Septic System Compliance Inspections

Septic system compliance inspections ensure that your system is still functioning properly and not causing any potential pollution to surface, or ground water or public health concerns.  A septic inspection is a review of 3 basic compliance components:

1. Impact on Public Health - Does this system leak to the ground surface? Back-up into the home? 
2. Soil Separation - systems are required to have three feet of separation between the bottom of the system and the limiting soil condition.
3. Tank Integrity & Other Compliance Conditions - tanks must be water-tight in order to be determined compliant and other physical components (electrical, maintenance covers, etc.) must be structurally safe and sound.

Upon receiving a compliant septic certification from your inspector, a certificate of compliance will be recognized for:

1. Three years from the date of the inspection on an existing septic system, 
2. Five years from the date of the inspection of a newly installed septic system.

A notice of non-compliance will be sent to the property owner upon receipt of a non-compliant inspection report from the inspector.

According to Beltrami County Ordinance 32 (710.3), an SSTS that is identified as non-compliant and not an Imminent Threat to Public Health or Safety shall be upgraded, repaired, replaced, or abandoned by the owner in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance within 12 months from the date of notice of non-compliance.

If the SSTS is identified as an Imminent Threat to Public Health or Safety, the tank(s) must be pumped within 48 hours of inspection and the SSTS operated as a holding tank until the SSTS can be upgraded, repaired, replaced or abandoned by the owner in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance.  The SSTS must be brought into compliance within 6 months of the date of notice of non-compliance.