Untreated wastewater: seven million gallons a year in Tofte and Schroeder

Tofte Schroeder Sewer District gets grants for inspections, fix-up and educational manuals

In Tofte and Schroeder, compliance inspections of Individual Septic Treatment Systems have begun on the approximately 100 lakeshore properties south of Highway 61. These inspections follow up a survey conducted in the summer of 2006 by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency licensed inspector Jeff Crosby. Crosby has been hired jointly by the district and the county to determine whether a system is in compliance or requires repair or replacement.

The inspections are funded by a $20,000 Clean Water Legacy grant to the district from the MPCA. In some cases, to complete the inspections a pumping of the septic tank may be required. The district anticipates having some grant funds available to provide pumping discounts in cases of need. Crosby expects to complete most of the inspections around the beginning of July, when letters will be sent by the county to property owners describing the results.

A recent letter from Leroy Halberg, Cook County Environmental Health Inspector, and Rick Anderson, TSSSD Chair, stated: “We all have a common desire that wastewater treatment systems in Cook County and in the TSSSD adequately treat wastewater to protect our health, drinking water, and the environment. The area along Lake Superior is very sensitive, and adequate wastewater treatment there is important to us all.”

Crosby’s 2006 survey results suggest that as many as seven million gallons of wastewater per year are not being adequately treated, in the Tofte Schroeder district alone. There are more than 300 wells in the district as well as three rivers, many streams, and the shore of Lake Superior; all are affected by wastewater.

The district has also received a CWL grant for $42,000 to help a limited number of property owners who are required to repair or replace their systems. A cost share of up to $8,000 will be made available to those systems identified as Imminent Public Health Threats, meaning that there is surfacing wastewater. Income guidelines will be established, using the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic sliding fee scale.

Anderson says that the district wishes to engage public dialogue about the important issues of noncompliant and failed septic systems as well as the best use of the $42,000 grant. Meetings are held on the third Monday of each month at 5 p.m. at the Tofte Town Hall and everyone is welcome. Next steps include a five-year plan for wastewater management that could serve as a pilot for the county as well as other rural Minnesota communities.

Another big goal of the district is education of property owners about how to care for and maintain their septic systems. Toward that end, every ISTS owner within the district was sent a copy of The Septic System Owner’s Manual, a very readable and entertaining guide, with funds provided by grants from Minnesota’s Lake Superior Coastal Program and the Arrowhead Electric Cooperative’s Roundup. Extra copies will be available at a public seminar following the inspections, as well as to county educators interested in raising awareness of septic maintenance issues.

Great Lakes pollution threatens public health

Government Suppresses Major Public Health Report
By Maggie Mahar
AlterNet

Tuesday 12 February 2008

The public has been denied important information on the link between pollution and health problems including lung, colon and breast cancer.

This article originally appeared on Health Beat.

The Center for Public Integrity, a public interest investigative journalism organization, has obtained copies of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study of environmental and health data in eight Great Lakes states that was scheduled for publication in July 2007. The report, which pointed to elevated rates of lung, colon, and breast cancer; low birth weight; and infant mortality in several of the geographical areas of concern has not yet been made public.

A few days before the report was slated to be released, it was pulled. Meanwhile, at precisely the same time, its lead author, Christopher De Rosa, has been removed from the position he held since 1992. The Center for Public Integrity is asking why.

The study, "Public Health Implications of Hazardous Substances in Twenty-Six U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern" was developed by the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) at the request of the International Joint Commission, an independent U.S-Canadian organization that monitors and advises both governments on the use and quality of boundary waters.

The CDC report brings together two sets of data: environmental data on known "areas of concern" - including superfund sites and hazardous waste dumps - and separate health data collected by county or, in some cases, smaller geographical regions.

The study does not try to prove cause and effect. Instead, it outlines areas for further study and data collection on the link between pollution and health.

"Let's say we have a superfund site and we also find elevated risk of leukemia in the county - is that related? We don't know, but people living in the area can logically argue that we ought to find out," Dr. Peter Orris, a professor at the University of Illinois School of Public Health and one of the peer reviewers of the study told Oneworld.net.

