Camas Resident Sues HOA For Not Maintaining The Lacamas Biofilter

The Lacamas Shores Homeowners Association is responsible for maintaining the Lacamas biofilter. However, the association has not maintained it in years. A resident sued the homeowners association, alleging that the HOA’s negligence has polluted Lacamas Lake.

The Lacamas Biofilter

Lacamas Shores is a luxury neighborhood located along Lacamas Lake’s southwest shore. It maintained a once state-of-the-art Lacamas biofilter system filled with a mix of aquatic plants and native grasses. These were made to absorb nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphates, from stormwater runoff that fed toxic algae blooms. The HOA initially maintained the Lacamas biofilter during its first five years in the 1980s.

Fast forward to today, and the Lacamas biofilter has severely deteriorated. The biofilter is filled with sludge-covered ponds, gnarled blackberry brambles, and tall alder trees. According to Steve Bang, the resident who sued Lacamas Shores HOA, the degradation has contributed to the algae bloom in Lacamas Lake.

A Lawsuit Against the HOA

Bang filed a lawsuit in the federal court against the HOA in August 2021. He filed it under the Citizen’s Clean Water Act, alleging that biofilter is releasing pollutants in Lacamas Lake. The case is still not closed, but the Clark County Superior Court previously judged that the association violated its HOA covenants by neglecting to maintain the biofilter.

Marie Tabata Callerame, a former HOA resident, mentioned the independently gathered water samples in September 2020. According to Callerame, the Lacamas biofilter had the reverse effect from the biofilter’s original intention.

She said the tests showed the biofilter was not absorbing the harmful nutrients but was pouring concentrated amounts into the lake. Callerame, Bang, and other residents manage a website, www.lacamasshoresbiofilter.org, containing these results.

The HOA’s Actions and Response

Don Trost, the HOA president, assumed his role in 2021. Before becoming a board member, he could not speak to the HOA’s management of the Lacamas biofilter. He acknowledged that the HOA’s actions were “benign neglect” regarding the biofilter’s maintenance. However, he argued that the circumstances were misinterpreted.

According to Trost, the implication that the HOA has been irresponsible is unfair to the members. Meanwhile, Bang realizes that he is suing himself as an HOA member. Nonetheless, when the residents ask him why, he answers: “Why are you not?”

In 2021, Lacamas Shores HOA commissioned Landau Associates, a Seattle-based environmental consultant. The HOA commissioned them to analyze the biofilter’s water quality, investigate the allegations, and arrange for its restoration.

Trost says the HOA is not ignoring the problem and has only taken longer because of the lawsuit. Moreover, he says the strife is partly because the residents want to remove trees in the Lacamas biofilter’s wetlands. These trees obstruct their views of the lake and reduce property values. The association refuses to release information regarding the commissioned report because of the ongoing litigation.

In addition, Trost states that the data presented on the www.lacamasshoresbiofilter.org website isn’t enough to back the allegations of polluting Lacamas Lake. “Typical environmental studies are a minimum of one year in duration, so you understand seasonal effects,” said Trost.

Camas City Officials Weigh In

Officials from Camas City say Lacamas Lake’s primary source of nutrients and water comes from Lacamas Creek from the northwest. The city’s latest test results state that the creek makes up 73% of the total nutrient load and gives the largest volume of water to Round and Lacamas lakes.

The Camas Public Works director, Steve Wall, mentions that the Lacamas Shores area makes up a very small percentage of nutrients based on their data. They collected water samples at historical data collection points far from the Lacamas biofilter.

Those who seek action from the HOA do not classify the Lacamas biofilter as the most significant nutrient source. It is an easily identifiable issue with a solution. “Fix the biofilter and maintain its overgrowth. It’s plain and simple,” Bang said.