| New septic ordinance required |
By: Paul M. Malchow
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Posted: Thursday, February 4, 2010 2:54 pm
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In order to comply with new mandates from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Le Sueur County is updating a section of county ordinance dealing with subsurface sewage treatment systems.
The majority of septic standards already on the books will remain unchanged from their 1998 form, said County Environmental and Planning and Zoning Director Kathy Brockway. However, a few changes have been made.
Systems deemed an imminent threat to public health must be updated within six months instead of the current 10 months.
In all non-shoreland districts, any zoning permits requested for the principle structure shall require a septic compliance inspection.
A 50-foot setback is required from the top of the drainage ditch or waters of the state, unless otherwise designated. Currently there is no setback.
No septic system shall be constructed within 30 feet from the top of, or the toe of a bluff. Brockway said a slope of 18 percent or higher constitutes a bluff.
The ordinance also requires a 10-foot setback from any in-ground pools. This language is also new to the ordinance.
The state requires the new rules be adopted by the county by Feb. 4. Because this action is a change of ordinance, a public hearing had to take place. That hearing was held during the Jan. 26 meeting of the county board of commissioners.
Other action taken during the Jan. 26 meeting included:
• County Environmental Programs Specialist Amy Beatty presented the board with the county’s 2010-2011 feedlot work plan and the county’s 2009 feedlot annual report. As part of the county’s agreement with the MPCA, the county is required to keep an inventory of registered or permitted feedlots. These feedlots are inspected by the county for compliance. The county also reviews complaints and assists feedlot owners with manure management planning and permit applications.
Beatty said she is in the process of re-classifying registered feedlots in the county. Last year there were 203 and she expects that number to drop to just under 200.
The work plans are reviewed by the MPCA which determines if the county is in compliance with regulations.
The county’s feedlot program is funded through a grant from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources.
• Throughout 2009 the county held ditch lien hearings on a number of county ditches. Property owners benefiting from a particular ditch are assessed for maintenance and repair of that ditch. The county pays the bills and keeps a standing tab, per se, on each ditch. When the tab gets high enough, the county holds a public meeting and doles out the assessments. These assessments are proportional to the number of acres benefited by the ditch. The more acres a property owner has draining into the ditch, the higher the percentage of the assessment. Benefits are usually established when the ditch was originally dug, unless a redetermination is requested.
On Oct. 27 a hearing was held for County Ditch #32 which is located in Kasota Township south of Lake Emily. At that time property owners serviced by Ditch #67 questioned why they were being assessed for Ditch #32 expenses. (Ditches #67 and #32 intersect and for a brief span are actually the same ditch). The commissioners voted for a continuance on the matter.
Attorney John Kolb of the Rinke Noonan law firm in St. Cloud specializes in water rights and statutes. He was in attendance at the Jan. 26 board meeting to lend his expertise to helping solve the ditch situation. Complicating the issue a little more is the existence of Ditch #58 which also connects with Ditch #32 and proceeds east/southeast of Lake Emily.
Kolb said there is an advantage to consolidating the three ditches into one large ditch. It would then be a single functional system with one set of benefits. However, if the ditches are consolidated, the benefiting properties must be re-evaluated. This involves hiring engineers and experts and can become an expensive proposition – tens of thousands of dollars, perhaps reaching into six figures. This cost would then be assessed to the benefiting property owners.
Regardless of any consolidation, if a majority of the property owners request re-evaluation of benefits, the matter is brought before the commissioners. However, the board is not required to take any action.
Kolb urged the board to correct any errors and overlaps in the three-ditch system. “You certainly have an issue which is worth your time to investigate,” he said.
• Ann Traxler was named as the county’s representative of the Southeast Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management Organization Joint Powers Committee. Traxler is Le Sueur County’s emergency management director.
• County Attorney Brent Christian requested his salary remain at the 2009 level in order to help county budgetary issues.
• The commissioners designated $1,268 to support the marketing efforts of the Southern Minnesota Tourism Association. The funds have been designated in the county’s 2010 budget. It is 5 percent less than the 2009 appropriation.
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