APPALOOSA COURT

Appaloosa Court
Rusty Olps
931 Harold Street
Moscow, Idaho   83843
208-301-4029
Project Description
Appaloosa Court is a 63-unit mobile home park located on the old Moscow-Pullman Road at the edge of the City of Moscow City Limits.  The wastewater system consists of a gravity collection system that empties into five septic tanks tanks and then pumped to a single wastewater treatment pond.  Overflow from this pond is chlorinated and returned to a wetlands that is located on University of Idaho property at the northern edge of the court.  Since Appaloosa Court does not have any type of wastewater discharge permit or reuse permit, this constitutes an illegal discharge.  The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) has directed Country Court to cease discharging to the wetlands.

Country Court must put together a wastewater facility plan to identify means to stop discharging treated wastewater to the wetlands, submit the wastewater facility plan to IDEQ for approval, and then implement the recommended solution contained in that approved facility plan.
Tasks to Be Completed
In order for Appaloosa Court to successfully resolve the matter of the illegal discharge to the University of Idaho Wetlands, the following tasks must be completed:
  • Appaloosa Court must complete a wastewater facility plan that is approved by the IDEQ;
  • Appaloosa Court must create plans and specifications to implement the recommended solution contained in the approved wastewater facility plan and obtain IDEQ approval;
  • Appaloosa Court must complete all construction associated with the implementation of the recommended solution contained in the approved wastewater facility plan;
  • Appaloosa Court must submit as-constructed drawings to IDEQ within 30 days of the completion of the construction project;
  • Appaloosa Court must properly abandon the wastewater treatment pond, if the pond is not included in the recommended solution;
  • Appaloosa Court must demonstrate to IDEQ that the illegal discharge has been removed and that the wastewater improvements comply with IDEQ requirements, thus resolving any legal issues pertaining to this project.
Milestones

In order for Appaloosa Court to complete the tasks listed above, the following timeline is proposed for the project.
  1. Gather all known information on Appaloosa Court for incorporation into the wastewater facility plan (meteorological data, soils information, water use, property ownership, condition of the collection system, septic tank information, property boundaries, etc.
  2. Owner must obtain outside services to ascertain the location and condition of the wastewater collection system (video and/or smoke testing).
  3. A meeting with all potential concerned parties must be held to ascertain if they can help implement a solution to this problem and what they require for their involvement.
  4. Based on the information gained from the meeting with concerned parties, this set of milestones will be adjusted accordingly.
  5. Based on the background information and the requirements obtained from the interested parties, the facility plan will be drafted with a minimum of four options, including a do-nothing option.  If a solution includes the installation of sewer mains, a route survey must be completed in order to determine feasibility and costs for that option (this would also be included in the plans and specifications).
  6. Concurrent with the development of the wastewater facility plan, documentation of approval must be obtained from the concerned parties for their involvement with the project.
  7. The wastewater facility plan will be submitted to IDEQ for approval.
  8. Project plans and specifications will be developed by the engineer and submitted to IDEQ for approval.
  9. Project will be bid out to local contractors and construction will be completed.  Inspection services will be provided by the engineer.
  10. Upon completion of construction, the engineer will develop as-constructed drawings to be submitted to IDEQ for approval/acceptance.
  11. Upon completion of construction, the facilities will be turned over to the City of Moscow, or an operation and maintenance manual will be developed for the owner if the owner will retain ownership.
  12. The engineer will develop a plan to properly abandon the wastewater treatment pond, if the pond is not in the final solution, and submit to IDEQ for approval.
  13. Once IDEQ has approved the wastewater pond abandonment plan, the pond will be properly decommissioned and abandoned.
Documents and References


Wastewater Facility Plan -



Project Contacts


Nicolas Hiebert, PE, Staff Engineer for IDEQ
       nicolas.hiebert@deq.idaho.gov
       Phone: 208-799-4886

Les MacDonald, PE, City of Moscow Public Works Director
       lmacdonald@ci.moscow.id.us
       Phone: 208-883-7034​​​​​​​

Eugene Gussenhoven, University of Idaho Director of Utilities &
       Engineering Services
       eugeneg@uidaho.edu
       phone: 208-885-0141

Dan Carscallen, North Latah County Highway District Clerk
       nlchd@nlchd.com
       phone: 208-882-7490

Jerry Shaffer, PE, Shaffers Engineering and Consulting
       shaffersengineering@gmail.com
       phone:  509-432-7070
Journal

October 6, 2017
Shaffers Engineering and Consulting created the Appaloosa Court Webpage in order to show all pertinent project information for all interested parties.  This webpage includes specific tasks to be completed, as agreed upon by the owner, the IDEQ, and the engineer.  This webpage also includes milestone for completion that will be ever-changing as the project progresses.  These milestones will also eventually include proposed completion dates.  All pertinent documents, references, and photos will be included on this webpage as well as all contacts and their contact information will also be included.
October 2, 2017
Sent out proposed agenda for October 10, 2017 meeting at the University of Idaho Ponderosa Room.  The e-mail contained the wrong meeting date but the overall agenda was approved/not commented on by all parties. 
September 22, 2017
Set up a meeting between the Rusty Ops, Appaloosa Court owner, Les MacDonald, City of Moscow Public Works Director, Gene Gussenhoven, University of Idaho Director of Utilities and Engineering Services, and Dan Carscallen, North Latah County Highway District Clerk.  These are the parties that will be involved should Appaloosa Court install a pressure/gravity sewer system to and along the old Moscow-Pullman Road.  The meeting is set for 11:00am on October 10, 2017 in the Ponderosa Meeting Room at the University of Idaho Facilities Building.
September 15, 2017
Conducted a site inspection at Appaloosa Court, accompanied by Rusty Olps, owner.  Inspected the drinking water system and wastewater system, taking GPS readings of important features. 

The drinking water system consists of a singe municipal well
that pumps water into a 16,000-gallon concrete storage tank.  A 2" water meter is present but bypassed.  The system in not being chemically treated/disinfected.

The wastewater system consists of a gravity collection system (no known information on location/condition) five septic tanks at the north end of the property, and from there is pumped to a single wastewater treatment pond cell.  Overflow from the pond is chlorinated and then piped to a wetlands that is located on University of Idaho land to the north of the property.
September 11, 2017
Rusty Olps, owner of Appaloosa Court hired Shaffers Engineering and Consulting to satisfy the requirements of the IDEQ for the removal of the illegal discharge of treated wastewater to a wetlands, located on University of Idaho land to the north of Appaloosa Court.