Outdated plumbing at tourist lodges in Yellowstone
National Park is spilling sewage into lakes and streams, and the
state of Wyoming has taken an unprecedented step: In October, it
threatened to fine the National Park Service unless it fixes
antiquated sewage systems pieced together over the last 50 years.
Such fines are unprecedented in Wyoming, and the state attorney
general is still determining whether the state can, by law, fine
the National Park Service.
“We
needed to do something to get … the Park Service’s attention to
correct these problems,” says Dennis Hemmer, director of the
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. “They just can’t
continue to be putting out raw sewage into these lakes and
streams.”
Word of the fines came one week after
40,000 gallons of sewage from the Old Faithful Inn backed up and
spilled into the Firehole River. Three earlier releases in the park
dumped almost 180,000 gallons in Yellowstone Lake and Myriad Creek.
Both waters are classified as Class I waters, and polluting such
high-quality waters is against state law.
For
its part, Yellowstone National Park has sought millions of dollars
in repair money from Congress for more than 10 years, but most of
those requests have gone unanswered. The park did receive funding
to fix the sewage treatment plant at Old Faithful, which was
polluting groundwater.
Environmentalists say
it’s time for somebody to step in to preserve park
waters.
“These spills are
happening again and again,” says Michael Scott of the Greater
Yellowstone Coalition. “It’s really discouraging when we see the
state of Wyoming (protecting) the park from a problem the Park
Service can’t seem to fix.”
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Sewage fouls Yellowstone.
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