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...... - <br />PAGE 2 <br />County Attorney Geoffrey Gledhill gave a brief explanation of how the County got <br />where we are. He explained that there was never any ques~,ipn that the local health - <br />department could not create their own program to protect the health, safety and <br />welfare of the citizens of Orange County. <br />Ron Holdway briefly described the contents of the proposal titled A Proposal.. <br />to Establish an Operation and Maintenance Program for Sewage Treatment and Disposal <br />Systems in Orange County". A copy of this proposal is in the permanent agenda file <br />in the Clerk's Office. <br />Discussion ensued on several aspects of the proposal but no decisions were <br />reached on any one specific item in the proposal. <br />Sludge sites were discussed, as was the need for Hillsborough to have their own <br />facility for disposal of sludge. The Board asked for a list of permitted sites in <br />the area. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis inquired if any other counties have similar proposals. <br />Tony Laws stated that Wake-County's proposal focuses o:~ package plants. The Board" <br />indicated a desire to visit a county that has a similar proposal in place. <br />Aan Reimer continued outlining the proposal by reviewing the funding mechanisms <br />on page 13 of the proposal. <br />Ed Holland painted out that Jay Bryant who served on the water committee ' <br />...- disagreed with the subcommittee recommendation that all alternative systems in the <br />water supply watershed should have a backup system in case of failure. <br />Jahn Link pointed out that there is a concern about the number of septic tanks <br />that may be failing. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis expressed a concern about other counties dumping their <br />sludge in Orange County. Even if it is dumped an private land and it is in the <br />watershed, it is a threat to the public health, safety and welfare. , <br />In answer to a question about the estimated cost of implementing the program as <br />proposed with all the components, Dan Reimer stated that they will be meeting with <br />the State and will have abetter estimate after that meeting. <br />The need for a public awareness/education program was discussed. <br />Implications of the county providing assistance to a system owner when the <br />County did not help with the design of the system were discussed. Ron Holdway stated <br />that they could provide direction on the majority of the repairs and if they did not <br />know the answer could refer the system owner to engineers or others in the field. It <br />would increase the liability to the County and increase the workload. <br />John Link stated his preference to have the owner of the system maintain and <br />operate the system. Everett Billingsley expressed concerns about private companies <br />operating the water systems. The question of responsibility for operation and <br />maintenance of the system was discussed. <br />John Link indicated that another alternative is to legally band the developer to <br />