Since 2004, dozens of experts have reviewed various drafts of the study, including senior scientists at the CDC, Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal agencies, as well as scientists from universities and state governments, according to consumeraffairs.com. Orris is just one of the several experts who reviewed the study and who, along with the International Joint Committee in a December letter to the CDC, have called for the report's publication.

Canadian biologist Michael Gilbertson, a second peer reviewer, told the Center for Public Integrity that he felt the findings were being suppressed because they were "inconvenient." On the record, he added: "The whole problem with all this kind of work is wrapped up in that word 'injury.' If you have injury, that implies liability. Liability, of course, implies damages, legal processes, and costs of remedial action. The governments, frankly, in both countries are so heavily aligned with, particularly, the chemical industry, that the word amongst the bureaucracies is that they really do not want any evidence of effect or injury to be allowed out there."

Orris also raised concerns that the publication may have been halted based on orders outside the CDC. Once again, it seems that the Bush administration is trying to shrink government by making sure that a federal agency doesn't do its job-a problem that I wrote about here in a post titled "The FDA- What Happens When You Starve the Beast." Corporate interests are protected-at the expense of the nation's citizens.

"I have an overall concern with respect to the culture of this administration, which permeates all levels of the scientific wing of the government," Orris said. "The administration has regularly cut funds so that they don't find statistics that could be potentially politically embarrassing - for instance, the sampling of toxins in fish in the Great Lakes has been cut way back."

"If the messenger doesn't come with the message, no one knows it's there," he added.

CDC spokesperson Bernadette Burden told OneWorld that the report was held back because internal and external reviewers - including the Environmental Protection Agency and several state health departments - identified "numerous discrepancies and deficiencies" and determined a rigorous review was needed. She added that the CDC plans to release the report after the review is completed, in "weeks rather than months."

Burden cited several examples of "discrepancies", including the fact that the county-level health data "reflected people's illnesses from 1988 to 1997, while much of the environmental data used in the report came from the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory dated 2001 and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination system with 2004 data."

As Oneworld.net points out, CDC did not clarify why these issues were not identified until July 2007 despite several years of review.

A new director of CDC's National Center for Environmental Health and ATSDR, Howard Frumkin, was appointed in July 2007, shortly before the report was due to be released. He replaced De Rosa, who had served as director of the Division of Toxicology for fifteen years. De Rosa was named special assistant in Frumkin's office - a position that appears to carry "no real responsibilities" according to a Feb. 2008 letter from members of the Congressional Committee on Science and Technologies to CDC director Julie Gerberding. The letter called the move an apparent retaliation.

As many as 9 million people - including residents of Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee - may be at risk from exposure to pollutants including pesticides, dioxin, PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls), and mercury, according to Sheila Kaplan, an investigative journalist who covered the story for the Center for Public Integrity.

Kaplan has read all three drafts of the study, from 2004 to 2007.

"It's important for this work to be followed up on," she told OneWorld. "What I hope from this report is that communities will say, 'We deserve to know this information and whether exposure to these chemicals and metals is killing us.' More work needs to be done."

You will find Kaplan's full report here.

Toxic Government Report Uncovered - CommonDreams.org

Link to this Truthout report of a report the government refuses to publish about toxic contamination in the Great Lakes, including Duluth harbor. In the story, there's also a link to excerpts from the report itself. This is scary not only because it's endangered health and safety of Americans and Canadians but also because the government would rather not let us know.

