Required improvements to septic system lead to closure of trailer park Lansing Valley Mobile City residents must move by March 15
DNR inspection leads to trailer park closure ... A Department of Natural Resources (DNR) inspection revealed that water was being pumped from the sewage treatment lagoon (above photo) at the Lansing Valley Mobile City trailer park west of Lansing to the fence line (below photo), where it then drained into nearby Clear Creek, designated a water of the State of Iowa. The inspection was initiated as the result of an anonymous complaint and has ultimately led to the decision to close the trailer park. Photos courtesy of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
by Bob Beach
Residents of Lansing Valley Mobile City, located along Highway 9 about two miles west of Lansing, have recently received notice that they must relocate by March 15 of this year. Owners Mary Reed and Ronald Manderscheid say the closure of the mobile home park is necessary because the park’s septic system does not meet Department of Natural Resources (DNR) standards and making the necessary changes to the system would simply be too expensive. As a result, approximately 20 trailers, 16 of which house year-round residents, will have to be moved. Manderscheid said that when the mobile home park was established nearly 40 years ago, the single-cell evaporative wastewater treatment lagoon used by the park met Department of Health standards. Under new regulations established and enforced by the DNR, Manderscheid explained, the lagoon currently used would have to be abandoned and a new sewage treatment system built, or sewer lines would need to be run to connect with the City of Lansing’s sewer system. According to Manderscheid and Reed, all of the options to bring the park’s septic system up to modern standards would cost approximately $250,000. “Our objective has always been to provide reasonably priced rural living,” Manderschied said. “If we were to take out a loan to make the necessary changes, rental rates would have to be increased by at least five times. We really have no choice but to close the park.” A letter sent to park tenants in January by Reed and Manderscheid stated, "This has been a difficult decision but given the requirements imposed on us we simply cannot continue to exist as a mobile home park." Sue Miller, Environmental Specialist for the DNR, said that an anonymous complaint about the lagoon was filed October 29, 2009 and she conducted an inspection November 3, 2009. Her report states that at the time of the inspection, she observed a hose coming out of the approximately one-acre lagoon extending over the dike at the southeast corner of the lagoon and out to the fence line. Water was flowing out of the hose at a rate of approximately five gallons per minute and the discharge was flowing through a natural waterway that entered Clear Creek, a water of the State. The report further states no permit had been issued by the DNR for the lagoon or for the discharge and that one-cell lagoons do not meet the department’s design standards for wastewater facilities. Miller also noted in her report that Reed confirmed that she had placed a pump in the lagoon because of heavy rain, but agreed to immediately remove it when Miller informed her that she did not have a permit for the discharge. The report concludes that all discharge from the lagoon must stop until the DNR issues a permit to operate; the owners of the mobile home park must discontinue all use of the existing wastewater treatment plant or apply for an operation permit and a construction permit to upgrade the system by January 15; and no new sewer connections will be allowed to the lagoon until it is properly permitted. The deadline of January 15 has since been extended to March 15 because the month-to-month leases with the residents of the park require 60 days notice before termination of the lease. Tina Stahl, one of the residents of the mobile home park, said that many of the residents have been experiencing difficulties in finding a place to relocate their homes, mostly as a result of the deadline of March 15. “Everyone would like a little more time and nicer weather to move,” she said. She explained that many of the trailer homes in the park have additions that won’t be able to be moved until the ground has thawed. In addition, many of the residents simply can’t afford to purchase land to move their trailer homes to and many of the trailers don’t meet the requirements of other local mobile home parks. She added that some residents will be forced to sell their trailers at a loss because of the additional expense of having the homes moved. Stahl said that former Lansing Mayor Mike Brennan and Lansing City Council member Deb Volker have made some efforts to find help for the displaced residents by referring them to Upper Explorerland Regional Planning and Development and Northeast Iowa Community Action for possible assistance.
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