![]() “Even when the toilet was serviceable and open, people don’t want to use a pit toilet … People would much rather, in our experience, go to the bathroom on the ground than go into a vault toilet.” “ has become this nuisance property for me and my staff to manage, as far as people going out there partying, camping, building illegal fires, defecating all over the place,” Johnson said. Johnson said a portion of Idaho Code prohibits the Corps from constructing a new facility at the site “due to restrictions requiring a 50-foot buffer to standing or interment water.” Meanwhile, the $2,500 cost to barge over a septic company to pump the outhouse - which is only accessible by boat due to surrounding landowners refusing access by land - is the maximum amount that USACE is allowed to spend on a single service.Īnother big factor in the Corps’ decision to eliminate the outhouse is consistent disrespect of the property by the public, Johnson said. ![]() The Corps’ decision is based on factors ranging from the environment to finances to a simple matter of access. “The only thing remaining would be the concrete vault tank.” “Over time the dirt would fill in that void, so there’s no safety hazard, and we’d just let the area go back to its natural state,” Johnson said. A large mound of dirt would also be placed over the vault. To accomplish that plan, the outhouse and toilet would be removed, the top of the vault pit exposed and lime sprinkled over the solidified contents, which would be eaten away over time. “After consulting with our environmental team and, they found it was best to spread lime over the top of it and let it deteriorate into the vault,” Johnson said. What happens after that remains a debate between USACE and the public.įor the Corps, Johnson said the best option is to eliminate the facility - which was built in the 1980s - rather than attempt to use a backhoe to remove the waste. However, one thing is certain: the current Springy Point peninsula toilet is locked, and will eventually need to go. What caused the waste to harden is unknown, as the regular maintenance schedule for the site dictated it be pumped every two or three years. “When the contractor stuck his hose down there, there was nothing to pump,” he told the Sandpoint Reader. The outhouse at Springy Point across the Pend Oreille River from Sandpoint. ![]()
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