John Behling
Wyoming Township Reporter

At the Wyoming Township regular meeting last Tuesday, Nov. 8, citizens expressed concern over elevated nitrate levels and urged the board to reconsider a zoning change that would create two residential plots north of CR-22 between Half Circle Court and Halite Court.

Although there is no present plan by the current landowners to develop, Joe and Julie Henderson, who live in the neighborhood between Grand Avenue and Half Circle Court, are concerned that one-acre lot sizes would exacerbate an already serious problem with high nitrate levels in the ground water.

According to a report from the Minnesota Department of Health, three factors contribute to high nitrates: failing and poorly maintained septic systems, poor soil conditions and density of homes.

Hendersonís property is located down gradient from the proposed rezone. The soil condition in the trouble area is very poor. Also, many of the systems in the area are of an older design that has been found to be ineffective.

The Minnesota Department of Health indicates that the nitrate level for drinking water is 10 mg/l. In three tests since June of 2003, the Hendersonís well has tested at 14 mg/l and 17mg/l.

Due to the weight of this information, Supervisor Ron Swenson moved to table both rezone requests so that he could learn more about the situation.

The board approved his request, however Supervisors Roger Elmore and Mark Utecht expressed the opinion that the rezone and nitrate level problem were separate issues, and that addressing the current problem and placing new ordinances to prevent a future problem was the most appropriate action.

Sewer ordinance

Wyoming Townshipís current Sewage and Wastewater Treatment Ordinance cannot mandate compliance inspections and is unable to apply sufficient pressure to landowners of failing systems.

According to Zoning Administrator/Building Official Fred Weck IV, of the 50 systems in the area, the condition of five is unknown and one is currently failing.

Currently the township can only legally enter and inspect a site when someone has reported raw sewage on the ground.

Only in the instance that a landowner wishes to sell or build an improvement can the township require an inspection and then if needed repairs or upgrades.

Utecht said the townshipís response needs to be ìFaster, and with more teeth.î

However, because Weck has not found comparable ordinances from other governments, the process could be very slow in order to craft a fair and effective ordinance.

Another measure that Utecht wants to implement is requiring developers to install cluster sewage systems on future developments. The added cost of a cluster system can be prohibitive to developers, however, Utecht feels it should be a decision made by the township.

Residents in the high nitrate zone will likely have to dig deeper wells in the meantime.

Once failing systems are corrected there is no way of accurately predicting how long it will take for the groundwater to return to safe nitrate levels.

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