a few procedural things, uh, pursuant to the Lake County wastewater treatment system regulations. The board of health um may

approve a variance uh from a requirement of this regulation uh for legally created parcels which uh this parcel is um where a conforming OWTS cannot be developed and variances cannot be granted by staff. Um approval of today's variance must be based on evidence presented by the applicant or their design and the applicant and design um shall be notifi excuse me um how they have the burden of proof to demonstrate that the variance is justified and will pose no greater risk to public health and the environment than would assist in meeting um the regulations. The board of health must determine if this item has been addressed prior to granting a variance. In today's decision, a notice of denial of a variance shall include those reasons which form the basis for the denial. Um, and whereas a notice of approval of a variance shall include requirements or any conditions of the approval. Um it's also noteworthy that the variance if granted and any conditions thereof shall be recorded on the deed of the property and any expenses associated with that recording shall be the responsibility of the property owner. Um so today you will be hearing a variance request from um Mr. Samuel Beard for his property located up Western Pass Road or Can Road 7, also known as 11715 County Road 7. um and identified as the CK load union in uh 351079. And what the applicant is proposing is a limited use of vault privy tank to serve a single room c uh cabin uh for his gray water um and an incinerating toilet for the solid waste.

This is all to service a backcountry structure. um that is now available for residential use through the creation of the backcountry uh zoning which this parcel is located within. Um, one uh notable uh uh condition uh for this type of limited use is that uh the uh occupancy is limited to no more than 90 consecutive days or 180 days within a year. And so that is captured if the variance is granted through the deed of the property so that it is kept in perpetuity. um that the structure that would accompany the this infrastructure is only allowed on a temporary basis. Um so that is the um kind of some of the caveats and the uniquenesses of this type of use within the backcountry zone district. We did refer uh Mr. Beer's uh engineered design to our uh land use engineer and septic engineer for review. They did provide um red lines. Um they were very minimal. Um so the only condition that staff is suggesting as part of this review is that the applicant satisfactory address those comments and red lines. Um the applicant had initially furnished one type of incinerating toilet through a specific manufacturer and has adjusted that but has provided us that specification. So um it is uh he may talk about maybe the differences or why he chose to go with a different manufacturer. Um the incinerating toilet appears to be serviced by a 5gallon propane tank. So again um uh Mr. Beer can address kind of how uh uh the propane will be furnished

to the site and kind of what his operational plan is for this. Um but unless you have any specific questions um of me, I would be happy to introduce the applicant who has a well-prepared presentation for you today to address uh the finding of um the impact from the system and relative to the public health and safety of Lake County. Um one other item though just quickly is that the application was duly noticed. The regulation does require that adjacent property owners be notified through this process and that has been performed through certified mail. Um we only received uh an inquiry from an adjacent property owner. Mr. Vosberg uh did contact staff and it was just a question of inquiry. He was familiar with the Weston Hut commercial operation um at this location and and even communicated that maybe he had been a previous owner of this parcel. Um so he uh just had some clarifying questions but did not pose any objection. So that's what we have for you today. Thank you. Absolutely. We've also provided notice uh suggested motions for um conditional approval with engineering review or and also a proposed motion for denial. So those are included in your staff report as well. I see that it's it says vault privy. It is a vault a limited vault privy for the gray water. Okay. And that is what um the OWTS is the incinerating toilets taking care of the solids. So the deviation from on-site wastewater treatment is specific to the bulk privy because the uh solid material is uh addressed through the incinerating toilet that is results in ash that can be removed from the site. So really the the deviation from the on-site