Toxic Government Report Uncovered - CommonDreams.org

Scrubbing the air

True hates ugly, smelly, polluting and global-warming coal plants. Minnesota Power's Tac Harbor project was reviewed in this Strib story. Two points of interest:
One, "air shed." This means the area covered by polluting toxic emissions from Tac Harbor and it covers all of Cook County including our national and state forests. The glowing PowerPoint presentations by MP don't really say much about this damage. They are basically trying to keep their filthy coal plant going far into the future by posing as cutting edge clean.
Two, "scrubbing" to reduce mercury and other toxic emissions has ZERO effect on global warming. Read the story below.
True

Scrubbing the air

Study finds nitrates up in Lake Superior

Check out this Duluth news story: there's a lot more going on than we can understand. But we desperately need to look for answers.
True


· Duluth News Tribune ·

Oberstar Introduces Clean Water Legislation

More good work by Jim Oberstar on behalf of clean water; follow the link

Congressman James L Oberstar -- Oberstar Introduces Clean Water Legislation

DFL-led House OKs shift in tax burden, Pawlenty promises veto

Governor Tim Pawlenty, best known for a swell haircut, a toothy smile and a total lack of understanding of Minnesota history and values, has promised to veto a House bill shifting some of the state's tax burden to those who can afford it.
Dear old Hubert H. Humphrey, our long-winded and well-beloved former Vice President, who faithfully spoke his joyful message at DFL bean feeds, would be glad today at the House vote. Paul Wellstone, the people's senator, would be jumping up and down with joy.
Minnesota has (until the bad old Reagan years) always been about its people, its workers, its children and their collective well being. AND also, about supporting local governments and schools so the big tax burdens don't fall on the few.
True is proud to provide the link to this story from the Strib. Hopefully people in Cook County will recognize that the old Minnesota way that produced a great way of life is still the best way.
Read on:

DFL-led House OKs shift in tax burden

AlterNet: DrugReporter: U.S. Border Patrol Bars Canadian Psychotherapist with Drug Research Far in His Past

Lest we forget, the Border Patrol is still sending us 50 or so of its finest from the Mexican border to make sure nobody that Homeland Security (read: The Bush Administration) doesn't like gets in here from Canada. No, for the bad guys, like eminent Canadian psychotherapist and Holocaust survivor Andrew Feldmar, a venerable gentleman of a certain age, there won't be any more attending seminars with his colleagues in this lifetime.
Yours truly, whose own brilliant career has some similarities to Feldmar's, figures if he leaves for Canada he better not plan on coming back. Hmm, unless maybe he slaps a "Bush/Cheney" bumper sticker over the old "Kerry/Edwards" one.

And though we expect Boeing to be building its electronic surveillance barrier on behalf of those spendy folks at Homeland soon enough, it really isn't necessary anymore. All the patrol agents have to do is Google you.

Read on for this amazing but True story from Alternet, a modern version of the deportation of John Lennon, that old peacenik, for protesting the Vietnam War and making songs like "Give Peace a Chance."

True

AlterNet: DrugReporter: U.S. Border Patrol Bars Canadian Psychotherapist with Drug Research Far in His Past

Congressman James L Oberstar -- Water Resources Bill Benefits Minnesota

Grand Marais harbor redesign by the Army Corps of Engineers in included among the billions of dollars funding water resources passed last week in the House of Representatives. Follow the link to read more:

Congressman James L Oberstar -- Water Resources Bill Benefits Minnesota

Congressman James L Oberstar -- Oberstar Statement on Failed Coast Guard Program

Will Deepwater join Blackwater, Katrinagate, Plamegate and the growing oversight of misbehavior, incompetence and criminal negligence (at least) that is damning the Bush administration? True has never heard Oberstar speak so sternly as he does here:

Congressman James L Oberstar -- Oberstar Statement on Failed Coast Guard Program

Impaired Poplar River: public meeting March 1st

From: "Rebecca Wiinanen"
To: news@boreal.org
Subject: Poplar River: Public meeting on the official study to determine sources of pollution
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:15:07 -0600

Recent monitoring on the Poplar River found that the river’s water quality is poor enough to be officially listed as impaired due to excessive turbidity (cloudiness or muddiness of the water). Because of this, the river was put on the state’s list of impaired waters by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in 2004. On Thursday, March 1, the Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will host a public meeting to discuss the study being completed to determine the sources of turbidity to the Poplar River. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. March 1, 2007, at the Lutsen Evangelical Lutheran Church, 5307 W. Hwy. 61 in Lutsen.

