CRANE LAKE - The Crane Lake Water and Sanitary District Board has contracted with Bob Bartel to conduct field inspections of the individual sewage treatment systems on Bear Island.

The purpose of the inspections is to determine if the systems in place are compliant and do not require replacement with other treatment options.

Rob Scott, who chairs the CLWSD Board, noted that the district wants to pursue the most cost-effective treatment option.

“If the systems in place are adequate, there’s no need to replace them,” he said. “But we have to look downstream, not just at the short term. Will the systems in place still meet the sewage needs four, five or 10 years from now?”

Short, Elliott and Hendrickson Engineering recommended Bartel, who is an independent inspector certified by St. Louis County.

Bartel will document and photograph each system, and Bear Island residents will be notified of the inspections. Estimated cost for the survey of systems will be $7,500.

Meanwhile, Bear Island residents plan to attend the next meeting of the Voyageurs National Park Joint Powers Council, which was formed to address sewage and clean water needs across the park’s region. The next meeting is Oct. 2 in Cook at 1 p.m. and the property owners are preparing a statement to present to the council.

Some questioned the need to inspect all systems, including those recently installed. Others asked why the inspector was independent of St. Louis County. Bear Island became a focal point for controversy after CLWSD Board announced that one of the options under consideration was to install a pipeline on the island and deliver sewage to the Crane Lake plant for treatment.

That option calls for installing individual grinder stations at each residence with lines that connect to a main located above ground. The main would extend underwater from the island to a point south of Voyagaire Lodge and, from there, connect to the main line taking sewage to the plant. Cost for that option would be $2.478 million, according to estimates by SEH Engineering.

Bear Island residents voiced numerous concerns about the option, questioning the environmental risks involved in installing a line beneath the lake, the high cost of the system and misleading information about the number of failing systems on the island.

St. Louis County Environmental Health specialist John Lindquist estimated that about 21 — or more than two-thirds — of the individual sewage treatment systems on Bear Island had been installed since 2008 and were considered compliant.

At a hearing in August, Scott stressed that the collection and treatment plan was just one of several options for treating sewage on Bear Island. Other options included updating all independent sewage treatmet systems to ensure they are compliant, using a combination of individual treatment systems and holding tanks, or creating a cluster treatment system on the island.

In other business at the Sept. 4 meeting, the CLWSD Board:

‰Heard that an arbitration meeting with RLK Engineering, which has since been absorbed by another company, is scheduled for later this month.

‰Heard about an option for the CSAH 24 Expansion Phase II from SEH.The proposal would extend another 300 feet beyond Anderson Outfitters to provide service to two lots and the potential for future lots by using a heat tape rather than blasting through rock. The Butch Eggen property is also being considered in the expansion, which would cost an estimated $95,460.

‰Were updated on the proposed Handberg Road expansion. The expansion would provide service to Handberg’s Marina and connect individuals along that corridor with a project cost of $943,775.

‰Received a report from Terry Jackson on problems enountered with meeting the effluent coliform bacteria standard early in the month. The ultravioilet tubes and glass covers were replaced in hopes of addressing the problem.

Jackson also reported on continuing problems with the recirculation pump. He will contact Electric Pump about the issues.