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MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br />November 16, 2006 <br />Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 4 November 16, 2006 <br /> <br />Board members were presented with a draft revision of the Policy for review and suggested the <br />addition of primary care flat fee and sliding scale to III.A.2. and the deletion of item II.C.3. <br /> <br />Motion to adopt the Fee & Eligibility Policy as amended was made by Moses Carey, seconded by <br />Chris Harlan, and carried without dissent. <br /> <br />D. No Fault Well Repair Fund Report <br /> <br />In 2001, American Stone Company and OWASA applied for and received a special use permit for <br />the continued use of the American Stone Quarry until the end of 2030. After that date, OWASA <br />will operate the facility as a reservoir. The Quarry is located approximately 5 miles west of <br />Carrboro on Highway 54. As a condition of the special use permit American Stone was required <br />to establish a “No Fault Well Repair Fund” (NFWRF) for those residents whose property is within <br />3,000 feet of the perimeter of the quarry and who experience well failures not directly <br />attributable to the quarry operation. The initial fund amount was $87,500 and can be <br />augmented by $20,000 per year as needed to meet the community needs. Well failures that are <br />a “probable result” of the quarry operation must be handled exclusively by American Stone at <br />their expense. <br /> <br />OCHD staff has responsibilities in providing sampling services, technical assistance, consultation <br />regarding remedies, and determination of well failure. Staff has also taken on fiscal <br />administration of the fund. The Board of Health is the avenue of appeals for those residents <br />who are not satisfied with the process. <br /> <br />In 2001, the policy was amended by BOH to allow OCHD staff to use judgment to skip the <br />determination of fault by American Stone Company if the deficiency in the well or water quality <br />was clearly not a fault of quarry. <br /> <br />In 2004, staff proposed an alternative to well replacement, repair, or water treatment if a well <br />had detectable levels of arsenic but those levels were still below the recommended drinking <br />water limit. If the well were otherwise satisfactory, the homeowner would receive bottled water <br />to be paid by the NFWRF. We currently have 10 homes participating in the bottled water <br />program. The BOH approved this component with the idea it would be reviewed after 2 years <br />for continuation or revisions. <br /> <br />Tom Konsler reported that the bottled water purchase program has been successful, however it <br />was discovered that there was at least one case of abuse in which a household had been <br />receiving over twice the allotted amount of water for more than a year. The water vendor was <br />recently instructed not to deliver beyond the allotted amount and all of the recipients were <br />recently contacted to verify number of residents so that an accurate allotment could be <br />determined. <br /> <br />Staff is looking into an alternative to address the arsenic level in the well water by using a <br />Reverse Osmosis filtration system that would eliminate the arsenic. Preliminary cost estimates