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Septic hauler urges council to reconsider moratorium on Taconite Harbor leachate
Summary
Pete Greshik of G&G Septic asked the council to revisit a moratorium that prevents the local plant from accepting water from Taconite Harbor, saying the local plant meets mercury limits and that hauling to Duluth raises costs and fuel use; he requested formal council discussion as an agenda item.
Pete Greshik, owner of G&G Septic, used the open-forum public comment period to urge the City Council to consider allowing the local water-treatment plant to accept water from Taconite Harbor again. Greshik said he has hauled the water for more than 20 years and described the site as stable. He asked the council to treat the issue as an environmental decision with economic considerations.
Greshik said the city’s treatment operator, “Dr. Scott Warner,” has met and exceeded mercury limits with new treatment technology. He provided numeric comparisons: he said background rainwater can be 5–60 parts per trillion (ppt), the Grand Marais inflow measured about 30 ppt, the pond at Taconite Harbor was about 2 ppt, and he cited an MPCA discharge threshold of 1.8 ppt. “The treatment is minimal,” he said, adding that hauling the water to Duluth (“WLSD”) results in more truck fuel use and added cost for local haulers and the city.
Greshik also outlined economic effects: the PUC previously collected approximately $53,000 for taking the leachate; lack of a back-haul arrangement could add roughly $20,000 in extra hauling costs for sludge; raising the leachate rate by half a cent per gallon could generate about $80,000, he said. He asked the council to consider a temporary arrangement to accept the water locally and offered to answer questions.
Council response and next step: The chair and members responded that the subject is still in process and would need to be placed on a future agenda for substantive consideration. One council member noted the PUC members had indicated support for local treatment.
What remains unclear: The city has not taken a formal vote or changed the moratorium at this meeting. Specific, independently verified measurements for mercury referenced by the commenter were not presented in city staff materials during the meeting.
