Bend mobile home park owner appeals DEQ fine

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said Monday it has issued a $20,147 penalty to Hank Elliott Investment Company, LLC for operating a sewage drill hole without a permit at the Mt. Vista Mobile Home Park, 64900 Hunnell Road in Bend.

Elliott owns the park, which disposes of sewage and sanitary waste through a sewage drill hole located on the property. The system discharges septic tank effluent below the ground surface.

DEQ said it issued the penalty because Oregon law requires those operating a sewage drill hole to have a Water Pollution Control Facilities Permit. The permit conditions ensure the system operates in a way that is protective of human health and the environment.

Human sewage contains disease-causing bacteria and viruses. It also is a significant pollutant that can harm aquatic life, contaminate drinking water and impair recreational water bodies.

View the enforcement letter: https://www.oregon.gov/deq/nr/091216eliotE.pdf

Elliott has appealed the penalty, the agency said