Residents in Bancroft Township will receive a second letter from the Shell Rock River Watershed District regarding requirements for sewage systems. Residents within a shoreland district or ones with a straight-pipe sewer system will not receive the additional letter.

A shoreland district is any area within 1,000 feet of a body of water, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The watershed district board decided Tuesday to change the goals of the “individual sewage treatment system” program to focus more on imminent health threats — particularly sewer systems with straight pipes leading directly into open water.

The original ISTS resolution was changed to include a more specific focus. Properties outside the shoreland district with permits on file after 1975 no longer need sewer system inspections immediately but must have their systems pumped every three years in compliance with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The watershed district has moved township by township inspecting and updating sewage systems to get all in compliance with state and county mandates. The watershed district is also looking to have a record of all sewer systems in the watershed.

In the past, anyone who received a letter about their sewage system had to act within a set amount of time. The changes Tuesday will allow the watershed district to focus more on the systems causing the greatest problems. Eventually all systems will be updated and on file.

Watershed board member Clayton Petersen said he doesn’t think waiting on minor problems is going to hurt, and he wants to address the systems that need work in a more timely fashion.

Board member Gary Pestorious said in the first two areas the watershed district inspected, Pickerel and Bancroft townships, the amount of people with raw sewage going directly into the water supply was largely over half in the area. The amount of people in the current focus area, Bancroft Township, is quite smaller, he said.

In other business, the watershed board:

– Elected officers for one-year terms, with Dave Mullenbach stepping in as chairman. All positions were elected to the same people as the previous year. Al Bakken was named chairman, Pestorious was named vice chairman, Art Ludtke was named secretary and Petersen was named treasurer.

– Approved sending petitions to the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources changing the borders of the watershed district. Water and Soil Resources asked the Shell Rock River, Turtle Creek and Cedar River watershed districts not to have any overlaps or gaps in the watershed official borders, so all three watersheds worked together to correct the borders. Only minor changes were made.

Two joint petitions were approved by the Shell Rock River Watershed District board. One incorporates all three watersheds and their borders. The other is a border agreement between the watershed district and Freeborn County.

A joint hearing with all three watershed districts will be held this fall, said the watershed district’s lawyer Matt Benda.

Granted Administrator Brett Behnke the approval to proceed with the storm-water study for Albert Lea. The project would model the entire city with a storm-sewer component. The study would be used by the city, county and watershed district. The total cost is $178,000.

– Approved a project list that goes out through 2015. The project list will soon be accessible on the watershed district’s Web site. Petersen said the list lets the public know what projects will happen with the tentative date and approximate expense of each project. The Albert Lea storm-water study will be added to the list for 2009.

The list is a working document, Behnke said, and will be updated and changed with board actions and approvals. Costs and project expenses can be changed when more detail is known.

– Approved the purchase of a boat for the watershed district for $17,800. The boat will be used for bottom contouring and in future plans to dredge. Behnke said the watershed district could either spend the same amount of money to have an outside company work on just Fountain Lake or invest the money in reusable resources.

– Approved the purchase of survey equipment for $9,900. This equipment will be used to measure the bottom of lakes for contouring and dredging purposes. The board approved the purchase with the contingency that Behnke test the equipment before he purchases it to make sure it is appropriate for the watershed district’s uses.