Approved Minutes of October 29, 2025

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 29, 2025 ■ This would retain the current setback requirement but would require external research to clarify or define the phrase — Mr. Privott commented that building codes do explicitly define the terms "termite treatment" vs. "termite control," but that this is outside of his field of expertise. ■ Mr. Privott estimated that clarifying/defining the phrase "subject to termite treatment" would take 1-2 months. o Amend the local rules to reflect the decision of the case. ■ This could be a technical amendment or may involve a partial repeal of the affected rule. Mr. Privott noted again that the rule in question is currently invalid and cannot be enforced without further action. ■ Any amendment to local rules would require that the Board adhere to the full rulemaking process, including a public comment period. Mr. Privott estimated that an amendment to the rules would take at least 2-4 months to implement. o Rewrite the local rules, as much or as little as the Board wishes. ■ Rewriting the local rules would also require a comment period and may require additional research to obtain evidence to justify any rules that are more stringent than the state's rules. ■ Mr. Privott estimated that a major rewrite would likely take at least 6-12 months to do well, especially if evidence to support the more stringent rules needed to be gathered. o Repeal the rules entirely. ■ Mr. Privott commented that doing this would also strike several policies that are unique to Orange County and not in the state rules, such as: requiring a longer casing length for new wells; requiring well owners to use a specific method of chlorination; mandating that Environmental Health Services staff inspect geothermal wells; providing protections for households that use off-property shared wells; and requiring that landlords provide potable water to their tenants. ■ Orange County only has two setback requirements that differ from the state's: 1. The required distance from wells to buildings with a foundation subject to termite treatment (which is currently invalidated by the hearing decision) and; 2. The required distance from a well to the property line (to create adequate setback between an on-property well and septic tanks that may be on outside properties). ■ If the Orange County Groundwater Protection Rules were repealed entirely, the Board of Health would no longer be responsible for adjudication hearings related to groundwater rules in Orange County, as these would be handled by the state instead. ■ Mr. Privott estimated that a repeal of the rules would likely take 2-4 months to implement, as it may require a public comment period. In response to Dr. Royce's question, Mr. Privott said that in his experience no one ever opposes repealing a rule. • Dr. Pickett asked about rewriting the rules and what kinds of evidence would be needed to support those rewrites, to which Mr. Privott replied that there is unfortunately very little scientific evidence to support setback requirements made by any government body. He noted that North Carolina's Statewide Groundwater Protection Rules were not implemented until 2008, and prior to that each county was mandated to have their own rules. Mr. Whitaker commented that the state's rules are not required to provide scientific evidence to justify their rules, just the counties that implement more stringent requirements, which Mr. Privott affirmed. When Dr. Royce asked why that is, Mr. Privott S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2025 Agenda and Abstracts\ October Page 6