Extended Interview: Rep. Freiberg talks aging sewer lines
Rep. Mike Freiberg (DFL Golden Valley) talks about the burden of old sewer lines in inner ring suburbs and a bill that could help offset homeowners’ cost for replacing them.
Last summer, the Metropolitan Council replaced sewer pipes in Golden Valley that were more than sixty years old. It’s an ongoing project for inner ring suburbs.
When residential sewer lines are also more than 60 years old, it’s the homeowner who has to pick up the price tag.
“If they are selling their house, they have to get the lines inspected. If there are any cracks or root intrusion, they have to get it fixed. But the costs of that can be real expensive to homeowners, like five to ten thousand dollars,” explains Frieberg. “This helps with the costs of that.”
Frieberg’s bill calls for five million dollars in the fiscal year 2020 is appropriated to the clean water fun to the Met Council for grants or loans for local inflow and infiltration reduction systems. You can follow status of the bill here.
Senator Ann Rest has a similar bill in the senate.
