The gateway town near Yellowstone National Park has a moratorium on most new construction until it can build a new $33 million wastewater treatment plant.
During peak park visitation days, the town’s main pump station, which handles most of that sewage, can receive a million gallons a day — more than twice the amount it pumps during the winter. “The treatment plant has to be designed for the tourist season,” said the town’s consulting engineer, Dave Noel. “The rest of the year it’s running great. It’s the tourist season we really have to worry about.”