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Resident urges Dunn County to seek ban on land-spreading of septic waste
Summary
A resident told the committee he found dozens of septic land-spreading sites and urged the county to request state action to prohibit land-spreading of human waste.
Neil Cook, a resident who identified himself at the start of his remarks, asked the committee to request a county board resolution urging state lawmakers to ban land application of septage.
Cook said he previously raised the issue at earlier meetings and had asked the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a list of septic land-spreading sites; he said the DNR provided 29 sites but that he believes more exist. "I asked for a list of those hundred and some sites, and, they emailed me a 29 sites," Cook said. He said he reviewed soil percolation maps and identified sites that did not meet a six-inches-per-hour percolation standard and called others "questionable." Cook expressed concern about groundwater and nearby domestic wells: "Because of that, we're contaminating the groundwater and we're also contaminating the wells that might be near these sites" and asked the committee to take action with the county board and state legislators.
Committee members acknowledged Cook's request and said they would consider placing the topic on a future agenda and that the county's comprehensive-plan update could be an opportunity to address the issue.
In discussion after the public comment, staff said banning land application raises practical and legal questions. A staff member noted that alternatives must be identified before imposing a ban: "If we wanna ban things, we need to have some solutions on the front end," the staff member said, adding the county may have limited legal authority and should coordinate with state legislators. Staff also said they have previously done targeted sampling and testing for indicators such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the southeastern county to better identify potential human-waste inputs to groundwater.
Committee members asked staff to consider whether the county should undertake additional testing to substantiate whether spreading sites are causing contamination; staff noted a prior small sampling effort focusing on pharmaceuticals and personal-care-product indicators.
The committee did not take formal action during the meeting; members said staff would consider scheduling the item for future discussion and the comprehensive-plan process may provide a place to examine the issue further.
