Board approves septic variance for Alex Lang after soils show insufficient separation

The Morrison County Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a variance June 23 allowing Alex Lang to install a type 3 mound septic system on an 11.33-acre parcel that cannot support a type 1 system.

Amy with Morrison County Land Services reported that the parcel was split in 2007 and that soils testing for a septic design showed only about 4 inches of separation from the seasonal high water table; state guidance requires 12 inches for a type 1 system. The applicant purchased the parcel in 2025 and submitted a septic design showing the 4-inch separation, which prompted the variance request.

Board members who visited the site said the parcel contains wetlands to the west and is otherwise a reasonable building site for a single dwelling, but that a type 1 system is not feasible. After answering the required finding-of-fact questions in the affirmative, the board approved the variance; Amy told Lang to submit the septic design and permit application to Land Services to begin permitting. "Whenever you're ready to pull permits, just come on into the land services department," she said.