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Jan Gibson <br />% Norwest Mort -gage <br />March 22, 1985 <br />Page 4 <br />I will try to briefly summarize for you: <br />A) The existing tanks appear to be substandard but functional. <br />They are of adequate capacity. We do not know whether the <br />baffles are still in place. The baffles should be checked <br />regularly (at each pumpout) as they are a critical part of the <br />system. Since the tanks are not sealed, they may be affected by <br />groundwater during wet seasons. <br />B) The drainfield appears to be substandard but functional. If <br />it was not functional, we would see evidence of sewage at the <br />ground surface or backups would have occurred in the house. We <br />have no way of knowing whether bac?ups have occurred in the <br />house. <br />C) We can surmise that the drainfield may be capable of <br />accepting up to 300 gallons per day of wastewater under dry soil <br />conditions, but may accept only 120 GPD or less under saturated <br />conditons. Since the private well is not metered, we have no <br />idea how much water the previous owners used. We cannot <br />accurately surmise the actual amount of water future owners will <br />use. <br />D) The City has little evidence to suggest that this system is <br />in a failing state, hence, unless it does fail by causing <br />discernible sanitary or pollution problems, we will not require <br />it to be upgraded. Orono does not have a hous-ng code requiring <br />upgrading at the time of a sale. <br />I realize that this treatise has been rather tedious, but it's <br />intent is to illustrate that "adequate" may have many meanings. Based <br />on current standards for a new house, the system is not adequate. <br />But, based on standards in effect at the time of construction and <br />based on the apparent functionality of the system, it is adequate <br />enough that I could not justify through my ordinances requiring that <br />it be upgraded. If a future owner produces amounts of wastewater <br />exceeding the unknown capability of the system, we could expect that <br />the system would become inadequate. <br />Please contact me at 473-7357 if you have any questions. <br />Sincerely, <br />i <br />Michael P. Gaffton, <br />Assistant Zoning Administrator <br />MPCA Inspector Cert. No. 00516 <br />