Duluth North Shore sanitary board seeks nearly $1M to fix sewer failures and protect Lake Superior
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Summary
Kevin Bovee, board chair for the Duluth North Shore Sanitary District, asked for $958,000 to reduce inflow and infiltration that risk emergency overflows into Lake Superior and would otherwise raise bills substantially for the district's roughly 420 customers.
Representative (carrying bill) introduced House File 4311 and Kevin Bovee, board chair of the Duluth North Shore Sanitary District, testified the district needs $958,000 to address inflow and infiltration problems that threaten Lake Superior and cause emergency overflows.
Bovee said the district serves about 420 customers and that the average residential sewer bill is roughly $170 per month; without state support the project would cost each customer about $2,280 more. He described geological and climate stresses on the North Shore system — acidic soils, freeze-thaw cycles and intense storms — and framed the appropriation as a preventive investment to avoid contamination of Lake Superior. Committee members asked about miles of sewer line (the engineer on Zoom estimated about 24 miles in-district); testimony emphasized the disproportionate burden on a small customer base.
The committee did not record a final vote on HF 4311 in the provided transcript.