A bill inspired by residents around Sturgeon Lake in northeastern Minnesota would amend the statutes for creating sanitary districts, annexing or detaching territory from a district, and dissolving a district.
Described by its sponsor, Rep. Mike Sundin (DFL-Esko), as a “housekeeping bill,” HF1674 would also remove a requirement that the description of an area proposed for an action include a justification for the inclusion or exclusion of parcels and change the requirement for a joint hearing before any of those actions are taken, making it necessary only in contested cases.
Passed 129-0 by the House Tuesday, it now heads to the Senate where Sen. Kevin Dahle (DFL-Northfield) is the sponsor.
Sundin said the sanitary district around Sturgeon Lake needs to expand and the bill “provides more clarity for users of the system.”
The bill would also change publication requirements for the notice of intent to create a sanitary district from the State Register to a general circulation newspaper in the affected area. And it would change the notice given impacted property owners to a mailing or email of the final order of the creation, annexation, detachment or dissolution.