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Memo <br />June 18, 1993 <br />Pace 3 <br />Conclusion <br />In effect, the new Shoreland Ordinances eliminate the "grandfathering" of existing <br />systems not meeting the 3' separation requirement. This was the intent of the legislature, the <br />MPCA. and the DNR. Our codes rellect and comply with that intent. <br />The City ordinance since at least 1978 has required nonconfonning systems to be <br />upgraded within one year, and at the time the Shoreland Ordinance was reviewed there seemed <br />to be no good reason to change this requirement. <br />The DNR has formally accepted Orono ’s Shoreland Ordinance as having met state <br />requirements. The impact on the septic program, as noted in the memo from Steve Weckman, <br />is that many existing systems not meeting the 3’ separation but apparently functional and <br />acceptable in all other respects, will have to be upgraded within one year of the date they are <br />determined to be nonconforming. <br />From a practical standpoint, the City may exercise some leeway in the timeframe, and <br />there are some built-in problems with how long it will take to define which systems are <br />nonconforming as part of our ongoing inspection program. However, it is clear that within what <br />our residents see as a very short timeframe, we will have to determine which shoreland systems <br />are nonconforming and require them to be upgraded. <br />At this point I have little expectation that we or anyone can get the MPCA to drop their <br />requirement for a 3’ separation from mottling or other evidence of soil saniration, even though <br />some experts believe that short-term seasonal samration in clay soils will not have a significant <br />effect on treaunent as long as the effluent is absorbed into the ground. The fact is. we have <br />been requiring new systems to meet this separation standard since 1978, and most systems built <br />since the early 1980 ’s (when the level of private consultant expertise had generally risen to a <br />level that site evaluation was fairly consistent and accurate) are conforming to the separation <br />requirement.