Facebook Twitter Email
APRIL 25, 2000

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota will hold an informational meeting today with state and federal officials to discuss a proposal for a $23 million sewage treatment plant to be built on tribal land and operated by the band. A formal public hearing is scheduled for May 24.

A water quality specialist from the Environmental Protection Agency office in Chicago said Lake Mille Lacs is threatened by pollution. Individual septic tanks in the communities along the western shore have largely failed and pose health dangers to the lake. Residents worry their drinking water will also be contaminated.

The tribe would receive a $6.7 million grant from the EPA to finance about two-thirds of its share of the building the plant. If approved, construction could begin in the spring of 2001.

Both tribal and non-tribal communities would be served by the project.

Get the Story:
Sewage troubles for Mille Lacs (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 4/25)