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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us August 6, 2005 Mt. Ashland treatment plant is back in DEQ compliance New status is the result of looser regulations, not lower levels of nitrogen By Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings The water pollution control facilities at the Mt. Ashland Ski Area are no longer out of compliance with Department of Environmental Quality permit regulations. This is not because the treatment facility has been improved to emit less nitrogen, but because the standards have been eliminated. Chuck Costanzo, of the DEQ, said the regulations, which previously allowed for no more than 10 milligrams of nitrates per liter to go through the system and into the earth, were eliminated because they were unrealistic and impossible to meet. “Essentially it was overkill,” he said. “We rewrote the permit and took that out because they couldn’t meet that.” The WPCF treats the water and waste that goes through the plumbing of the Mt. Ashland Ski Area lodge and amenities. It was built in 1999 and cost the ski resort $750,000. The system works by filtering effluent and other waste by using a biological process that involves microorganisms. Jeff Hanson, general manager of the Mount Ashland Association, said the new system is a “significant improvement” to the previous system. He said the initial standards were in place to ensure that the water that comes out of the system is as clean as “drinking water.” Eric Navickas, a local environmental watchdog who is often critical of the ski resort’s practices, disagrees. He feels that the standard was not only fair but also needed to protect Ashland’s drinking water, which bubbles up from the ground about one mile away. “They are essentially dumping lots of nitrogen into our water supply,” he said. “Residents may have noticed that they can’t swim in the reservoir because of high coliform. Well, there is not much above the reservoir besides Mt. Ashland.” Costanzo, however, said high levels of coliform in the Lithia Park swimming reservoir is unrelated to Mt. Ashland’s waste treatment process. He said there are also a few houses above the reservoir with septic systems that could also be part of the cause. Hanson said Mt. Ashland would be constructing a building over the system that will help it operate more efficiently in the future. He said once the project receives county approval, they will begin work and hope to be done by September. Navickas, who has filed a lawsuit against Mt. Ashland’s proposed expansion, said the ski resort has told the Forest Service for several years that it would build the structure and never seemed to get around to it. He also said that is just one of the improvements that need to be made to the system in order for it to function properly. Hanson said that because the improvements are costly, around $60,000, and largely a precautionary measure, it has been on the summer work schedule for several years but has fallen to the bottom of the priority list for several seasons in a row. This year, Costanzo made the construction of the building a requirement of the permit. Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x 3040 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams