What happened
The Duluth City Council by a 5-4 vote supported Mayor Don Ness' comprehensive plan Thursday to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows into Lake Superior.
What it means
The plan will help bring the city into compliance with a federal mandate and avoid stiff fines and blocks on building developments, but it comes at a steep price to residents.
How city councilors voted
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For the ordinance: Jeff Anderson, Tony Cuneo, Sharla Gardner, Greg Gilbert and Roger Reinert; against: Todd Fedora, Jay Fosle, Garry Krause and Jim Stauber.
Sewer plan details
* Imposes a $5.57 monthly "Clean Water" surcharge on more than 25,000 city sewer customers until 2016, which would go toward building storm water storage basins.
* Requires at least 175 building and homeowners a year to repair or replace their sewer lines -- also called laterals -- at what's been an average cost of $7,500. Homes in nearly two dozen storm basins in the city will be targeted, with those contributing the most to the overflows required to fix theirs first.
* Calls for a point-of-sale inspection on all city buildings and requires compliance with sump pump installation, foundation drain disconnection and sewer trap removal, costs that average about $2,000. Even if the buildings aren't contributing to the overflows, they would still need modification. If the repairs aren't made, a $250 monthly surcharge would be imposed.
* Requires footing drain disconnection, sump pump installation and sewer trap removal of at least 630 homes a year. The city will pay up to $2,150.
