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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH August 28, 2008 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 7 August 28, 2008 • that the proposal does not exceed the conditions of the Operation Permit or, in the absence of documentation, that the proposal does not exceed the apparent and reasonable wastewater flow capacity of the system. This process is in place to assure that whenever a structure is built or rebuilt, that the public’s health will be protected by verifying that the structure will be served by an approved and adequate wastewater system. Tom Konsler said that one challenge of applying this policy is judging the functionality of a septic system that has not been in use for more than 30 days. The policy allowing re-use of an out-of-use system requires that it be located in suitable soils or that a repair area that meets suitable criteria be available. Another option allows that the septic system in question can be subjected to a “stress test” to prove that it is functionally capable. He stated that this policy has worked well but has presented some difficulty when a house or business has been destroyed or partially destroyed by fire or similar events. The owner is rarely in the position to apply for permits within the 30 day time period and many of these systems must then meet the more stringent criteria since they are out-of-use. Moses Carey asked whether a notification of intention to rebuild within 30 days of a home destroyed by fire could be a solution. Tom Konsler stated a notification protocol has recently been established with Emergency Services whereby Environmental Health will be notified when houses on septic systems are damaged. EH will respond by contacting property owners and conducting an existing system check at no charge within 30 days. System performance will be documented in the file for future reference when the application for services is later received. Staff is also re-working the existing system policy and procedure document to make it a more readable and to clarify some aspects. The Board Committee will be reviewing the proposed changes by staff. Consideration will be given to extending the length of time for disuse of septic systems. In the case of the denial of the permit for the Samuel Thompson property, although the system was defined as out-of-use, the denial was due to the system being classified as malfunctioning due to the presence of pipes that had been installed to discharge wastewater to the surface ditches. The severe limitation of the soil at the site precludes the permitting of a repair or replacement of the system. It is staff’s determination that an alternative system would be the Thompson’s best option. Tom Konsler reported that the Thompson’s would be seeking an alternative state approved system and that staff are working to help facilitate that process. F. Final Approved 08-09 Budget In June, the Board of County Commissioners approved a county-wide budget for FY 08-09. The approved budget for the Health Department includes changes to our original request, which we presented to the Board of Health in February. Final dollar amounts and summary was provided in a hand-out at the meeting. By consensus the Board elected to move this item to the September agenda to allow time for study and questions. G. Informational Items