Muskogee Community Hospital officials say the effluent that will flow from its wastewater treatment plant will be ready to drink.

MCH President Mark Roberts said he’s not too sure he’ll be ready to test that claim once the proposed plant is operational, but that’s the claim state environmental officials are making.

While on-site wastewater treatment is unusual for health care facilities, Muskogee Community Hospital has little choice in the matter. The hospital is located outside the city limits and without a connection to Muskogee’s sanitary sewer system.

“This is not an uncommon method for managing wastewater,” said Skylar McElhaney, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. “However, it is uncommon for a hospital to use this method as they are typically tied into existing municipal systems.”

Even if a municipal sewer line were available, it is doubtful the city would grant access due to a no-compete clause in the lease documents that dictate the terms of the city’s lease of Muskogee Regional Medical Center with Capella Healthcare.

Capella officials and others told city councilors earlier this year the provision of city services to Muskogee Community Hospital would be a violation of that lease agreement and could be cause for termination.

The oddity of the situation sparked some interest or concerns. After MCH officials applied for the requisite permit, a reader sent an anonymous letter to the Phoenix warning of the hospital’s plans to build a sewage lagoon on the property.

Roberts said the letter is only the latest rumor being floated by those who oppose the construction of the new physician-owned hospital.

“It’s a constant rumor mill perpetuated by people trying to make us look bad,” Roberts said. “But we’ve got the permit, and we have received no complaints about our plans.”

McElhaney said ODEQ has received no complaints during the public comment period which ended late September. She said any concerns about a sewage lagoon are unfounded.

“It is a storage cell that holds treated wastewater prior to land application,” McElhaney said. “The wastewater has been treated prior to going to the storage cell.”

Keeping with the facility’s goal of building and operating an environmentally friendly hospital, Roberts said wastewater — once it is treated in accordance to California’s strict standards — will be used in an underground irrigation system.

“It’s just the right thing to do,” Roberts said of the hospital’s philosophy to build and operate a sustainable and environmentally friendly health care facility. “It took a long time to work through the details, but we’ve been working toward that goal and we’re excited about it.”

Roberts said construction is expected to be completed before the end of the first quarter next year.