The Union County Health Department (UCHD) will not begin a new inspection cycle for sewage systems until 2025, rather than 2020.
Although a new inspection requirement was previously required to begin next year, the process has been delayed due to a mix-up with Ohio Department of Health (ODH) regulations.
Health Commissioner Jason Orcena clarified that local boards of health and state agencies, like ODH, are often required to work together when establishing codes.
He said some legislative authority is delegated directly to the Board of Health. Other authority is first given to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or ODH, which then defers to local boards of health.
For the code that deals with sewage, Orcena said the state Director of Health will create rules and allow the Board of Health to adopt more stringent ones.
In this case, the board followed its normal procedure and adopted rules, then submitted them to the Director of Health for approval.
But, after consulting with legal counsel, Orcena said they found a stipulation that required proposed rules to be submitted to ODH 90 days before adoption by UCHD.
Orcena said UCHD reached out to ODH, which then asked the entire rules package, including previously adopted rules, to be resubmitted.
While he said it’s not likely any issues will come from the ODH review, it has restarted the clock for adopting the rule changes.
Orcena said it was just an oversight on UCHD’s side and called it “a lesson in rule reading.”
As a result, the Board of Health unanimously passed a resolution to delay the implementation of the inspection requirement.
Orcena said no residents will see a change in their sewage system inspection cycle until 2025.
“If you’re on the current inspection cycle… you’ll still be required to submit annually,” Orcena explained. “If you haven’t started yet, you won’t have to until 2025.”
Aside from inspection cycles, the Board of Health also approved funding to mail household sewage treatment system permits for 2020-2024.
Orcena said UCHD has received a quote for just under $5,000, but the board approved up to $6,000 in expenditures to be safe.
UCHD Public Information Officer Jennifer Thrush explained that the funding will cover the first of up to three mailings to every home in the county with a private septic system – approximately 8,300.
She said previous code allowed septic systems to be permitted indefinitely, but the law was revised in 2015 so that permits could last no longer than 10 years.
UCHD mandates that sewage treatment system permits in Union County are valid for five years. The permit costs $10 per year.
Therefore, the permit mailing alerts residents of a $50 fee that will cover the sewage system permit through 2024.
Thrush said the second and third mailings only go out to residents who do not pay after the first.
Permit mailing is a labor-intensive process, she explained, because there is not a statewide software system that does it automatically. After each mailing, it must be manually confirmed who has paid.
In other business:
– The board accepted the Creating Healthy Communities Grant from ODH in the amount of $100,000 a year for five years.
Director of Health Promotions and Planning, Shawn Sech, said the grant is used to increase access to healthy food and access to opportunities for physical activity.
Specifically, she said it will be used to look at improving infrastructure for these purposes in the Richwood and Milford Center areas.
– Sech shared an update regarding $90,000 in funding from the Ohio Department of Transportation. The funding, designated as OTP2, was extra money found in the state budget by ODOT.
Union County Commissioners were granted the funds to be used for improving transportation in the region.
Sech said $30,000 will be used to purchase a new Union County Agency Transportation Service (UCATS) van.
The other $60,000 will be used to conduct a rural feasibility study that will examine microtransit options from Dublin to Bellefontaine.
She described the study as “a big win for transportation,” as it will be the first step in applying for future grants.
– The Board adopted the 2019 Environmental Health Program Fees.