wastewater treatment is the vault the system. You're now asking us to consider the toilet. The toilet is a is I would say is still a kind of an integral part of of the system. But what is a deviation from the Ot regulations is not having a small treatment area and a tank. So anything associated with the tank needs um as far as solid waste is going to be addressed with the incinerating toilet. So it really is the ball privy that we're looking for uh uh approval of today. Uh the incinerating toilet of course is the way the method by which Mr. Beer is addressing solid basement. Mr. Beer, go ahead. Mr. Well, thank you first off. Thank you, Ann. Thank you to the board and especially thank you to CC for helping put this meeting together. Um I appreciate that. Um and um so to kick it off, yeah, we're um we're planning on building a uh a small cabin. It's under 400 square feet um just below the Western Pass Hut. Um if some of you are familiar with that area, um it is uh there's a part of this cover slide that's cut off. So it actually at the bottom should say variance proposal for incinerating toilet system supplemented by graywater tank. Um so what is an incinerating toilet? So these toilets, some of you may be familiar with incinerating toilets, but I'll just go over it to kind of put on record here. Um this toilet specifically that you're seeing here on the right is the Eco John. Um it is waterless um propane powered. Uh you can see on the back there there's a little propane fitting. Uh essentially propane line uh from comes from outside the structure. Um goes through and hooks up to the toilet just like any other uh propane um running equipment would. Um when you're done using the restroom, uh you hit a

button. Um it drops the solid waste down into a sealed incinerating chamber and at that point it incinerates the waste using propane. Um the process takes I believe around 20 minutes uh for for solid waste. Um and a little bit less for um liquid waste. Um and it the end result is just a sterile ash um that you know safe to the touch, safe to dump in the trash can. Um even a lot of people dispose of it just by putting it on their gardens and using it as a a compost. Um although there wouldn't really be much nutritional value to that being that it's been fully uh sanitized. Um so um generally the way these toilets are are hooked up, they're uh externally vented. So meaning um you know the room that that this toilet's contained in is not going to have any uh interaction with the burning. There's no exhaust into the room. there's no um you know uh no risk of CO um you know carbon monoxide um or or any of that from the the burning process. Um it directly uh vents to the outside of the structure. Um the exhaust on this particular unit and actually most incinerating toilets is a double wall uh pipe and so it's safe to the touch. Um there's a in inner pipe that gets you know hot as it exhausts but then the outer pipe um that makes contact with any surfaces is is cool. Um the high temperatures u will you know kill off any sort of bacteria in the waste. Um and then there is um essentially a um little call it uh catchable on the bottom that gets emptied. Um I believe it's every 80 uses somewhere in that ballpark. It might be 50. Um but uh you know it would be uh you know in the grand scheme of an average house I think the average person uses the restroom and flushes a toilet five

times a day. So uh you know assuming four people are occupying the structure that would be about 20 times a day. So it' be able to go you know multiple days before it would would need to be emptied. Um so that's the incinerating uh toilet side. Um this is really a two-part system. We have the incinerating toilet on one hand. Um that's going to handle all the solid and liquid waste. Um and then the cabin also is going to have a sink and that sink is going to be used for washing hands of you know all the things that that a standard sink would be used for. Um so we um we'll be using all biodegradable soaps within the structure. Um, and this, uh, essentially, you know, a standard septic tank would take all of your solid waste and mix it with all of your gray water and end up in the same tank. Um, the design we've put put forward here separates that out and it's it's really done in a in a method that is safety minded. Um, so, you know, your standard septic system um, has a propensity to fail every, you know, 15 to 25 years. um in situations where they're occasional use or high altitude a lot of those situations um the failure rates are actually a lot higher um and as a lot of you know you know when a septic tank fails oftent times um I believe the next slide um actually has a little bit of a picture the background picture there is what your yard would look like when the septic tank fails where you're you know you have this uh black water um hazardous you know sewage uh that that ends up flowing out um and becomes you know essentially an environmental concern. Um, with the system we have put forward, that risk is completely eliminated because all of your solid waste and liquid waste is all incinerated um, and is contained right there, you know, in the toilet. Um, and so there's zero risk of any environmental uh, you know, challenges with that.

