Issues with Lightner Creek Mobile Home Park’s sewage pond, which has been seeping raw wastewater into its namesake creek for more than 10 years, have still not been fixed, state officials said this week. But the owner of the park a few miles west of Durango says progress is being made.
In 2016, the Colorado state health department sent a cease-and-desist order to the park’s owner, Darlene Mann, for the unlined wastewater pond, which is less than 100 feet from Lightner Creek, on Lightner Creek Road (County Road 207).
According to the state, the pool of sewage, which takes in the wastewater for about 40 units, for years has been leeching iron and coliform into Lightner Creek, a typically low-flow waterway that is a tributary of the Animas River.
But state records show Mann has not fixed issues with the sewage pond for the last three years.
In fact, records show approximately 10,000 gallons a day of wastewater, including sewage, was released from the lagoon for four days from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, 2018. The state ordered Mann to fix the pond, but just weeks later on Oct. 18, it was discovered the lagoon was again over-topping.
The spill prompted the state to again issue a notice of violation, a cease-and-desist order and a cleanup order Oct. 23 to Mann.
Mandy Mercer, an enforcement specialist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said Mann is subject to two active enforcement orders, both with the same goal: eliminate the lagoon and find a better way to treat discharges out of the mobile home park.
Mercer said it’s a lengthy and expensive process to get a wastewater engineering project designed and approved, then constructed and maintained. And, she said Mann has had trouble retaining an engineer.
Since the overflow last fall, Mercer said Mann has made some improvements to the lagoon, building up the berm to keep the wastewater better contained. She also said Mann hired crews to clean up the spilled waste from the surrounding property.
“There’s been incremental improvements, but the bottom line is the larger problem is not going to be resolved until she either consolidates with another facility or constructs a new wastewater treatment plant,” Mercer said.
Mann, in an email to The Durango Herald, said “a lot of things are in progress.” She said an engineer has designed a new system that will work for the mobile home park, but there is also a “good possibility” of connecting to the city of Durango’s sewer system.
She directed any further questions to one of her representatives, Tom Caver, a local real estate agent.
Caver said Mann is exploring all options: selling all or part of the mobile home park to help fund the new wastewater treatment plant or going to a lender. He said a cost estimate showed it could take nearly $1.2 million for a new plant to treat the waste of the 40 or so homes on the property.
Caver said the best option would be to connect to the city of Durango’s sewer system. That prospect is being discussed, he said, and all parties involved should know more in the next few weeks.
“She’s fully committed to trying to make it happen, and keep the park open and going,” Caver said.
Trouble with the park came to light in 2005 when the state health department ordered a shutdown of the wastewater lagoon for being outdated and susceptible to leakage into Lightner Creek.
In 2009, the park’s groundwater permit for the lagoon expired. After reevaluating the property, the state determined a surface water permit was more appropriate because of the clear connection between the unlined lagoon and the creek.
“The concept (of a wastewater lagoon) is valid and proven,” Mercer said. “The issue with (Lightner Creek Mobile Home Park) is it’s just too close to the creek.”
Mercer said the state always prioritizes having a business owner come into compliance before levying fines, though she said a civil penalty is likely after the matter is resolved. A little bit more leeway has been given to the mobile home park, she said, because people’s homes are at stake.
“We don’t want to displace anyone from their home because of the actions of another person they can’t control,” she said. “That is something we take very seriously, and are very sensitive to.”
Mercer said it’s not unusual for a situation like Lightner Creek Mobile Home Park to take years to correct. It’s expensive and complicated, she said, but business owners are required to follow the law, and the state health department can’t let a situation drag on forever.
“The division does understand it’s a frustrating situation,” she said. “But it’s just not going to be solved overnight. We had hoped it was going to be faster than three years, but we have made some progress. It may not look like much, but if nothing else, she has a very clear understanding of what it’s going to take to fix the problem and the consequences if she doesn’t.”
Caver said Mann has been keeping tenants of the mobile home park up to date about the situation. He reiterated Mann’s commitment to making things right.
“She is trying to make it work with the state,” he said. “It’s not an upside-down problem. It is solvable.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com