Project Summary Report I had the task of choosing a chapter out of the 2009 Homeowners Guide to Shoreland Regulations

for the Sauk River Watershed and finding regulatory topics related to that chapter to translate into laymans terms for the average resident of the Sauk River Watershed. Along with helping the community of the Sauk River Watershed, I was able to apply concepts learned in class into a project that adequately reflects the type of work possibly done in the field. While it is not the main objective, the project links me to my community and provides me with a meaningful task. The reason for translating the already existing rules and statutes for regulations regarding homeowners is that they can be difficult to find and even harder to understand for the average person without regulatory experience. Many homeowners may not be in compliance with regulations without ever knowing because the information is not readily available to them. The main focus of this project is to make regulations more easily accessible. Regulations that, if not abided by, could land them into trouble. The chapter I worked on was Chapter 3 Home Construction. Some of the topics already in this chapter are permits, zoning standards, decks, and water-oriented accessory buildings. Also located in this chapter is On-Site Sewage Treatment Systems, or septic tanks, which I chose as a topic to expand on. The other topic I chose to cover was drainage systems for local homeowners. I was able to proceed through the project without many obstacles - translating over a dozen rules and statues, which came out to be well over 2000 words. The most difficult part in obtaining 6 pages of translated rules and statutes was actually finding which regulations were relevant to homeowners. Most of the statute sections did not relate to homeowners, but rather to engineers or other employees involved with drainage systems and septic tanks. However, I did find many regulations that would benefit local homeowners. Drainage systems have many regulations that are presumably unknown to most of the public. For instance, vegetation around drainage ditches has rules governing its maintenance and assuring its protection. Land owners may petition to have a new drainage system put in or to have improvements or repairs to an existing drainage system. Preliminary assessments are required for homeowners wanting to install a new septic system. Maintenance on individual sewage treatment systems is also required. In addition, there are many criminal activities that may be involved with drainage systems and septic systems, these activities and penalties have been translated in our

project report. These regulations and several others I considered important for public knowledge and have been adequately revised in my report. I found this project to be quite successful, applying and demonstrating what I have learned in class as well as providing meaningful work for the community. Residents should have no trouble learning what is permissible and required when it comes to drainage systems and septic systems. Likewise there should be no trouble adding the information I have revised into the Homeowners Guide to Shoreland Regulations as our information is concise, easily readable, and in the same format as the homeowners guide. Although there were not many obstacles to overcome with this project, there were a few that should possibly be taken into consideration for future students. One obstacle I came across, as stated earlier, was finding statutes and rules that sufficiently relate to the public and would actually benefit them. There are 103 sections in the Drainage chapter of Minnesota statutes. Of those we found approximately 15 that directly affect homeowners. However, I did find much more text that may affect homeowners in some way but I had to use only the information that I felt was most beneficial. A suggestion as far as the decision of which topics are most beneficial and should be translated in the future would be regulations that are come across on a more regular basis. However important the regulations of drainage systems are, they are not frequently referred to. Septic or individual sewage treatment systems appear to be a more useful and somewhat more frequent topic. Another small obstacle when doing this type of work is revising already-concise information into more easily readable concise information. Translating information that you are not very familiar with can be difficult, mostly when it comes to job-related terms. Perhaps it would have been a little easier had I chosen topics I was more familiar with. Yet even the information most unfamiliar to me was still able to be put into laymans terms without too much difficulty. The project that I have worked on appears to have been successful and I have no doubt that the information I have provided will be useful to some members of the Sauk River Watershed community. While there are still a lot more regulations regarding various public activities, I am confident that service learning projects such as this have a significant impact on the community throughout the projects lifetime. This project has certainly benefitted our group,

connecting myself with our local community and fortifying our knowledge of environmental regulations.

ETS 367 Environmental Regulation Fall 2012 Allan Kroyer Regulation Project

Drainage Systems When doing any type of home construction it should be taken into consideration where drainage systems are located and the laws regulating them as obstruction or alteration to a drainage system may result in legal action. Perennial Vegetation The area adjacent to a drainage ditch, referred to as a spoil bank, has certain regulations on the type and location of vegetation to be planted there. Spoil banks are supposed to be 16 feet in width, measured from the top edges of the drainage ditch and are to be planted with a local species of perennial vegetation. The strips of land used for the spoil banks must be acquired by the county before alterations take place and they are also responsible for its maintenance. A person owning property where a spoil bank lies may harvest, mow, or trim the vegetation located on the spoil bank so long as it is not harmful to the growth of the vegetation or to the drainage ditch. However, no agricultural practices are allowed on the spoil bank other than those required for the maintenance of the perennial vegetation. So while no crops can be grown on the spoil banks, there also cannot be tilling, fertilizing, etc. of the spoil bank. An area of the spoil bank or drainage ditch may be found not to be in compliance, perhaps due to obstruction of the drainage ditch or significant alteration to the spoil bank. The landowner
Comment [k1]: 103E.021

