by John Dowd
In January the Bitterroot Valley Board of Realtors held a special “Snap-Shot of the Valley” event for members and the community. The event involved several presenters speaking about changes in local county regulations. It was the first of a two-part series, with this meeting having talked about county topics, and the next meeting, to be held on March 14, discussing local municipalities.
Michael Kent, president of the Bitterroot Valley Board of Realtors, spoke on the presentations given in January, and encouraged the public to attend the next meeting, even if they missed the first.
According to Kent, the first to speak was John Palacio, with Ravalli County Environmental Health. His presentation covered septic regulations and how the systems work. Kent said Palacio spoke on different types of systems and said, “It was a good presentation and it answered a lot of questions.”
Michael Kent, President, Bitterroot Valley Board of Realtors.
Kent explained that there have been a lot of changes in the last few years, and therefore a lot of confusion that has come behind those changes. Most of these revolve around what it takes to have a legally permitted system. Kent said there have been some misunderstandings, even among local realtors, about how these work.
According to Kent, part of this comes from the fact that there are no building permits given out by Ravalli County. However, the county does require septic permits, which are issued by Ravalli County Environmental Health.
Additionally, the county enforces standards based on state building code. There are also specific municipal permits in Darby, Stevensville and Hamilton that people should be aware of. According to Kent, “A lot of people have started without that septic permit,” which can, and has, gotten people into trouble. In these cases, often the drain field is the big concern. Kent said the tank can be just about anywhere, but the drain field has specific limitations. Kent gave the example where people sometimes build a house where the drain field would need to be. If that happens, the owners may not be allowed to put in a septic at all, and they will be stuck.
Another concern is that there are areas in the county with high ground water where a septic cannot be put in, otherwise the drain field would end up polluting the ground water. Because of these different potential pitfalls, Kent said, “I encourage all our members and all the public, get to the regulations.”
Kent said the regulations were updated July 2021and are available on Ravalli County Environmental Health website, for anyone looking to get more familiar with them.
Another topic during the presentation in January, according to Kent, was the concern over adding more rooms. Kent gave an example where if a person wants to add a fourth room onto a three-bedroom residence, they should check on what their septic system was permitted for. Septic systems are based on occupancy, not number of bathrooms. If an owner wants to add another room, and they only have a system permitted for three rooms, they will need to go though the permitting process again, and potentially get a new septic system.
Any member of the public can ask for a compliance check of their system at any time. Kent said there is no cost for this, and generally what will happen is the Ravalli County Environmental Health office will go back into the paperwork and check, while assessing what the owners currently have installed.
Kent said any property constructed after December 31, 1982 must be in compliance. Everything before that is grandfathered in, and owners are guaranteed a permit for a replacement system to bring their septic up to code as much as possible. The owner is responsible for installing the new system, and Kent added that there is a fee schedule for this on the Ravalli County Environmental Health website.
A septic permit is good for two years, and can be extended for one additional year. Kent added that there is a lot of good info on these on the website as well, and said Palacio encouraged people to ask questions and reach out. “They are there to work for the public, and they do the best they can,” Kent said about the county employees.
Kent wanted to highlight that once a person gets a permit for their septic system, the county will give them a folder that includes a lot of additional and useful information. This can include things like recommendations on maintenance like pumping schedules, inspections and more. However, Kent wanted to encourage people to have their system checked at least every three to five years.
Another topic was ground water monitoring. Kent wanted to remind people that if they shut off irrigation during monitoring, then pass monitoring, they cannot turn irrigation back on. A property that plans to use irrigation must pass ground water monitoring with their irrigation operating if they want to get their septic permit.
Rob Livesay, with the Ravalli County Planning Department, also gave a presentation. Livesay spoke about the subdivision process. Kent recalled a few of the important details from this presentation as well.
Kent recommends the public look up the “Citizen’s Guide to Subdivision Reviews,” which includes information on the review process for both minor and major subdivisions. This document is available on the Ravalli County Planning website. He added that this will help people understand how these processes work, why they are done, and exemptions.
Kent mentioned the family transfer as a way to be exempt from subdivision regulations. A family transfer allows gifting a portion of land to a family member, with the condition that the land can’t be sold for two years after the transfer, according to Kent. Applying for this exemption allows an owner to avoid going through subdivision review.
Kent said a new affidavit form was passed in 2025. It was created to keep people from using the family transfer as a way to get around subdivision review. However, the form is still being hashed out, as according to Kent it was written in a very confusing way, “but people need to be aware of it,” as that form is required now.
Kent added that county planning regulations have not been updated since 2012 to match with state regulations. Kent said there have been a lot of changes in that time in the state statutes. He noted that the county is still following the state regulations, however, the language in their documentation is in the process of being updated. Currently, the Ravalli County Planning Board is working to update the county planning regulations to match the language to state law. Once this is done, the changes will go through a public comment period.
The wording is currently being reviewed to get rid of any ambiguity, and Kent expects it will be at least six months before public comment may start. Kent is vice president of the Ravalli County Planning Board and has been on the board for several years. He said they are trying to meet twice a week to get through all the language, but so far they are only about two chapters through a total of about 13.
That board also makes their recommendations to the county commissioners on subdivisions. These recommendations are done through the review process, and most are to mitigate problems they see in proposals. For example, they did not recommend the recent Sapphire Heights subdivision proposal because they did not find solutions to mitigate various concerns.
Kent gave some mitigation examples and things they look at, such as water availability, sanitation, elk migration and other wildlife concerns, water effects downstream, agricultural operations and impacts, the effect on local emergency response like fire and law enforcement, and even light pollution.
One example of mitigation Kent has seen was putting in a huge water tank, and a committed well to feed it, for local fire departments to use. This also services other areas, giving the departments a reliable water source year round. It was a win for all parties, and mitigated the concern of bringing water to service those areas in case of fire.
There are always multiple reviews before anything can be approved. Public comment is also important during review. “It’s a very open process all the way through,” said Kent. He added that written comments from both individuals and agencies/organizations are encouraged and they read all of these.
The final speaker was Jim Nave from the Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), who spoke about water rights. This is a constant issue in the area, and in Montana. Kent recalled that 13,000 to 14,000 water rights still need adjudication, and these rights could be challenged. There were around 24,000 letters sent to property owners in the valley.
Another change was from HB 681. Kent said that a prior bill, SB 358, which did not pass, was aimed at banning any new wells in several parts of the state, including in Ravalli County. This bill saw “massive outcry against it,” as Kent described. However, HB 681 which was proposed to change the permitting process, did pass and now requires a form that specifies intended use. The law will become effective this year and adds a cost onto adding and using a residential well, 35 gallons per minute or less, not to exceed 10 acre feet per year.
Kent said the DNRC representative noted changes of use need to be filed and some wells that have already been drilled, but never put to use, will need to go through this process.
The next event open to the public sponsored by the Bitterroot Valley Board of Realtors will be on March 14, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Elks Club in Hamilton. That meeting will cover municipalities, with representatives from Darby, Stevensville and Hamilton and the Corvallis/Victor sewer districts. It will also include representatives from the Montana Department of Revenue to talk about property taxes.
Finally, Kent wanted to mention that the Bitterroot Valley Board of Realtors will also be holding a candidate forum in May for all those running for various offices in the House and Senate, County Commissioners and other seats. Kent said they will speak on regulations regarding real estate and visitors should “bring your questions, but bring them cordially, no attacks.” This event is meant to “give all the candidates from both parties a chance to speak.”
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