BEMIDJI — A Beltrami County township on the shores of Lake Bemidji is looking to address aging septic systems by building its own wastewater treatment plant.
Representatives from Northern Township met with the County Board on Tuesday, Jan. 16, to discuss how the county might play a role in the project.
Township officials identified a parcel of land on the east side of Lake Bemidji as the best option for a treatment system on school trust property, known as Section 36 in Northern Township. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources manages school trust properties. To build there, however, the township would need to acquire the land from the state.
Beltrami County was asked to consider the possible sale of county-owned land to the township for a land swap, along with a resolution of support.
Northern Township Supervisor Jess Frenzel said he wanted to present the state with options to move the project forward, noting the DNR gauges the economic value of school trust lands more in terms of cords of timber than in acreage.
"We’re not expecting you to give us land,” Frenzel said. “If there was something that worked out for a land exchange, we’d be looking to buy something from you, or lease something long term.”
The township already received a $5 million federal grant to construct the facility, made urgent after a septic issue at Ruttger’s Birchmont Lodge, one of many aging systems along the northern shores of Lake Bemidji.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency began monitoring the seeping septic system at the resort in 2022, after confirming sewage was surfacing to ground level from the system’s drain field. The issue arose from inadequate and unsecured covers on sewage holding tanks, according to the state. The MPCA said these violations caused potential public safety and health threats.
The lodge corrected the immediate issue and submitted a release response plan while paying a $13,000 civil penalty but concerns over future problems with the aging infrastructure remain.
Ruttger’s Birchmont Lodge initially reached out to Bemidji for annexation into city limits, which would have opened an avenue to connect to the municipal wastewater system. But township residents didn’t like the idea, according to Frenzel.
"We’ve had meetings with residents who are not willing to do that,” he said. “And honestly, this is a matter of trying to figure out money. ... The city does have the money for it either. Whether they could annex it or not, they don't have $10 [million] to $20 million to do this kind of project. We’re out getting the money and we have the admin to move this the fastest way forward.”
Another factor at play is the timing of the project: Beltrami County is planning road construction on county state aid highway 20, also known as Birchmont Beach Road. Northern Township is hoping to coordinate sewer main installation with the county’s road project. The County Board took no formal action at the Tuesday meeting.
A 20-year orderly annexation agreement between Northern Township and the city of Bemidji ended in 2020. Properties that were once in Northern Township were absorbed into the expanded city limits.
The orderly annexation agreement was part the Greater Bemidji Area Joint Planning Board contract, which dissolved at the end of 2023.