shall be notified of the infraction and will be allowed to do the required work to bring the area into compliance. If the area is not brought into compliance the county drainage authority will issue an order to bring the property into compliance. The expenses for the order will then be collected from the landowner. For instances in which there is significant damage to the drainage system a hearing may be called for. At the hearing it will be determined based on evidence whether repairs are necessary and if they are within the limitations of typical repair procedures. Costs resulting from repair of the drainage system will again be collected from the landowner. Obstruction If a drainage system is obstructed by the installation of bridges or other materials, the county shall notify the body that installed the obstruction as soon as possible, directing them to remove the obstruction. If the body responsible does not remove the obstruction, the body responsible must show the County board evidence of why the obstruction should not be removed from the drainage system. The County board must set a time and location in the notice for the responsible body to appear before the board. If the drainage system is obstructed on private property, the owner is responsible for the obstruction on their property. The owner must follow up by removing obstruction, or show the County board why the obstruction should not be removed. The owner does not have to remove the obstruction if he/she proves he/she is not responsible for the obstruction on his property. The owner must be contacted and notified by certified mail at least ten days before obstruction hearing.
Comment [LY2]: 103E.075

The board must hear all responsible parties involved in obstruction of drainage system, and must determine if obstruction should be removed from the drainage, if found that obstruction must be removed, the person responsible has a time table for which they shall remove the obstruction. If obstruction is not moved within the time required, the obstruction will be removed by the city and the person responsible for the obstruction will have to pay for the costs. The bill must be filed within the county recorders officer, the bill statement muse be filed as a lien on the property. A lien, which is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt must be enforced and collected for repairs of the drainage repairs under this chapter. The lien is not enforceable against a private party if the obstruction was not the private parties responsibility, instead civil action will be enforced on the party responsible by civil action. Petitions If local landowners want to have a drainage system put in, want repairs done to an already existing drainage system, or the addition of a lateral that connects a persons property with a drainage system they can do by making a petition. For improvements or the addition of a lateral, either 26% of the affected landowners must sign or owners of 26% of the affected land must sign. However, for the addition of a drainage system petitions must be signed by a majority of owners of all the 40-acre tracts that the proposed drainage project covers, or owners of at least 60% of the area that it passes over. If there are multiple owners of one 40-acre tract signatures of all the owners are needed and it only counts as one signature. In other words, there can only ever be one signature for every 40-acre tract affected. If all the owners of the 40-acre tract do not sign the signature is not valid.
Comment [k3]: 103E.202

Once signed, no one may withdraw their signature unless approved by all other petitioners. The petition must be filed with the auditor of the county with the greatest amount of land affected by the drainage system/ proposed project along with a $10,000 bond. The bond must be payable to all counties affected and will be approved by the county attorney. The bond may be filed by one or more petitioners and will be used to pay the costs incurred if the proceedings are dismissed or a contract is not awarded to construct the drainage system proposed in the petition. If expenses are to exceed the bond then more bonds must be filed for the proposed project or repairs to continue. The petition must: describe the 40-acre tracts or government lots and property where the proposed new drainage system passes over, including names and addresses of the property owners from records in the county assessor's office; describe the starting point, the general course, and the terminus of the proposed drainage system; state why the proposed drainage system is necessary; state that the proposed drainage system will benefit and be useful to the public and will promote public health; and state that the petitioners will pay all costs of the proceedings if the proceedings are dismissed or the contract for the construction of the proposed drainage system is not awarded. A petition may be withdrawn if owners of 60% of the land affected wish to withdraw. A petition may be withdrawn any time before the project is established, so long as there has been payment for the costs of the proceedings. Drainage proceedings may also be delayed if a majority of the petitioners petition for a delay. The drainage authority will determine the period of the delay.

Improvement of Drainage System This sections procedure has to be used to improve an established and constructed drainage system. In this section the word improvement must be used for tiling, enlarging, extending, straitening and deepening for an established and constructed drainage system. This also includes the construction and replacement of tile for a replacement ditch. The limit of extension for improvement may only extend a drainage system downstream to a more efficient outlet and the extension cannot go over 1 mile. A petition must be signed by at least 26 percent of the people that own the land that is directly affected by the proposed improvement. Or at least 26 percent of the land owners property. The petition must have the proposed number or description of the drainage system for identification. It must have the reasoning for the drainage system to be improved. It must have the starting point, general course and terminus of the extension briefly described. The improvement must include the names and addresses of the owners that the drainage system passes over. State the proposed improvement will be better for the public and it must contain an agreement by the petitioners that will be paying for the expenses. The auditor will then present the petition to the board in its next meeting and the joint county drainage authority within 10 days after the petition is signed. The drainage system is then examined and then shortly after a improvement report will be filled out. Improvement of Outlets