The MPCA is required to complete the study to determine what’s known as a
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). A TMDL is a calculation of the maximum
amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards. This first public meeting is meant to introduce stakeholders to the partners working on the study, provide an overview of work done to-date and planned activities, and will also address how this project fits in to other current projects on the Poplar River (such as the “megaslump” erosion control project).

Although the Cook County SWCD will serve as the local resource agency for the project, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contractor will complete most of the study’s technical portions. Citizen participation is encouraged, and will be addressed through a series of public meetings like this one, interactions with the Poplar River Management Board and other interested stakeholders, and an official public comment period.

Contact: Dave Stark, Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District
(218) 387-3648 - Office
(218) 428-4413 - Cell

Loan & grant programs for septic upgrades

Dear True,
The Tofte-Schroeder Sanitary Sewer District conducted a survey of all the septic systems in Tofte and Schroeder last summer. Residents and businesses were informed that this was NOT a compliance survey. Nonetheless, about 40 percent of all systems were deemed noncompliant or nonconforming according to present-day standards. The district wishes to make it easy for residents, even with low incomes, to upgrade their systems. At an open house last fall, those attending favored a Point of Sale inspection program, meaning that inspection would be required whenever a property was sold and necessary upgrades done as part of the sale proceeds. Over time, this would bring most systems into compliance.
But there are some systems that may need action sooner, and not only residential ones: Schroeder Town Hall and the Birch Grove building both need upgrades within a couple of years.
The district is looking to several grant sources to explore management alternatives, including an option for regular septic maintenance to be contracted by the district directly to homeowners at discounted rates.
In the meantime, we have looked into loan or grant options open to residents and include a brief summary here. For more details, contact the sources listed or email us at tsssd@boreal.org with your mailing address, and I will send out some additional details.
Your comments about the serious problem of clean water and responsible wastewater management are always welcome.
Nancye Belding
Secretary

Tofte Schroeder Sanitary Sewer District
PO Box 2307, Tofte, MN 55615 e-mail: tsssd@boreal.org
Loan and Grant Opportunities for Homeowners’ Septic System Upgrades

USDA Rural Development

 Low Income 504 1% loans up to $20,000 and up to 20 years
These loans are for low-income people (ranging from $19,800 for one person to $37,300 for eight persons).

 Low Income Loan & Grant combination for Seniors
Seniors 62 and over can qualify for a grant up to $7,500 in addition to the 504 1% loan of up to $20,000.

Contact: Julie Claussen, 4840 Miller Trunk Highway, #1B, Duluth, MN 55811, phone 218-720-5330, ext. 4


Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency

 Low Income Deferred Loan
Deferred no-interest 30-year loans available up to $15,000 for low-income residents ($19,800 for one person, $28,250 for four person household).

 Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Fix-up Fund
The Fix-Up Fund offers loans up to $35,000 at a current interest rate of 7 ¾% for up to 20 years. Maximum household income limit is $90,000. Check out http://mhfa.state.mn.us on-line or 800-710—8871.

Contact: Lorraine Erickson, AEOA, 702 3rd Ave. South, Virginia, MN 55792 or 1-800-662-5711.


Grand Marais State Bank

 Five-year 3 to 4 % interest loans up to $35,000
This loan is available to households with income up to $90,000. Inquire at the bank for more information or apply on-line at http://grandmaraisstatebank.com.

Governor Pawlenty to Sign the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact

This past week, Minnesota became the first state to pass the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact, a covenant among the Great Lakes states providing a regional water management strategy to protect the Great Lakes as a natural resource. It is the result of a five-year negotiation process among the 8 states and two Canadian provinces that border the Great Lakes.

The Compact's purpose is to retain regional control over and protect the water in the Great Lakes, which are the source of 95 percent of the nation's fresh water. Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes, so it is appropriate for Minnesota to lead on this issue.

