 The MPCA's Gene Soderbeck, right, leads a discussion at the SSTS stakeholder meeting held in Detroit Lakes in February 2012.
Local government SSTS administrators, mark your calendars now! The MPCA is again
hosting a series of meetings around Minnesota where local SSTS program
staff can talk with MPCA staff on a variety of topics. At
each meeting, the MPCA will have at least one compliance person and one
staffer from the policy side of the program. All local program administrators and staff are invited to attend any of the meetings, but you may find it most valuable to attend one
in your area with peers from surrounding jurisdictions. Private SSTS
businesses that contract to LGUs are also welcome.
One change
this year is there are three county-specific meetings scheduled for
Anoka, Olmsted and Pine Counties. These meetings are an opportunity for cities and towns in these counties to meet with
their county counterparts and MPCA staff to focus on local ordinance and
administrative issues.
While these meetings around the state will focus on local governments, the information that is shared will also be shared with all in the SSTS industry in our newsletter and articles we supply to other newsletters, as well as in venues like the upcoming MOWA conference and University of Minnesota's continuing education classes.
Topics we are preparing for these meetings include:
- State assistance for LGU review of systems over 2500 gpd
- Guidance on implementation on the recently adopted ALS provisions
- Compliance/enforcement coordination
- New intermediate classifications and what they mean for local programs
If you have a question or issue you'd like addressed at one of these meetings that is fairly complicated or technical, please let us know in advance so we can do our best to have an informed response ready to discuss at the meeting. There will also be plenty of time at these meetings for spontaneous discussions as well.
Contact Gretchen Sabel if you have questions about the 2013 SSTS Talking Tour. We are looking forward to meeting with our local partners!
2013 MPCA SSTS Talking Tour schedule
By Barb McCarthy
The List of Registered SSTS Sewage Tanks approved for use in Minnesota is posted on the MPCA’s Sewage Tank web page.
This list does not include
"specialty" tanks. While "Specialty Tank" is not defined in rule, when
used by the agency it refers to tanks that meet the requirements of
7080.1900 or those that house the treatment equipment used on the
Registered Treatment Product list.
The sewage tank list does not include the
following tanks: 1) sewage tanks used for registered treatment products,
and 2) individual sewage tanks approved by a licensed professional
engineer.
 The photo at right shows an example of a special tank that was
designed specifically for use in a cluster system that serves homes on
Aerie Lake in Minnesota. The hatched cover provides for easy maintenance
of the tank. This system was featured in a video created a few years ago.
For
each registered treatment product there is a letter that specifies the
conditions under which it may be used. These "product registration
letters" typically indicate that: “Septic tank capacity for dwellings
(or other facilities) shall meet the manufacturer’s size requirements
consistent with the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) testing of the
product and sewage tank requirements contained in Minnesota Rules
Chapter 7080.1900 through 7080.2020. Sewage tank(s) shall be designed to
withstand the pressures to which it will be subject to. Tanks and all
pipe penetrations, risers, and other connections to tanks shall be
watertight.”
If you have a question about the use or approval of a
specialty tank used to house a registered treatment product, you can
check with the manufacturer of the treatment product to ensure the tank
proposed meets their requirements.
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In Minnesota, responsibility for enforcing SSTS regulations is held by both the MPCA and local units of government. Each can take independent action but oftentimes cooperation between MPCA staff and local program staff is key to successfully completing an enforcement action.
Most investigations and enforcement actions result from complaints, which generally fall into four categories:
- Report of unlicensed work being done (complaints usually filed by LGUs)
- Quality of work - (complaints filed by LGUs and homeowners)
- Land application of septage, and
- Complaints against local programs
The following table summarizes SSTS enforcement activities from July 2011 to October 2012
 The following graphic illustrates the status of straight pipe enforcement actions over the past six years.
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In November, the EPA added new information for septic system owners on its website through a new program called “Septicsmart.”
It includes information and resources that counties and townships can use to promote their local programs and initiatives.
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 Check out the new MPCA web page regarding SSTS installation best practices for tips before your next installation project, or to see if there is an insight or two that you can add to the list.
If you do have suggestions for additional best practices to add to the list, please email Barbara McCarthy.
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 Registered treatment products are still being used in Minnesota! In
order to take advantage of reasonably good soils (sands) and to save
trees that a mound system would have displaced, a bottom-draining peat filter system
was recently installed on a lakeshore lot for a new home. In these photos, the installers are carefully setting the peat filter pods on a
level base of drainfield rock. They also insulated around each pod to optimize treatment. (Photo by Barb McCarthy)
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