Cook County has been awarded Clean Water Legacy Grant funds that will allow it to inspect 162 lakeshore septic systems on three lakes on the east end of Cook County. Since 2001, inspections have been done on lakeshore septic systems in the West End, just north of Grand Marais, and up the Gunflint Trail.
Properties along McFarland, Greenwood, and Tom lakes in Hovland will be inspected.
The grant is for $126,125, with the county providing a match of $31,531 in the form of in-kind services. This amounts to an inspection cost of $973 per system.
County Planning & Zoning Director Tim Nelson told the county board on April 9 that to help them come into compliance, property owners with noncompliant septic systems will be able to obtain low-interest loans from the county that can be paid back over time with their property taxes.
The county currently has a two-page septic ordinance that is being revised to conform to new state septic requirements. Only two things automatically trigger septic inspections at this time: the addition of a bedroom (a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency rule) and permit requests on shore land (a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources rule).
If a system is found to be noncompliant, the state gives property owners two years to come into compliance. If they do not, they can be referred to the County Attorney’s Office for enforcement.
The county has focused mainly on shore land septic inspections in the last decade. Nelson said if they required septic inspections whenever properties were sold, the county’s attention would be diverted to a lot of properties in the middle of big pieces of land where noncompliant septic systems would not be harming any bodies of water.
Faulty septic systems have produced pollution in some county lakes. Commissioner Sue Hakes said property values are higher on lakes known to have clean water.
Commissioner Jan Hall was not enthusiastic about the septic inspection program. Enforcement has gone “completely overboard,” she said. “People cannot do anything on their land.” She said a lot of people have called her expressing frustration over the number of different activities that trigger inspections on private property.
Commissioner Hakes said she has received a lot of calls from people complaining about the things they are required to do in order to make changes on their property.
Commissioner Garry Gamble said he hoped people would see the value of being good stewards of the land and recognize that the county is trying to help them by offering low-interest loans to pay for septic improvements.
In other county news:
. The county received three applications for the part-time Tofte waste management attendant position. The board authorized Planning & Zoning Director Tim Nelson to hire Gary Kimball, who has been the temporary attendant for the last few months.
. The board approved a letter of support for legislation requiring paint manufacturers to pay for disposal of unused paint. Planning & Zoning Director Nelson said he thinks this cost would be passed along to consumers when they bought paint.
The county has been paying to dispose of unused paint brought in by residents on hazardous waste collection days. Nelson estimated this cost has been about 40 percent of the $7,000-$10,000 the county has been paying for hazardous waste disposal each year. . The board approved spending $35,000 in Title III U.S. Forest Service Secure Rural Schools funds for the identification of GIS coordinates for all fire numbers in Cook County. . The board approved sending a letter of support for Sawtooth Mountain Clinic’s application for an Active Living grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. It would be used to help Grand Marais and the county develop active living policies and to develop a plan for creating a safer Highway 61 corridor in Grand Marais over a two-to-three-year period. . The board approved a low bid of $2,876,217.14 from Northland Constructors for rehabilitation of a portion of County State Aid Highway 7 this summer. The engineer’s estimate had been closer to $2.4 million, but County Engineer David Betts said he thought they could make some changes that would bring the cost down. . Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust (MCIT) representative Jeff Holubar brought an annual report to the board on the county’s 2012 property, casualty, and worker’s compensation claims. He said 31.2 percent of the county’s employees (or their family members) had accessed the employee assistance program in 2012.
More than 40 percent of MCIT’s property and casualty claims are related to physical damage to cars. Just over 30 percent of the cost of claims is related to property damage, especially from weather and fire, and another 30 percent is spent on liability related to law enforcement, treatment of employees, and land use.
Among worker’s compensation claims, the most frequent claim regards slipping and falling, and the body part most frequently reported as being injured is the lower back. Law enforcement departments generate the highest frequency of worker’s compensation claims, followed by highway departments.
MCIT awarded Cook County $202,732 last year from dividends on investments.
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