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Ski area modifies proposal Sierra Club to look at new sewage plan By BILL KETTLER The Mount Ashland Association has proposed to scale back plans for its new sewage treatment plant at Ski Ashland to avoid a court fight over the project. Leaders of the Rogue Group Sierra Club, which sued to block construction of the plant, will meet tonight to consider the proposal, said chairwoman Charlotte Holzkamper. The publicly-owned ski area offered Monday to build a new drain field no larger than the existing drain field under Ski Ashland's area parking lot. The ski area initially planned to build a sewage treatment system that would allow it to serve about 50 percent more skiers. The Rogue Group Sierra Club filed suit in June to block construction of the larger treatment plant. The suit argued that it was inappropriate to build the plant in Ashland's municipal watershed. The Sierra Club also contended that building a larger sewage treatment plant could prejudice the U.S. Forest Service toward approving proposals to build more ski runs on Mount Ashland. Construction originally was scheduled to begin in July. Jeff Hanson, Ski Ashland's assistant general manager, said the organization's 11-member board of directors offered the compromise hoping that construction could begin soon because winter storms can end the building season by October or November. Hanson said taking the issue to court could prevent any construction from happening this summer. The sewage treatment plant itself would remain essentially unchanged under the compromise plan. Hanson said the capacity of the drain field would be reduced from more than 15,000 gallons per day to 10,000 gallons per day. "The plant stays about the same," he said, "but a smaller drainfield means less trees cut (in the watershed)." Hanson said the existing drainfield now handles volumes as large as 9,500 gallons on busy skiing days. The sewage volume on an average ski day is about 3,500 gallons. Holzkamper said she could not comment on the proposal until the Rogue Group's 11-member executive committee reviews it. "We are certainly considering the reduction of the drain field as a compromise," she said. "The executive committee will meet Tuesday (today) and we'll be discussing it at length. The decision will be made there." The sewage treatment plant is a key element in the ski area's operation. Hanson said the existing septic system was built in 1981 and needs to be replaced. The ski area planned to build a modern sewage treatment plant with 50 percent more capacity as the first step toward completing an expansion plan that won approval from the U.S. Forest Service in 1991. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Forest Service approved the larger sewage treatment plant. The Sierra Club filed suit after its appeals to the Forest Service were rejected. While the issue of the sewage treatment plant remains unresolved, the Forest Service is proceeding with its environmental review of Ski Ashland's proposal to add five new ski runs on the 7,500-foot mountain. The Forest Service's draft environmental impact study of the expansion proposal is scheduled to be completed in August. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA