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Friday, December 13, 2024
HomeCommunitySilver Bay Council Gets Clarification On Lead Service Line Communication

Silver Bay Council Gets Clarification On Lead Service Line Communication

The issue of lead service lines was a prominent topic of dis­cussion at Monday night’s City Council meeting. The Environ­mental Protection Agency has mandated that all water lines in every municipality in the State (and across the country) be in­ventoried to determine wheth­er or not the pipes are made of lead. This initiative is to encourage the removal of lead pipes which pose a clear pub­lic health hazard. This mandate was rolled out quickly by the Department of Health which left municipalities scrambling to do the inventory within the time frame that the mandate called for. Thus, some resi­dents have been confused and concerned about what this all means and what they need to do. Joe Rhein from Bolton & Menk was on hand to help ex­plain that which is confusing to Council members and resi­dents.

City officials have been seek­ing information from Reserve Mining that will help them know about the original water service lines that were installed back in the mid 50s. At that time, lead and galvanized pipes were commonly used in mu­nicipal water systems. Unfortu­nately, officials have not been able to find that information and have, in compliance with the EPA mandate, had to clas­sify most of the water lines in the city as “unknown”. Proper­ty owners who have water lines classified as “unknown” will receive annual notices from the Department of Health until their service lines can be classi­fied as “known”. Homeowners do not need to have their water tested as the City tests Silver Bay water for lead on a regu­lar basis. To help city officials determine what type of service line they have, homeowners should take a picture of where the service line enters their house and send that picture to City Hall. If homeowners are unsure about where their ser­vice line is located, they are en­couraged to contact City Hall and someone from the Water Department will come to the home to obtain the needed pho­tograph. In 1986, lead pipes were banned from home con­struction so residents that have homes built after ‘86 will likely have copper service lines and won’t need to do anything.

Residents can visit the City’s webpage for clarification on how their service line is clas­sified. Simply scroll down to the Lat­est News section and click on the Notification of Accessibil­ity of the Service Line Mate­rials Inventory link. You will see a map of Minnesota. Click on the Silver Bay location and type your street address into the inquiry space at the upper left corner of the page.

In other business, the Council voted in favor of a resolution to accept grant funding from the Minnesota Department of Edu­cation for Library construction. The Council will also be con­sidering guidelines to put some parameters around public com­ments at city meetings. Hav­ing such guidelines and mak­ing them known to the public is common practice in most municipalities and will hope­fully curtail the inappropriate demands and accusations that have occasionally been on dis­play at some Council meetings. Residents are encouraged to attend the monthly Meet With The Mayor meetings if they have questions about things that are going on around the city.

Finally, the Council voted to renew Beth Smuk’s place on the EDA Board and Dustin Goutermont will be serving on the Liquor Commission.

The next Silver Bay City Council meeting is scheduled for December 2nd at 7:00 PM.

Rick Evans
Rick Evans
My wife, Marsha Kinzer (a proud DEHS Greyhound, class of ‘77) introduced me to the North Shore on vacation in 2012. It became our regular escape when the stress of our careers in education became overwhelming, and it didn’t take me long to fall in love with the breathtaking scenery, the nice people, and “salad” containing Jell-o and marshmallows. So you can either blame or thank my loving wife for my being here, because when we needed to choose a retirement hometown, Marsha advocated hard for her beloved Duluth, and here we are, six months later. Yes, this will be my first northern Minnesota winter. Yes, I welcome thoughts and prayers. Government, public policy, and social justice weighed heavily in the curriculums I taught at the high school level over a thirty-eight year career. In addition, we were a laboratory school focused on critical thinking in conjunction with technical and scientific writing. So when I found myself adrift on the great ocean of retirement and spied a raft, I jumped at the chance to take up what I’d left behind…minus the bad teachers’ lounge coffee. My position at the NSJ allows me to combine my passions for government and writing, and it’s helping me to feel less out of touch in new surroundings. When I’m not being “Cubby” (Marsha’s favorite new nickname for this green reporter) I enjoy pointing at eagles and saying, “Look, honey. There’s an eagle.” I’ve had an active side hustle as a professional musician for almost as many years as Charlie Parr. As a guitarist/singer/songwriter, I graced the stages of clubs and festivals around southern Wisconsin, including an appearance on A Prairie Home Companion. Should I even mention A Prairie Home Companion, or am I the only one here old enough to remember what that is? Look! An eagle!
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