Town Still Pursuing Plans for a Central Wastewater System
Rick Langenberg
The town of Green Mountain Fall has won round one in an ongoing local and state sewer war expected to flare up in the next decade.
But at least for now, Ute Pass residents who reside in El Paso County have received a major financial reprieve with big implications. By a nearly unanimous vote, the El Paso County Board of Health adopted wastewater regulations that will not include a transfer of title section.
Under this stern regulatory section with new state rules, homeowners may have been forced to fork out $55,000-plus to sell their property. Under a new rule, (wastewater) cesspools would have “to be abandoned” during the time of any real estate sale and replaced with completely new units regardless of their operational level. This potential cost could cripple the local real estate market, according to most estimates.
New state regulations have tried to almost outlaw individual septic systems and force more communities to develop a centralized wastewater system.
The town is working to achieve this goal and recently received an $85,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development to begin the process.
But officials concede this is a 10-year project pursuit, based on current infrastructure realities and costs.
In the meantime, local county health boards got the opportunity to further evaluate the state regulatory sewer-related mandates and decide how strict a stance it could take on the wastewater front. Their decision had a big impact on small communities, who don’t have the resources for a central wastewater system.
Mayor Todd Dixon, who has lobbied for GMF and other smaller communities over this wastewater situation, was elated by the recent decision. “It has been my pleasure to help draw attention to this issue over the last five months. I am pleased with the result, and I am pleased I was able to represent the small mountain town communities,” said Dixon in a Facebook post, shortly after the Board of Health ruled on this matter in late May.
This issue was heavily monitored by key local government observers, including Ann Esch of Green Mountain Fall, who stressed the importance of this decision for many residents for months. She thanked the mayor for his diligence in representing the town in this matter.
In a later interview, the mayor admitted the town faced major obstacles during the hearings from septic company operators, who accused GMF of illegally dumping sewage. “At times, I almost felt like there was a conspiracy against Green Mountain Falls.” Dixon said he adamantly denied these claims and offered to pursue action against anyone doing such illegal activity.
The mayor was pleasantly surprised by the vote outcome, with only one Board of Health member casting a dissenting vote. “I think most board members questioned why is the government getting involved in the real estate industry?” said Dixon.
Under the board’s action, which goes into effect in mid-July, El Paso County will no longer operate a Transfer of Title program. As a result, it won’t require septic inspections for any real estate transactions. In the future, this wastewater situation must be negotiated between the buyer and seller.
“I am very happy with the decision,” said Dixon, who estimated that thousands of dollars were at stake. He estimates that possibly 30 to 40 percent of the homeowners in the Ute Pass use cesspool systems for discharging their waste. Others use slightly more updated septic systems. But these units also are difficult to regulate.
For months, Dixon outlined the realities the town faces as nearly all residents rely on individual septic system and cesspools for their wastewater needs. Moreover, he stressed the financial repercussions that could occur if El Paso County decided to get strongly involved more in the real estate market.
A new regulation proposed by the state would have made the process of compliance much more expensive for residents. This rule would not allow any current cesspools to operate, if a transfer of real estate title occurred, even if the system is fully compliant. Instead, these system would be forced to be replaced with entire new units, a cost that Dixon estimated at $55,000-plus, per unit.
But the county health board had the ability to opt out, or come up with a variance procedure. Since the beginning of 2026, Dixon made frequent appearances before the county’s board of health. “There was really no proof that we had a problem,” said the mayor in explaining his objections to the state’s rules.
Even with the end of any oversight of septic units in the Ute Pass for the immediate future, Dixon recommends that any potential buyer of property in GMF request an inspection of the septic system or cesspool in question. He noted that the option still exists for active negotiations regarding a property’s wastewater situation, but now it won’t be monitored by the county government. “If I was buying property up here, that is what I would do,” said the mayor.
The same scenario, though, may not be the same for Ute Pass properties located in Teller County. Teller officials could have the option of proceeding with the Transfer of Title program, with the sterner state rules.
Plans for a Central Wastewater System
Also, Dixon made it clear that the town is actively pursuing other alternatives. But due to the costs involved, these solutions will have to be funded by grants.
This theme was heavily echoed during a press conference in April, when USDA Rural Development Director Sallie Clark announced a $85,000 grant award to the town of GMF. This will assist the town with initial engineering and planning in addressing one of the community’s biggest obstacles. Town Manager Caleb Patterson has cited resolving this issue as aor prime goal.
Clark also hinted that USDA may be able to help GMF, once it decides on a particular solution project combat its current sewer woes. With this grant, a contractor was selected to study options for the town.
To date, no plans or updates have been presented. Dixson sees this as a project that will easily take 10 years to implement. The town could evaluate establishing a small central wastewater system or connecting with a line that extends to Colorado Springs.
In any case, the price tag would extend into the millions of dollars.
