Agenda - 06-06-1994-IX-A - Laserfiche WebLink

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G and b) the only way to ensure that these lapses in treatment quality do not have long-term impact on the environment, public health or the life span of the system is to provide inspections of a frequency sufficient to detect and correct problems before serious damage can occur. Option II advocates that inspections take place from two to three times more frequently than Option I (at the basic or "no problem" level) at correspondingly greater expense. Option II recommended inspection frequencies are based on the experience of Orange County and other area local health staff. At the public hearing, there was minimal public comment on the overall MMA program, the financial surety issue or either of the two options for inspection frequencies. Public input was limited to written material submitted by two citizens and oral comment by one citizen and the chairs of the Board of Health and the OWASA board. General oral and written citizen comment dealt primarily with the impact of the proposed inspection fees on system owners. Citizens questioned the time and costs calculated for each inspection and generally advocated that costs to system owners be minimized by less frequent inspections, lowered inspection fees or by abolishing inspection fees. The comments from the Board of Health chair were addressed primarily to the history of and justification for the proposed program, the inspection frequency options and the proposed fee structure. The Board of Health recommended that 1) DEH regulated systems be inspected at Option I frequencies and DEM regulated systems be inspected at Option II frequencies; and 2) the proposed fee structure be implemented. The Health chair also asked that strategies for assuring the financial surety of waste treatment systems be implemented through agencies other than the Health Department. The OWASA chair, speaking as a representative of OWASA recommended that 1) OWASA and the County work together to provide design review, monitoring, and maintenance of certain types of systems; and 2 ) the County work with OWASA and Hillsborough to insure the availability of the waste treatment capacity and facilities necessary to accept additional septage resulting from the program's requirements for more frequent septic tank pumping. Speaking as a private citizen, the OWASA chair supported treatment system inspections at Option II or greater frequencies. In response to concerns about MMA program inspection costs that have been expressed by members of the BOCC and the public, staff have developed a revised proposal for the program' s inspection fee structure. The primary purpose of the revised fee structure is to to provide a more equitable method of assigning and recovering program costs by separating costs and charges for initial inspections from those for follow-up inspections. The original fee