MINERAL SPRINGS — There’s a problem at the new Mineral Springs fire station and everyone agrees: It stinks.

Due to outdated septic equipment, the Union County department of Environmental Health ruled that the Mineral Springs Fire Department is not allowed to dispose of waste through a septic system and, because there are no sewer lines running to the brand new station, it cannot tap on to the county’s sewer system. The only other way to get rid of the sewage is to store it on site, then haul it away when the tub is full.

Sewage will be stored and hauled away from the new fire station.

“It’s a little frustrating, but there is not much we can do,” Mineral Springs Fire Chief Don Gaddy said.

An Environmental Health inspection before construction approved the septic system, but did not check the actual equipment.

Because the equipment was still in working order and the fire station was not requesting additional capacity, the assumption was that everything would work.

An inspection closer to completion of the project showed that the septic system was installed in the early 1960s and no longer met county codes. By that time, there was not enough space to build an up-to-date system.

“The code has changed a lot since then,” said Gaddy. “That’s part of it.”

The Mineral Springs Town Council appealed to the county commissioners to extend a sewer line to the station, but county Public Works director Ed Goscicki said that was cost prohibitive. Options ranged in price from about $150,000 to about $300,000. “Clearly a lot of money for a single entity,” he said.

Town Council members urged the county to consider running a pipe anyway. Mayor Rick Becker said the nearest outfall was 3,000 feet downhill; at a commissioner meeting he said, “In addition, the town has been asking the county for many years to make service available for redevelopment of the downtown business district. ... Mineral Springs is one of the only towns in Union County that has not consumed county sewer capacity on large residential projects.”

Commissioners acknowledged the need, but argued that extending a pipe at that cost for only one user was tough to justify.

Gaddy said he would apply for state and federal grants, but was unsure that he would receive anything. “There’s not a whole lot I can do about it except ask,” he said.

Environmental Health director Jeff Knight could not be reached Wednesday afternoon.