Big Bass Lake residents ask county for hearing on Northern Township wastewater site over groundwater concerns

Big Bass Lake residents pressed the Beltrami County Board during public comment to schedule a public hearing before the county sells property to Northern Township for a proposed wastewater effluent deposit site.

Annette Thoreau, a resident of 7315 Tall Pines Road and representative of the Big Bass Lake Association steering committee, told commissioners she delivered two letters to Administrator Barry, including one the association sent to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. “The groundwater beneath the 16 acre effluent deposit site is 14 42 feet above sea level, which is basically the same,” Thoreau said, arguing that groundwater reaching the deposit site would travel into the aquifer that feeds Big Bass Lake.

Thoreau said Big Bass Lake’s static water level is 14.45 feet above sea level, the lake is about 350 acres with a maximum depth of about 17 feet, and the nearest shoreline is roughly 1,500 feet from the proposed site. She said Lake Bemidji lies about a half mile west of the site. Thoreau warned that increased effluent percolating into the aquifer could push the lake from a mesotrophic condition toward eutrophic conditions and could affect property values and recreational use.

She also raised concerns about odor and said Northern Township told residents monitoring would occur only at the deposit site and not outside it, leaving Big Bass Lake residents to arrange and fund any off‑site monitoring. Thoreau asked the board to “schedule a public hearing so that we can have input into your sale of property to the Northern Township for the purposes of building the wastewater treatment plant.”

The transcript shows Thoreau cited a Northern Township wastewater project overview and referenced correspondence sent to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; she handed two letters to Administrator Barry at the meeting. The board did not take an immediate vote or directive on the request during the meeting.

Residents’ concerns recorded in the meeting include proximity (about 1,500 feet to Big Bass Lake shoreline), the size of the deposit site (16 acres), aquifer elevations reported by Thoreau (14.42 ft at the deposit site vs. 14.45 ft at Big Bass Lake), and that monitoring would be limited to the deposit site. The County did not announce a public hearing date or a decision to place the property sale on a future agenda at the time of the meeting.

Thoreau said she would remain after the meeting to speak with county staff. The record shows no formal county action on the Northern Township property sale or a hearing request during this meeting.