The Compact is one of the issues on the Minnesota Environmental Partnership's legislative agenda, so this is a big accomplishment and a major step forward for Great Lakes protection.

Governor Pawlenty is heading north to sign the legislation on Tuesday - spread the word and come on down for the signing ceremony:

Tuesday, February 20 at 11:45 a.m. In Duluth

Governor Pawlenty signs the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact.

Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Auditorium - Mezzanine Level
350 Harbor Drive Duluth

From MEP to True to you.

Smokestacks in a White Wilderness Divide Iceland - New York Times

Read this post and ask whether anything about Alcoa's arguments sounds familiar. Like, just the same as PolyMet's in the previous Duluth Tribune story?
True

Smokestacks in a White Wilderness Divide Iceland - New York Times

Caspian Native Shrimp Invade Great Lakes

Shrimp native to the Caspian Sea, specifically bug-eyed shrimp; small, orange, and unwanted, were identified in Lake Michigan near Muskegeon, Michigan on December 21, 2006. This species' arrival brings the number of exotics in the Great Lakes to about 183, with a new one being identified about every 6 1/2 months in recent times.

For more complete information, click here.

True

Coleman Lobbies for Year Round Coast Guard Presence at Grand Marais

Coast Guard needed longer in North Superior Waters

In Minnesota, we are privileged to have some of the world’s most abundant lakes and natural resources at our fingertips. During the summer, thousands head up north to enjoy the lakes, catch a few walleye and water ski with friends and family. During recent years, we’ve been able to keep enjoying the great outdoors during the balmy fall days of September and even October.

A problem is the Coast Guard leaves Grand Marais at the end of August, and Cook County does not have the resources to sustain its high level of effective-response capabilities. I share Sheriff Mark Falk’s concern that the combination of continued marine activity, the changing of the season, windy days and cold water bring the potential for tragic consequences.

To protect the safety of Minnesota boaters, last week I sent a letter to the commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District urging him to extend the operation season of North Superior Station in Grand Marais through the month of September, at a minimum. We will never be able to take all the risks out of boating, but we can make certain there are highly skilled people ready and able to respond and prevent accidents from turning into tragedies. By extending Coast Guard operations a month or more, we will be better able to protect Minnesota’s marine enthusiasts throughout the season.

We all know how cold it gets up north during winter. We should seek ways to help Minnesotans safely continue their water sports.

Sen. Norm Coleman
Washington, D.C.

Coast Guard Folds on Live Fire

The U. S. Coast Guard has decided to go back to the drawing board on the infamous live fire plan. Click on the above link for all the details, but the bottom line is that the USCG has bowed to public pressure and decided to review the whole program and seek some real (hopefully) dialog with the public and elected representatives. Concerned Minnesotans and others around the Great Lakes owe a big thank you to Representative Oberstar and his staff. They worked hard to bring about this change.

True Too

Coast Guard urged to drop target-practice plan

Great Lakes Area Tries To Dodge A Bullet
Guard Urged to Drop Target-Practice Plan
By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff WriterSunday, December 10, 2006; Page A01
CHICAGO -- U.S. Coast Guard vessels staging machine-gun target practice in the peaceable Great Lakes? George Heartwell does not like the idea, not one little bit. He questions the need, the risk and the appearance.
"I think our Canadian friends see us as trigger-happy cowboys," said Heartwell, mayor of Grand Rapids, Mich. "There simply have to be other ways and better ways."
'http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/09/AR2006120900354.html',

