Pine County, Minnesota: septic system inspection at sale
Checked on November 9, 2026 against the official rule. Rule set by Pine County.
General information, not legal advice. This is our summary of the official rule as we read it. The ordinance or code and the health department decide: confirm with them before you list, sign or close.
The rule
| Question | What the official text says |
|---|---|
| What is required | County page: ordinance 'generally represents the minimum MPCA requirements with the exceptions of county-wide point of sale sewer compliance inspections'. Source: pinecountymn.gov via wayback (see census notes for capture) |
| Triggered by | sale, transfer, contract for deed Source: pinecountymn.gov via wayback (see census notes for capture) |
| Deadline | Before the sale or transfer; a winter transfer agreement is possible from November 15 to April 15 Source: pinecountymn.gov via wayback (see census notes for capture) |
| How long a report is valid | State default: 3 years (existing system), 5 years (new/replacement); county text may differ Source: revisor.mn.gov |
| Who may inspect | Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) licensing of SSTS businesses. official list (webapp.pca.state.mn.us) Source: webapp.pca.state.mn.us |
This is our summary of the official rule as we read it. The ordinance or code and the health department decide: confirm with them before you list, sign or close. Rule set by: Pine County.
Checked on November 9, 2026: read in a web-archive copy of the official page (the live site was blocked from our connection).
Septic systems in Pine County: the state’s count
MPCA counts 15,538 septic systems (SSTS) in Pine County in 2025, the 13th highest number of Minnesota’s 87 counties. Licensed inspectors and the county did 399 compliance inspections of existing systems that year: 2.6% of the county’s systems, against 2.11% statewide (the 15th highest share). The county issued 264 construction permits in 2025 and 5,199 from 2002 to 2025. MPCA’s table marks the county as requiring a compliance inspection at property transfer, which matches the rule on this page. The county figures include the city and township septic programs inside it (MPCA footnote).
Source: MPCA, 2025 Subsurface Sewage Treatment Systems Annual Report (April 2026), Appendix A, as reported by each county; ranks among the 87 counties in the table (1 = highest). MPCA counts all compliance inspections of existing systems, whatever the trigger (property transfer, building permit and others).
Private wells in Pine County
In 2015 about 19,769 of Pine County’s 29,069 residents (68%) got their drinking water from a private well, by the USGS estimate. That is the 10th highest share of the 87 Minnesota counties in the USGS table, and the 19th highest number of private-well users.
As we read it, this rule covers the septic system, not the well.
Source: USGS county water use 2015 (Dieter et al., 2018). Ranks count the Minnesota counties in the USGS table (1 = highest).
Soils and septic systems here
USDA soil surveys rate 96% of Pine County’s rated land “very limited” for a conventional septic drain field, 4% “somewhat limited” and 0% “not limited”, the 44th highest “very limited” share of 85 Minnesota counties with survey data. The most common limits: a high water table (saturated soil near the surface) on 90%; slow percolation (dense or clay soil) on 59%; fast seepage below the field (risk to groundwater) on 29%.
Where soils are limited, inspections more often find drain fields that sit in seasonally wet soil, and replacement systems are often mounds or other engineered designs. A county-wide rating, not a test of one lot: a site evaluation decides. Source: USDA NRCS Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), via Soil Data Access, rating “ENG - Septic Tank Absorption Fields”, read November 15, 2026.
Certified labs nearest to Pine County for a well water test
Labs on the Minnesota certified drinking-water list that the list marks as taking samples from homeowners or outside clients, certified for coliform bacteria, nearest first. All of them are outside Pine County.
| Lab | Town | Distance | Certified on the list for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pace Analytical Services, LLC - Duluth | Duluth, MN | 53 miles | coliform bacteria, nitrate, arsenic (subcontracted) |
| Water Laboratories, Inc. | Elk River, MN | 67 miles | coliform bacteria, nitrate, arsenic |
| A.W. Research Laboratories, Inc. | Brainerd, MN | 68 miles | coliform bacteria, nitrate, arsenic |
Source: MDH Accredited Labs in Minnesota Accepting Drinking Water Samples from Private Well Users (October 2026; read November 15, 2026). Straight-line distance from the centre of Pine County (the average of its Census ZIP-area points); “approx.” = lab placed at its ZIP centre. Call the lab first: lists do not say which household tests each lab takes or what it charges.
Nearest other sale-time rules
Buying or selling near a county line? These are the closest other local rules in our census to Pine County.
| Rule | State | Distance | Covers | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isanti County | Minnesota | about 43 miles | Septic system | November 9, 2026 |
| Mille Lacs County | Minnesota | about 43 miles | Septic system | November 9, 2026 |
| Aitkin County | Minnesota | about 46 miles | Septic system | November 9, 2026 |
| Chisago County | Minnesota | about 46 miles | Septic system | November 9, 2026 |
| Benton County | Minnesota | about 63 miles | Septic system | November 9, 2026 |
Straight-line distance between county centres (the average of each county’s Census ZIP-area points). Townships, villages and health districts are placed at the centre of their county.