Hotel near Mount Rushmore faces more problems

Published 9:44 am Tuesday, February 28, 2017

RAPID CITY, S.D. — The owner of a hotel near Mount Rushmore has bigger problems than just a potential shutdown of his septic system by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a report published Sunday.

Mark Arend, of St. Paul, Minnesota, owner of The Lodge at Mount Rushmore, also owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes, and a lawsuit by Pennington County alleging that he violated septic system laws is due to go to trial next month,. There’s also an arrest warrant out for him for allegedly telling an underage employee to serve alcohol in 2015. The newspaper reported his problems with the EPA last week.

Arend told The Associated Press on Sunday that he’s working with the EPA and Pennington County to resolve the septic system issues and has spent over $37,000 in the last 12 months on system upgrades. He said the septic system is now in its best operational shape ever, and that the upgrades went beyond what the county sought.

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