Comment [mb4]: 103E.215

Comment [mb5]: 103E.221

If a private proposed drainage project or existing drainage system has waters draining into another existing drainage system or body of water and there is an overflow, the affected county or owner of the overflowed system may start improvement proceedings under this section. A petition must be signed by the board of the county, by at least 26 percent of the owners that have the overflowed property or by the owners of at least 26 percent of the area of the overflowed property. Then the petition will be filed with the county auditor. If part of the improvement of the overflowed property is located in more than one county the petition must be filed in the greatest affected county. Once the petition is filed the board or the county drainage authority where the petition is filed has full jurisdiction of that specific petition. For the preliminary survey report the engineer shall show the drainage system that causes the flow and the assessment of property that benefits from the improved outlet. After the preliminary survey report hearing, there will be a detailed survey ordered and viewers will be appointed. The viewers shall determine the benefits from the report and the improvement. Drainage system in two or more Counties A petition for drainage construction proposed in two or more counties must be designated as a joint County drainage system. The auditor of the County with the largest area of property in the drainage system must also assign a number to the drainage project.
Comment [LY6]: 103E.235;

The board for where the petition for the proposed joint County drainage project is filed should notify the board of the joined Counties where the property is affected, they shall also notify that the boards meet jointly during this process. During the meeting the boards shall select five members to represent as the drainage authority, one member must be selected from each of the boards. The members that make up the drainage authority shall be known as the joint County drainage authority with a joint County drainage project or system number. A vacancy in the membership of the joint County drainage authority must be filled by joint action of the boards. Laterals A person that owns property in the vicinity of an existing drainage system may petition for a system that connects their property with the drainage system which is called a lateral. The petition must be signed by a least 26 percent of the owners of the property or by the owners of at least 26 percent of the area of the property that this system crosses over. The petition must describe the terms of the starting point, general course and terminus of the proposed lateral. It also must describe the property traversed by the lateral including the names and addresses of property owners, must have the reason to construct the lateral. It must have some correlation between the lateral and public benefits and to promote public health. After the petition is complete the procedure to establish and construct is similar to that of the procedures to establish a drainage project. Sewage Treatment Systems Homeowners should be informed about the certain amount of measure that must be taken while construction a sewage treatment system on their home.
Comment [mb7]: 103E.225

Individual Sewage Treatment Systems Construction of a new septic or individual sewage treatment system and modifications made on an individual sewage treatment system requires preliminary assessments. After preliminary assessments have been made and approved for construction newly constructed or replaced individual sewage treatment systems are required to match or exceed general technical requirements that fulfill all applicable regulations which may vary from county, township and city. This includes the attainment of Construction Permits and Operation Permits. Constructed sewage systems are required under the Operation Permit to perform regular maintenance on individual sewage treatment systems. This chapter explains the details of these requirements for residential owners near shore lands in the Sauk River watershed. Preliminary assessment for individual sewage treatment systems is used to determine safety to the surrounding area near the proposed individual sewage treatment system, and to assess all dangers. These include the following assessments: Checking for proposed or existing water supply wells within 100 feet. Checking for any proposed or existing buried water pipes within 50 feet. Any proposed or existing non-community transient public water supply wells within 200 feet. Non-community transient refers to systems providing water to populations that change daily. Such as restaurants, hotels, campgrounds, and rest areas. Ordinary height of adjacent public waters. Ability for setback limits of the system to be met.
Comment [JA8]: 7080.1710 MPCA Rules

Technical requirements for individual sewage treatment systems include the obtainment of construction and operation permits from Stearns County Environmental Services. To get these

permits the site is required to meet the following general requirements. Treatment and disposal of sewage be done in a manner that protects from possible physical injury or harm, this also includes the prevention of any sewage runoff from coming into contact with humans, insects, or vermin. Septic systems must not be designed in floodways, or consist of straight line systems. Minimum setback distances are required for on-site sewage systems adjacent to rivers and lakes and are shown in chart below.
Comment [JA9]: 7080.2150, 7082.0600 MPCA Rules

Sewage Treatment System Setback Standards Class Natural environment Recreational development General development Remote river segments Forested river segments Transition river segments Agriculture river segments Urban and tributary river segments Setback from ordinary high water level (ft) 150 75 50 150 100 100 75 75

Comment [JA10]: 7080.2150, 6120.3300, 6105 MPCA Rules

Owners of treatment systems are required under the Operation Permit to do regular maintenance. Frequency of assessment should be regular, but must be done at least once every three years. Maintenance should assess if storage tanks leak beyond a designed operating depth, check for

leakage around top, joints, and other connections, and checking for visual evidence of major defects. Anything that is denser than water that has accumulated such as scum, grease, sludge should be measured and removed. Removal is required of all solids and liquids from the treatment system when all its compartments and tanks have a top layer of sludge that is less than 12 inches from bottom outlet gate, or transfer hole. This also goes for if the bottom layer of sludge is less than 3 inches above the outlet gate or transfer hole. Sludge volume must not be greater than 25 percent of the tanks capacity. Removal should be done by a licensed company, and done through the maintenance hole. Treatment system must be covered with 12 inches of soil if a buried system. Additives to reduce the amount of solids in the sewage but must not replace proper maintenance, and also does not fulfill removal of sludge.
Comment [JA11]: 7080.2450 MPCA Rules