In the name of defending the United States against terrorists, the Coast Guard proposes live-fire zones in all five Great Lakes, where gunners could perfect their skills on M-240B machine guns to be mounted on Lakes vessels. The weapons can fire hundreds of 7.62mm rounds a minute and send lead 2.3 miles downrange.
The Coast Guard, at a series of public hearings this fall, defended the 34 proposed zones as essential to its mission. Each zone, located at least five miles offshore, would be used perhaps two or three times a year for a few hours. Civilian boaters would be warned to stay away.
Yet opposition to the proposal is formidable and growing, led by an alliance of 80 mayors from eight states and Canada who called on the Coast Guard last month to drop the plan. More than a dozen environmental groups have asked for changes in the project and a deeper study of the effect on the ecosystem of hundreds of thousands of lead bullets.
Toronto Mayor David Miller, speaking for the organization of mayors, called the live-fire proposal "totally contrary to the long history of peaceful relations and environmental cooperation between the United States and Canada on the Great Lakes."
The decision to install machine guns on Coast Guard vessels in the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes was sensitive enough that the Bush administration sought to assure the Canadians that the weapons would not violate the spirit of an 1817 agreement limiting armaments on the lakes, home to 21 percent of the fresh water on the Earth's surface.
Asserting the need for the guns, a State Department diplomatic note in April 2003 cited "the potential for a tragic outcome" if the border's integrity were breached.
The Coast Guard began live-fire training earlier this year, conducting 24 exercises before a public outcry forced a suspension. The Coast Guard held nine public hearings and extended the comment period by two months to explain the plans and overcome the suspicion that they had acted dismissively.
Chief Petty Officer Robert Lanier, a spokesman for the Coast Guard's regional headquarters in Cleveland, described the training. Gunners in the 34 zones would shoot at floating targets in exercises lasting four to six hours at a time.
"To be proficient on the weapon, we have to practice," Lanier said. "There's a tremendous difference between operating any type of weapon on land versus operating it on water, where you've got the motion of the Great Lakes, the wind current, the sun."
Opponents, however, suggest using a simulator or sending Coast Guard members to train on the ocean.
"To be honest with you, we don't feel we're ready for this militarization of the Great Lakes," said F. Ned Dikmen, Chicago-based chairman of the Great Lakes Boating Federation. "The waterways, the pristineness, the enjoyment, takes on a different picture."
Dikmen continued. "My biggest fear is a poor fisherman that is not very radio-friendly and might not even know exactly what hit him. Are you going to call them on the phone? How are they supposed to know they are 2.3 miles out from the firing range?"
Kevin Crawford, mayor of Manitowoc, Wis., is among the critics who believe the Coast Guard acted badly.
"That's our freshwater supply. We fish out of there. We recreate out of there," said Crawford, who is also skeptical of federal projections that the lead in the Coast Guard's bullets will do no harm. "The idea that continuous activity of the Coast Guard over time won't have an effect is untrue, or least we don't know it to be true."
One of Crawford's worries is the safety of passengers on the S.S. Badger, a steam-powered ferry that churns between Manitowoc and Ludington, Mich. Another concern is the potential for unease among tourists who gravitate to the lake.
"You never know what's going to set off a change in the visitor economy," said Crawford, who added that he was not concerned about the prospect of terrorists on the Great Lakes. "There just doesn't seem to be that kind of a threat out there."
Not everyone is speaking against the Coast Guard project. Among the supporters is Dexter Nelson, captain of the 34-foot, twin-engine Fishin' Luhrs, who figures he has spent more than 17,000 hours afloat in Lake Superior, catching lake trout, walleye and salmon. He is confident the Coast Guard will find ways to notify boaters and fishermen, and he believes the training is necessary.
"I just think leave them alone and let them do what they need to do," said Nelson, who is based in Duluth, Minn. "If something happens, it's good if they're well-trained."
The Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council proposes reducing the 14 proposed Lake Michigan zones by half and moving them farther offshore. In a vast lake that stretches about 120 miles at its widest point, the proposal would mean a zone perhaps 40 miles from the shoreline, compared with the current five-mile minimum.
"It's really nothing for the average angler to go 10 or 15 miles offshore to fish," said Dan Thomas, president of the Chicago-based council, which counts 300,000 members. He supports the Coast Guard and considers the live-fire zones a minor inconvenience worth tolerating.
"They're putting their lives on the line to protect your butt and my butt," Thomas said. "There need to be some adjustments, but at the same time, I'm telling my guys, 'Get a life.' "
The Coast Guard is reviewing its plans, with no announced date for a decision.