The Park County government is moving closer toward getting out of the sewage business.

On Tuesday, Park County Commissioners agreed to accept a bid from Engineering Associates in Cody — with help from national firm HDR — for engineering services for a project to expand the Cody sewage treatment facility to accept waste from county residents with septic systems.

Park County Engineer Brian Edwards said the goal is to have the project ready to bid by October, and EA and HDR, which has regional offices in Billings, Gillette and Lander, is well qualified for the job.

"They've had a history of working with Park County on our wastewater sewer lagoons, as well as the City of Cody on their wastewater treatment facility," he said. "So they know what they're getting into and they've got a good handle on the project."

Edwards said the county has agreed to pay for the design phase of the service, $406,000, while Cody will pay the construction phase of engineering services, which is 9% of the construction cost and estimated at $300,000.

Last year the county commissioners unanimously agreed to commit $2 million in county ARPA funds and utilize a matching grant from the State Loan and Investment Board to help pay for the project.

The funds will allow the city to upgrade to accept county sewage and enable the county to get out of the business of providing a dumping spot for the companies who deal with private septage.

The county lagoons have been in operation on Rocky Road just outside Cody for at least 50 years and commissioners were faced with either improving the lagoons or stopping the service.

The ponds will ultimately be self-sustaining, funded by fees charged to the haulers (and, in turn, their customers) who use the city’s facility. The city is funding the other half of the $4 million project through state funds.