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Amish, county still at impasse
Bourbon County Commissioners and representatives from the local Amish community crammed into a standing-room only meeting Friday morning at the county courthouse to revisit the issues stemming from the group's compliance with county and state sanitation laws.
Three weeks ago, both groups agreed to return to the topic in hopes of finding a way to get the 26 households and three schools that make up the local community up to code.
More than 20 people crowded the tiny commission room for the regularly scheduled meeting, spilling into the foyer on the second floor of the courthouse.
After speaking with members of his community, local Amish farmer Chris Borntrager said they had yet to come to any final decision on how to address concerns about their outdoor bathroom facilities. Waste from the outhouses is dumped onto their respective properties within the community.
"We haven't come to any final decision on it," Borntrager said. "I don't know that we are in any position to make a final decision."
Several Bourbon County residents approached county commissioners last month about the local religious group and some of their practices that allegedly violate local and state law, including sewage disposal. The original concern stemmed from the horse-drawn buggies used by the Amish community and their lack of reflective safety lights.
Known for their simple lifestyle, the Amish settled the area about seven years ago and constructed their homes according to their religious beliefs and not using running water or electricity.
Commissioners said they were unable to "grandfather" the residents in.
"We weren't having any trouble until this was put on us," Borntrager said. "You guys are talking about these holding tanks or septic systems or whatever and the question we've got right now is is there any evidence out there that we're looting or contaminating anything?"
County Commission Chairman Harold Coleman said the only evidence that it's a problem is that it violates the county's sanitation codes.
Coleman told the men "we're here to find a solution."
"We're not dictating to you which way to go because we don't know what the options are yet," he said. "The problems are innumerable, but solutions seem to be the toughest part."
The county most recently took care of their own problem, addressing six outhouses at and around Elm Creek Lake. Rather than destroy the facilities, commissioners agreed to board them up for posterity.
Outdoor bathrooms must have an approved containment devices, according to Bourbon County sanitation code. The codes, written by county officials and approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, were enacted in 1998 and require plumbing systems to contain a septic or holding tank. Both require running water and cost about $1,000 to install.
State codes prohibit disposal of untreated or inadequately treated domestic sewage and that's what concerns citizens -- the possibility of it contaminating the water.
Bourbon County resident Frank Madison, part of the original group that raised the issue, said waste disposal not only affects current generations, but future ones as well.
"... These laws were probably put into effect for a reason," Madison said. "It may not show up today; it may not show up tomorrow; but it could in 50 years. It's like pollution. What we're doing today our kids and grandkids are going to have to be dealing with."
Many residents at Friday's meeting spoke on behalf of the Amish community.
Local resident Cathy Pechin introduced the idea of composting -- the decomposition of organic material for fertilizer.
"I say the composting should be done and looked into before anything else is done," Pechin said.
KDHE official Richard Thomas said he has not been exposed to composting from human waste, only the stabilization of sludge or decomposition from dead animals.
"I'm not saying it couldn't be done," said Thomas, a district engineer. "I'm just saying I'm not familiar with that application in our district."
Commissioner Allen Warren said he would be willing to amend the codes to include any state-approved stipulations.
"We've just got to work through it," Warren said. "And I think it can be."
To amend the codes, a public hearing would have to be conducted with commissioners voting following the procedure. The final decision would then need to be approved by KDHE for the county to enforce or allow it.
Dressed in similar, dark blue handmade clothing, the eight men who volunteered to represent their community remained mostly silent under their identical straw hats while conversations about their families circled the room.
Other counties across the country are encountering similar situations about the use of outdoor facilities by the Amish community and their alleged violation of sanitation codes. A few years ago, the Associated Press reported that a Pennsylvania Amish farmer was jailed for refusing to bring his outhouses up to code.
Dirk Strutt, the Southeast Kansas district environmental administrator with the KDHE, said he has encountered this issue in other counties around the state.
"We've came across this issue before," Strutt said from his office in Chanute. "The county can come up with alternative systems -- that's in their authority, but they have to meet our minimum standards to protect water and public health."
Strutt said KDHE's main concern is that the bathroom facilities meet state requirements, don't cause a public health problem and function properly.
After 45 minutes of discussion without a decision. County commissioners and Amish leaders decided not to meet again until viable options are laid out. "I don't see any reason to get back together until we get some more information," Borntrager said.