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ORANGE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT <br />ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL <br />Section: Approved By: <br />Effective Date: Reviewed By: <br />Original Effective Date: <br />Policy 1.0 Requests for Environmental Services and Assessments <br />Policy Statement <br />This policy covers processing and budgetary considerations regarding requests from <br />citizens and communities for environmental services and assessments to determine <br />whether environmental contaminants are present, environmental degradation has <br />occurred or for the applicant's information for future reference. <br />Purpose <br />The purpose of this policy is to determine when environmental services, surveys or <br />assessments will be conducted and also to set forth the funding mechanisms for those <br />actions. Also covered within the policy scope is the decision tree for when community <br />assessments will be considered and the ensuing financial responsibilities for those <br />expanded efforts, This policy is not intended to cover nor does it cover applications, <br />inspections, approvals or other processes for regulatory programs generally administered <br />in the Environmental Health Division. <br />Section I Program Overview <br />1,0 Environmental Health routinely receives concerns and queries from Orange <br />County residents regarding environmental investigations to determine whether <br />an environmental exposure exists and also whether unusual disease prevalence <br />is occurring, These requests may arise from an individual or from communities, <br />This policy addresses general and specific practices for'these requests and <br />assigns responsibilities for their dispensation, <br />Section II Individual Requests <br />1.0 Individual residents may request services and assessments for their property, <br />whether owned outright, leased, rented, or otherwise legally occupied, These <br />services include septic inspections, water samples, indoor air quality (IAQ) <br />assessments, vector control inspections, single disease case investigations, or <br />other services germane to current or future environmental health programs. <br />Section III Community or Collective Requests <br />1,0 The following types of community or' collective studies and assessments will be <br />considered and acted upon by staff with the appropriate approval(s) when <br />environmental conditions are suspected or to be a causative factor: <br />Acute Disease and/or Chronic Disease Rate Studies <br />Wastewater System Surveys <br />Well Water Samples and Surveys <br />1.1 Acute and Chronic Disease <br />a, Airborne, vector borne and waterborne diseases are environmentally <br />related in their transmissions and may affect a community as a <br />whole, Chronic diseases such as asthma and cancer can have <br />