On April 19 Cook County Planning and Zoning Director Tim Nelson presented the county board with a final Septic Ordinance amendment that should satisfy the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).
The county has been at odds with MPCA for the last two years over the requirement to find more than one “acceptable” type 1 septic site on buildable lots in the county. State statute requires building sites to have “a minimum of two soil treatment and dispersal areas that can support trenches, seepage beds, mounds, and at-grade systems.”
With a lot of rock and little soil in the county, Nelson said he has submitted proposals to MPCA explaining that finding one area on a lot with the proper depth of soil required by the state for a type 1 septic system is often challenging.
Nelson said MPCA at first agreed with the county’s position, then disagreed with it, sending the ball back into the county’s court. Nelson said it came with a caveat that if the county didn’t comply with the state’s septic guideline, “they would start withholding funds from us.”
“This is the last step in the process of adopting some language amendments to Cook County Septic Ordinance that will bring the ordinance into compliance with the state requirements listed in Minnesota Rules Chapter 7082,” Nelson said.
The primary change comes through an administrative variance process strictly relating to the provision of requiring two type 1 systems for each lot created through each subdivision.
Nelson said, “This new administrative variance process is a balanced compromise between Cook County and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in order to practice the flexibility needed to accommodate for the unique geographic features, which are so prominent throughout the county.”
The Cook County Planning Commission approved the proposed changes to the Septic Ordinance, said Nelson, and was giving its recommendation to the county board to adopt the amendment through resolution, which the board did by a 5-0 vote.
The Septic Ordinance amendment will go into effect after it has been published as a legal notice in the newspaper, said Nelson.
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