S&R Septic modifies lagoon renewal permit

S&R Septic modifies lagoon renewal permit

By Andy Dennison

The Taos News

The owner of S&R Septic says he will not add car-wash waste to his state application for a renewal permit — thus, removing one legal angle sought by neighbors who want to shut down his sewage lagoon disposal site off U.S. 64 west.

In addition, Taos County Attorney Sammy Pacheco has informed the Stagecoach Neighborhood Association that without any change in the permit conditions, “there is no action that Taos County can take” because S&R’s lagoon predated the county land use code of 2005 and enactment of the association’s zoning ordinance in 2006.

S&R owner Steve Rael, who has been in the septic and restaurant waste dis­posal business for more than 15 years, told The Taos News

Wednesday (Aug. 13) that while he doesn’t believe add­ing a type of waste constitutes “expansion” of his operation on Tune Drive, he has written New Mexico Department of Environment (NMED) with­drawing the request.

NMED spokesperson Mar­issa Stone confirmed that Rael had verbally informed the agency’s Groundwater Bureau the same information.

“(Processing as a renewal) means that the waste types, volumes of waste accepted, and location of the discharge will be the same as they were during the last permit term,” Stone said in an e-mail.

The only permit required for Rael’s operation is issued by the groundwater bureau.

For the neighborhood association, which has object­ed to the odor and potential health hazards of the 15-acre evaporative disposal site, the emphasis may shift to lobby­ing state environmental offi­cials rather than the county.

“It gets a bit lawyer-ish now,” said Peter Fortunato, a Tune Drive resident. “While we still contend that the land­use ordinance prohibits his use, now I guess we will have to make a big stink with the state.”

Fortunato said that the association wants NMED to expand it regulatory range beyond groundwater con­tamination to air quality issues.

“It’s common knowledge that sludge open to the air and blowing around is a health hazard,” he said.

Rael’s latest permit expired in May, and his application has been deemed acceptable by NMED.

Now, Rael must make pub­lic notice that he is seeking renewal, and state inspec­tors will conduct a “technical review” to see if groundwater under and near the 16-cell site is protected. Rael is allowed to dump 10,000 gallons a day, under his current permit.

If successful during the technical review period, Rael will face 30 days of pub­lic comment before a final determination.

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