Dive Brief:
- A requirement to include a sewage system did not square with how Ammon and Sarah Swartzentruber see their duties as members of the Amish community.
- The building permit in Filmore County, Minnesota, includes by reference an ordinance requiring a sewage system for a house that has running water. The Swartzentruber's began building in May without the permit, and the county cited them in June.
- The county says an approved septic system of some kind has always been required, but the Swartzentrubers say they've lived in the area for 38 years without a system and without legal problems.
Dive Insight:
The county updated its ordinances on subsurface sewage treatment last December. It apparently is new for the permit application to reference the ordinances directly, and Swartzentruber says that is why he dropped the application process this time. Both sides go to court Sept. 10.