Anticline pits approved

by Cat Urbigkit

Sublette County Commissioners voted Tuesday to differ with the county planning and zoning commission in approving wastewater disposal pits for Anticline Disposal LLC.

Although county planner Jocelyn Moore said the P&Z commission recommended that a conditional-use permit be approved for one pit for a two-year term, the county commission decided that wasn't enough, instead voting for a 10-year permit term for two 12-acre pits.

Moore said the Anticline Disposal facility, located on private land off the Boulder South Road, is an engineered and professionally designed facility. She said the P&Z recommended approval of one pit for two years, citing concern about what materials would be placed into the pit and wanting the county to have the authority to enter the property at any time for inspections.

Anticline Disposal attorney John Fenn of Sheridan addressed the commission, asking for approval of the two pits as applied for and requesting a 10-year term rather than the two years proposed by P&Z.

Fenn pointed out that with a multi-million-dollar facility, two years is too short of a term.

Fenn said the two-year term "invites a short-term mentality" by those interested in making a quick buck rather than the long-term approach proposed by Anticline Disposal.

Fenn pointed to the planned stages of the facility's development, noting that demand has far exceeded its growth, and phase three is now in the planning stages, complete with a reverse osmosis facility to treat the wastewater, allowing it to be reused.

Fenn said granting the county the ability to inspect the facility really isn't an issue for what has become a model facility. But Fenn did caution the county about getting into the realm of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality's jurisdiction, suggesting if the county wants to get into real detailed technical inspections, it needs a very qualified inspector.

"This is a sophisticated set-up," Johnston acknowledged, agreeing that the two-year term is too short, and suggesting that the company's idea of transporting water through pipelines rather than truck traffic is a long-term approach.

"I think 10 years is reasonable," Johnston said, to which Fear agreed.

"I don't see a danger for the county as far as a 10-year window," Fear said.

Cramer said, "I think we need to acknowledge that we are an energy-producing county and these types of facilities are necessary."

The commission was unanimous in approving the 10-year permit for the two 12-acre pits, with the condition that the county has the right to inspect the contents of the pits.