LICKING COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT SEWAGE O&M PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION. July 30, 2015

Transcription

1 LICKING COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT SEWAGE O&M PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION July 30, 2015

2 BACKGROUND Statewide Sewage Treatment System Regulations were enacted in 2007, however they were repealed by the state legislature later that year LCHD adopted local Sewage Treatment Regulations in July 2007 The regulations incorporated new design parameters that allowed homeowners to take advantage of new technologies The design parameters also allowed sewage to be properly treated and reduced the chances of systems causing a public health nuisance

3 STATEWIDE SEWAGE REGULATION ADOPTION Since 2008, the Ohio Department of Health has been working with local health departments, private industry, and other partners to develop another set of regulations After a long process, the regulations were adopted and went into effect on January 1, 2015 The system design parameters in the new regulations are almost exactly the same as what LCHD adopted in 2007 However, there are significant changes in the regulations regarding the mandated adoption of an Operation and Maintenance program by local health departments

4 SEWAGE STAKEHOLDERS GROUP As required by OAC Chapter LCHD developed a stakeholders group to assist with the development of our O&M program The group has met 3 times, and they have been involved with shaping our implementation plan Their feedback has been extremely valuable, and will assist us with implementing our program

5 SEWAGE STAKEHOLDERS GROUP Duane Flowers, Licking County Commissioner Pat Lebold, Licking County District Advisory Council President Dave Miller, Licking Township Trustee Doug Kanuckel, Fallsbury Township Trustee Jerry Schwartzenberger, McKean Township Trustee Manny Diaz, Jack s Septic Kelli Diaz, Jack s Septic Jock Clayton, Clayton Excavation Dan Blatter, Licking County Engineer s Office Zach Bollhimer, Licking County Soil and Water Conservation District LCHD Field and Administrative Staff

6 PERMITS Prior to 2015, LCHD issued an installation permit and operation permit to a homeowner at the same time. The property owner has always been required to properly maintain their system and to allow access to their system for inspection by the health department. The operation permits did not require the renewal of the operating permit, although the sewage regulations allowed for it. The new state sewage regulations require all operation permits to expire after a maximum of 10 years This is a fairly significant change in that LCHD will now need to develop a system for tracking these permits and work to notify homeowners of when they expire and how to renew them

7 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE The goal of an O&M program assure that sewage treatment systems, once installed, are properly maintained and operated for the life of the system. This will reduce the health risks associated with inadequately treated wastewater discharging to the surface of the ground or to our waterways. This will also reduce contaminants discharging to our lakes and rivers that cause beach closures and algal blooms. The inspections will be conducted based on one or three year time intervals contained in LCHD s plan The inspections can be conducted by LCHD staff, a trained homeowner, or registered service providers Anyone who conducts an inspection is required to submit the report to LCHD

8 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE Any system installed or altered after January 1, 2015 is required to be entered into the program This is the case for systems that are also inspected as part of a real estate transfer, public health nuisance investigation, and any other time a system is inspected Eventually, all of the systems in the county are required to be entered into an O&M program, however LCHD is afforded flexibility in establishing a timeline. Current estimates are for 20 years to incorporate all existing systems into the O&M program.

9 EXISTING O&M EFFORTS LCHD had programs in place prior to the new rules taking effect designed to evaluate the operation of sewage treatment systems throughout the county: 1. Semi-Public (small commercial) Sewage Treatment System Inspection Program 2. Illicit Discharge Identification and Elimination Program (IDDE) 3. Realty Transfer Inspections 4. Public Health Nuisance Complaint Investigations Month Follow Up Inspections on all Newly Installed Systems 6. Lot Split Evaluations when a lot with an existing home is split. 7. Targeted enforcement program in areas with known high failure rates.

10 INITIAL SYSTEMS ENTERED INTO O&M PROGRAM In addition to the systems required to be entered into the program, LCHD will begin working to enter systems that pose the most significant threat to public health into the program These areas include subdivisions that were developed with mainly aeration treatment units discharging to a tile or stream LCHD has conducted inspections in 2 such subdivisions in the past 2 years and found a significant number of systems failing

11 2002 LICKING COUNTY HOUSEHOLD WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM EVALUATION PROJECT The staff evaluated 800 sewage treatment systems in use in Licking County to determine the failure rate of various designs and locations. Satisfactory No evidence of failure, no nuisance conditions observed, system appears to be operating as designed. Marginal No evidence of failure, no nuisance conditions observed, however, system not operating as designed, maintenance required. Failure Evidence of failure, nuisance conditions observed, maintenance required. Evidence of failure/nuisance includes ponding of effluent over soil absorption systems, inadequate effluent quality from discharging systems, sewage odors, and system backup.

12 2002 LICKING COUNTY HOUSEHOLD WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM EVALUATION PROJECT The failure rate of systems using Aerobic Treatment Units (ATUs) was significantly higher than septic systems.

13 2014 GRANVILLE TOWNSHIP EVALUATION These systems were older than the systems included in the 2002 study. The failure rates were higher than the average for the 800 systems inspected in The failure rate for ATU s was over 3 times as high as septic systems.

14 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN LCHD plans to include the following areas with a history of high failure rates in the initial stage of its Operation and Maintenance program: Dogwood Lakes (Bowling Green Township) Knoll Drive (Granville Township) Sunset Drive (Granville Township) Cole Estates (Jersey Township) Kirby Drive (Licking Township) Sandy Drive (Licking Township) Christy Lee Drive (Pataskala) Helen Drive (Pataskala) Woodside Drive (Pataskala) Derringer Court (St. Albans Township) Sycamore Road (Union Township)

15 FEES Fee Category HSTS/SFOSTS Operating Permit SFOSTS Operating Permit Renewal HSTS Operating Permit Renewal O&M Inspection Fee 2014 Fee Proposed Fee $100 $15 $40 $15 $-- $15 $-- $35

16 OPERATION PERMIT RENEWAL System Type Permit Renewal (Years) ATU with Off-Lot Discharge 1 ATU as Pre-Treatment Component Drip/Low Pressure Distribution Septic Tank with Sand Mound 3 Septic Tank with Low Pressure Dosed Soil Absorption Septic Tank with Gravity Fed Soil Absorption System

17 IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE LCHD will reach out to the elected officials in areas where the initial inspections of older systems will be occurring. (see list of subdivisions) LCHD will provide an opportunity to attend an information session for residents in the priority areas During the fall of 2015 LCHD staff will begin initial inspections and system inventories for areas identified as high failure subdivisions. Renewal operating permits will be sent out for systems that were installed or altered or added to the O & M program during 2015 or 2016 in December 2016.

18 IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE Systems requiring annual inspections will need to be inspected by a service provider, qualified homeowner, or the LCHD during System requiring a 3 year inspection will need to be inspected before the end of No fees for LCHD inspections or operating permit renewals will be charged during 2015 or 2016.

19 HOMEOWNER IMPACT If an inspection finds that service or repair is required, the homeowner will be given a notice of violation with a time frame to correct the problem. If the system has failed and requires major repairs or replacement, LCHD will work with the homeowner and the contractor and additional time will be allotted if needed. Low interest loans may be available through the Licking County Planning Commission/Community Development office. LCHD will continue to seek out additional funding sources to assist low income homeowners. If, after consulting with OEPA, sanitary sewers are a viable option for the area, LCHD will work with homeowners to avoid major repairs while the sewer project is being planned and installed.