Janet Carlson appeared before Carver County District Court Judge Richard Perkins this morning and agreed to have Carver County assist her and her husband, Lowell Carlson, in replacing the failing septic system on their Camden Township property, according to a Carver County Attorney Press release.

The county and the Carlsons agreed that the county will work to make sure the system gets installed properly, using the already approved design and the contractor that the Carlsons hired, the release stated.

Janet Carlson paid for the permit and the County issued the permit early this morning, prior to the hearing. Judge Perkins accepted the agreement. Based on the court’s ruling, the county will continue to work with the installer to ensure compliance.

The court further ordered the $10,000 that is held in escrow be paid to the Carlsons to pay the installer directly after completion of the work. If the system costs more than $10,000, the court ordered the Carlsons to pay that amount directly to the installer.

The $10,000 has been held in escrow since the Carlsons purchased the property in 2003. The money is to be used solely for the purpose of installing a new septic system.

Today’s hearing was another effort by the county to gain compliance and avoid the Carlsons serving jail time.

In Carver County Court Oct. 1, Judge Perkins gave the couple a 15-day extension to fix the septic system. It was the third time the Carlsons had been in court in the past year.

Changed mind

Although the Carlsons had considered not fixing the system, they changed their minds over the Oct. 3 and Oct. 4 weekend.

“After visiting with County Commissioner Tom Workman of Chanhassen, and a friend of ours on Sunday, they convinced Lowell it was in our best interest to just replace our system,” Janet Carlson said Oct. 5, in a prepared statement. “Due to Lowell’s health issues and the need for me to care for him, being in jail was not in our personal best interest, although we didn’t want to ‘cave in’ to the county’s pressure.”

Lowell, 75, has emphysema and diabetes. Janet, 69, cares for him along with visiting nurses.

The Carlsons bought the home on five acres in Norwood Young America in 2003. In the purchase agreement, $10,000 was placed in an escrow account to deal with any issues on the property. When they bought the 27-year-old house, they said there hadn’t been any issues with the septic system and there haven’t been any issues that they are aware of since.

However, the sale of the home triggered the need for an inspection of the septic system. An inspector determined that the system failed and need to be upgraded.

Since then, the Carlsons have been wrangling with the county over upgrading the system.In the past year, they said the have been particularly concerned with what they perceive to be unequal treatment of septic system regulations in the county. They point to the septic system at the Waconia Event Center Ballroom, purchased by the county last year.

“While our system is in the middle of farm country and not near any body of water,” Janet Carlson said, “the system at the Waconia Event Center is 60 feet from Lake Waconia and the public beach.”

An inspector’s report indicates the Carlson’s septic system doesn’t have the required separation between the drain field and the water table, the same issue which has been scrutinized in recent months at the Waconia Event Center. (The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is now calling for an independent inspection of the Waconia Event Center septic system to clarify whether it meets code.)

If the Carlsons had been jailed, county officials believe it would be the first time a county resident would be incarcerated for a septic system violation. On average, 50 to 100 Carver County property owners every year voluntarily replace their failing septic systems without court action, according to the county press release.