um if the toilet, you know, if there were some something to go wrong with the toilet, you'd know right then and there in the toilet because you'd see that it wasn't processing the waste and um you know, it would be a simple problem as a as as opposed to something that, you know, most people um I being included, I had a septic system fail on me about 10 years ago and um you know, you hear the alarm go off and next thing you know, you pull the lid off the the cover and there's there's sewage flowing everywhere. So, um not a pleasant thing to deal with. and especially in the back country um not something that is that is great for the environment. So the graywater tank um is a much better way to deal with this. On the left here we have a picture of a vault privy. Um there are quite a few structures in the back country I believe that use these. Um as a lot of you know you know you go into a lot of state parks and you'll use these as soon as you open the door you know you're holding your breath the whole time. you know, oftentimes there's flies flying around them depending on how well they're maintained. Um, and you know, quite honestly, they're just they're disgusting in in most cases. Um, on the right is a rendering of what our bathroom will look like um using an incinerating toilet. Um, obviously the toilet will look a little bit different than the one there in the picture, and we're not going to have the sink in the room, but as far as the total presentation, um, this is very similar to what we're looking to have. Um it will be, you know, contained right there. Uh safe, sanitary, um and, you know, no no risk of of um both uh flies, rodents, and that kind of thing. Um as well as uh the safer gray water system. So incinerating systems prevent uh surface discharge of any black water. I think we covered that. Um you know, no toilets failing. um just servicing the the actual toilet itself. Um really there isn't a whole lot of servicing

with the toilet. Uh it really is they are very very reliable. Incinerating toilets been used for about 60 years um in America. Um I I actually went to a great length to find examples of you know problems with them that you know either fires or um you know environmental health and I absolutely could not find articles uh that had anything to do with it. So, um, very well documented safety records. Um, so comparing to a septic, we covered that. No overflow, no ground water, all contained right there within the structure. Um, so, you know, really incinerating toilets would be the the pinnacle for for environmental um, protection. Um, so one of the questions that comes up is, well, why why can't you use a standard septic system? And um primarily uh the the terrain the high high elevation um and uh you know plays a part into it um alternative is required to support an off-grid cabin. Um but probably one of the best best reasons not to use a standard septic system is just the occasional use that's built into the code. um you know, standard septic systems, um they essentially require regular use in order to continue the bacteria in the tank that that are involved in the digestion process. Um if you go long periods without using them, oftentimes that bacteria dies and that increases your um your risk of the the having a backup or having a you know a failure in your uh in your tank. Uh in addition to that, when septic systems sit for a long time, especially in dry climates like Colorado, the liquids tend to uh evaporate out of the tank. They sit for 6 months or more and um that itself leaves just that solid at the bottom of the tank which reduces the tank volume and over a period of a few years that keeps happening. Um eventually you have a tank full of you know essentially

solid waste. Um and then you you run into the same problem of the system failing. So, um, so overall, um, we picked this system and we designed this system out of, uh, an abundance of caution for the environment and also a system that's going to best fit our needs for the structure. Um, there's no hazardous waste storage uh, anywhere on site. It exceeds the the safety of a traditional septic system. Um, it these toilets are specifically designed with uh, you know, the environment in mind. And like I said, they've been used for over 60 years. um in America. So um the ask here is uh for approval of the variance to install the incinerating toilet supplemented by a graywater system. Um and um I would open it up to to questions if anybody has any questions on that. Hi couple. How you doing? Doing well. Uh does the toilet require any power? Um so it requires limited 12volt power. So, we're going to have a a full solar system in in the structure. Um, and so a lot of people actually run them off of like a 12volt car battery, and they'll last for, for my understanding, weeks off of a 12volt car battery. But we're going to have a full solar system, and it'll plug into the wall just like, um, you know, just like any other electric component would. Okay. And then, uh, are you going to have a large propane tank up there? Are you going to carry propane in or? Yeah, that's a great question. Um, so propane, um, these are designed to work off of your standard 25 pound bottle. Um, we have we're intending to use a larger like 100 pound bottle. Um, but the the the intention on that is to be able to remove the bottle offsite when we're not using the cabin and it's not in, you know, regular use. So, if we winterize it, we can take the propane off site and there won't be any any propane on site. Um, so essentially the

