Is the glass half full or half empty? It all depends on how you look at it. Almost two-thirds of the septic systems on Seagull, Saganaga, Gunflint, and Poplar lakes are compliant with current county septic standards, according to a preliminary report county Planning & Zoning Director Tim Nelson brought to the county board Tuesday, August 17, 2010. That means that more than one-third are not compliant.
Out of 244 septics on 221 different properties, 153 (63%) were in compliance and 91 (37%) were not. Preliminary findings indicate only one imminent public health threat, “which is rather remarkable given the results of our previous lake inspections of around 3% to 5%,” Nelson said. “…To only have the one imminent public health threat is a result that the Gunflint Lakes can be proud of.” Property owners whose systems did not meet the standard have two years to get their systems into compliance. A property owner with a system deemed an imminent public health threat has 10 days to correct the condition that is causing the threat. After that is corrected, the owner has two years to bring the system into full compliance.
Commissioner Jim Johnson wondered how close the county is to being able to pay for immediate upgrades and then assess owners for the costs over the course of time on their property tax bills. Nelson said the board could enact an ordinance that would make this option available.
Nelson cited a property owner who withdrew a variance request for a deck because a septic inspection would have been required. The owner knew the system would not pass inspection and did not want to have to update the septic system in order to build a deck.
The Planning & Zoning Department continues to develop its list of which lake properties to inspect and when. Theydon’t want to inspect the whole county at once, Nelson said, because they wouldn’t have enough staff to deal with the results of the inspections in a timely way.
A Clean Water Legacy Grant made the inspections possible. The Planning & Zoning Office is preparing a more complete breakdown of the results of the inspections.
Commissioner Johnson said part of an old concrete septic tank had shown up in a gravel pit—not the right place to get rid of it—over the weekend. Nelson said that a lot of old tanks can be pumped out, crushed, and left in the ground.
The board approved the extension of a $42,000 Clean Water Legacy Grant for upgrades to failing septic systems in the Tofte-Schroeder Sanitary Sewer District. The amended grant agreement extends the grant period one year, from June 30, 2010 to June 30, 2011.
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