Salem, OR — The North Santiam Sewer Authority (NSSA) and Marion County sent a request to the Department of Environmental Quality to require domestic sewage treatment facilities to be regulated by the Federal Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. The request, in the form of a petition for a rule change, was filed this afternoon by Marion County, which is helping the canyon rebuild after the devastating 2020 wildfires.
“Our request to DEQ is critical to protecting North Santiam River water quality and assisting the communities devastated by wildfires to recover,” said Marion County Commissioner Kevin Cameron, Chair.
If granted, the request will update DEQ’s rules to allow the communities to transition from aging septic systems to state-of-the-art domestic sewage treatment facilities that are permitted under the stringent Clean Water Act NPDES program.
"This update means the canyon communities will be able to obtain an NPDES permit under the Clean Water Act, which helps us preserve our water quality for environmental and recreational purposes," said NSSA Chair Tim Kirsch.
The rule change would provide an immediate boost to plans to build new wastewater treatment facilities for Mill City and Gates as part of the North Santiam Canyon Sewer Treatment Project. The project will move through the DEQ permitting process this fall and winter. The rule update will also allow the popular summer and winter recreation town of Detroit on Detroit Lake to transition from aging septic systems to a domestic sewer system capable of handling summer and winter tourist traffic, spurring commercial redevelopment while protecting water quality and environmental health. Funding for the North Santiam Sewer Treatment Project was provided by the Oregon Legislature in 2021 in an effort to support disaster recovery in the wake of the 2020 Beachie Creek and Lionshead wildfires.
The petition for rule change and more information about the North Santiam Canyon Sewer Treatment Project can be found on the NSSA website, northsantiamsewer.net.