bottle would hook up a lot like your barbecue propane bottle would just to the outside of the structure. Um, when on site it would be out of view from the road, tucked behind the structure. Um, not, you know, not in a in an area that would, you know, be an eyesore to anybody driving up and down the road there. Cool. That's it. I guess uh your design will address the snow shedding onto that pipe. So that's not really a question. That's just something I saw in the drawing there. If the snow comes off the roof and damages or or you somehow grabs that pipe, bends it over or something. Yeah, that's actually a great question. So the design that we actually have worked up is we're planning on kind of combining two of those uh those uh models and the the manufacturer is okay with it. So the pipe will run up vertically um in the inside of the structure and then it'll pop out the wall and be underneath the eve of the struct the cabin. So if snow sloughs off um the snow will you know not have an ability to to grab it. Okay. And the ash you're going to you're going to take that to our local landfill or or you carry that out obviously whenever it's necessary. Yeah, it's actually Yeah, it's not necessary to to carry it off, but we will. Um it'll go in the trash and it'll be carried off with the rest of the trash. Um just for better, you know, better use. Sam, just to just to double check, you said that it you said that the liquids will be from the vault toilet or from the vault gray water. those will evaporate. Is that true even at that altitude and with those temperatures? Uh, so so I was saying with a standard septic tank, if you leave them sit for a

long time, you you have that concern. Um, so we don't have any liquids or solids going from the toilet to the graywater tank. So the gray water tank in our design is solely for a single sink within the structure. Okay. And that pump truck's going to be able to get up that road and to the tank. Yep. the uh we can get a pump truck up there. Uh we could also uh we have a tank to to take it off site. Okay, that's really wild. Yeah, and gray water actually in a lot of areas they um they allow um it to just be pumped out and irrigation. A lot of um a lot of the municipalities will allow that, but we intend on taking it off site. We have a um a uh a dump site here in in um northern Colorado that we we prefer to use. Sam, do you have any uh problems um uh you know agreeing and and satisfying the red lines from the county engineer on on our part? Um no, I think we've actually satisfied all all of those. Um I I don't know if the if Ann could confirm that, but um we did u actually I have not sent back the engineering. I think there's one piece that the engineering they wanted us to specify that the tank wasn't going to drain in, but um but no um I don't think we will have any problems with that. Um yeah, they were pretty minimal uh uh red lines honestly and so we can work directly with Mr. Bear to um ensure that those have been adequately addressed. But I I don't see any problem with that. Um and staff is recommending um conditional approval of the variance based upon the evidence that Mr. has um provided today uh with the condition of

just addressing those items and an understanding that there will be a restriction on the deed that this is temporarily occupied. Also residentially occupied like is it clear that it's residential and not commercial? The um backcountry structure um uh license that Mr. Beer is seeking is specific to residential use, not just commercial use. Okay. Okay, thank you. Uh number four, um anybody in the room supporting or posing or online? Tucker. Yeah, trustee Tucker. Trusty Tuck. Whoever Trusty Tucker is, do you want to make any public comment? I would support his uh application. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. It said I would support his application. Did you hear me? Yeah. Can you tell us who you are and where you live, please? I live in a house in Virginia. I have a project I've been trying to uh get to work on up there and uh so I'm following along with the uh process that you're using and uh hope to be in front of you at some point in the near future. Cool. And is Trusty Tucker your name? J Tucker Trustee? J Tucker Trustee. Cool. Thank you so much. Time for a motion. Chair. Okay. I'll make a motion to conditionally approve the variance request to allow a vault privy in place of the traditional on-site wastewater treatment system for a temporarily occupied

backcountry structure on the property known as uh 11715 County Road 7 in Leadville, Colorado. Parcel number 2747-3500-0000-025 in Lake County, Colorado. Um, Commissioner Elsa seconds. Go to a vote. I I wonderful. Thank you, Sam. Well, thank you. I appreciate your time. Yes. CeCe will follow up with you um on getting documents recorded um for the property and um for the approval today by the board. Okay, great. And that concludes this meeting of the board of health at 2:13 p.m. on 49:25. Thank you, Chair. Thank you.