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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 23, 2009 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 4 September 23, 2009 Last month, staff reported to the Board that the Rogers Eubanks Neighborhood Association (RENA) approached the Health Department and expressed concerns over the safety of well water supplies and septic systems in this neighborhood. They also expressed concerns about illnesses in the area. Tom Konsler reported that Rev. Campbell, the RENA spokesperson, would like the health department to conduct an environmental assessment of the wells and septic systems in the neighborhood. Students from the UNC School of Public Health may be included in the effort as well as representatives of the community in a team effort. The Board was provided with meeting minutes from two recent meetings of RENA with the Department present. Because of the size of the area of concern and the anticipated cost of the study, there are not adequate resources to accommodate this request within the current Departmental budget. An estimate of cost and time involvement will be developed pending further information from the community representatives. In accordance with the policy that was developed in 2006, it is anticipated that a request will be made of the Board of Commissioners by Rev. Campbell to consider appropriation for money to fund this request. Tom Konsler estimated the number of homes in the study to be approximately 107, the cost of supplies to be roughly $9,000 of operating costs, travel costs of $1,000, and $16,000 in staff time. He stated that Engineers Without Borders might be able participate as members of the survey teams for the study. Steve Yuhasz asked a hypothetical question that if a home had a failing septic system and it was determined that there was no good soil to install a new system, how long can we search for alternative solutions before the county would have to take action if there were no viable repairs. Tom Konsler replied that each case would be case specific and there is a long list of interim measures that can be taken. If there is no viable repair the NC Division of Water Quality can authorize a system with a treatment and a discharge, costing about $20,000. Rosemary Summers stated that a suggestion was made by the Interim County Manager to the Board of Commissioners that a special fund much like the No Fault Well Repair Fund (NFWRF) be set up to repair septic systems and wells that are failing. Dr. Summers reported that what the residents were requesting was not repairs but hookup to public water and sewer. The Department has been clear with residents from the outset that our goal is to identify possible repairs to existing systems where possible and that moving forward with public connections were outside the realm of the health department’s purview. Tony Whitaker commented that according to an article included in the packet from a UNC study, the area had no higher rate of failure than other areas in the county. He asked if it was true that the department might not know of some failures because they were unreported. Mr. Konsler stated that staff had recently evaluated their files and concluded that was possible. He stated that no data was available on septic systems or wells installed prior to 1980.