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23 <br />This group was formed under a directive from the Orange County Board of Health <br />to provide input to the three main components of the expansion to include gravity <br />flaw septic systems in the WTMP framework. The components are education, <br />homeowner incentives and re-inspections, Outlines of the history of the current <br />WTMP initiatives and the expansion were presented to the committee for <br />consideration and guidance. Rosie Summers and Ran Holdway facilitated the <br />discussions. <br />The impetus to explore the expansion came from a joint meeting of the Board of <br />Commissioners and the OWASA Board and an ensuing meeting of the Board of <br />Health. All three boards recognize that existing failures rates (8-10%) are not <br />likely to improve without action and that centralized wastewater disposal will not <br />be a repair option in many areas of the county in the foreseeable future. Failures <br />are caused by a variety of factors, most notably-poor soils conditions, wetter <br />seasons and individual household water habits. To prevent prema#ure failures, <br />long term management must be implemented to extend the usable lives of systems <br />and presence repair strategies. Since there are no programs in place in North <br />Carolina which include management for all on-site systems, staff looked at <br />examples from several other localities nationwide with a full management <br />approach in place or under consideration. These localities included Georgetown <br />Divide in California, Ten Tawas jurisdiction in New Jersey, Cuyahoga County in <br />Ohio and Jamestown, Rhode Island. EPA recommendations were also reviewed <br />for reference and applicability as well as information from state level agencies in <br />North Carolina, Michigan, and Hawaii. <br />After discussion by the committee, the propo~ will be presented to the Board of <br />Health far action pursuant to NCGS §130A-39. If approved, the proposal will then <br />go to the BOCC for finding consideration, . Sta$ would like for the BOCC to have <br />the proposal for this consideration at their December retreat,. In. the meantime, <br />staff will explore the passibility ofpreparing maps of recent septic system repairs <br />both by township and in the OWASA service area. <br />EDUCATION <br />Current Efforts; <br />The educational efforts in use in the WTMp area today are by individual contact, <br />lmnted material given at the time of occupancy of new homes, other brochures for <br />existing homes, and the Internet site. Mass mailings are also used, but are not <br />routine. The emphases of the educational efforts are to promote and protect public <br />health, preserve water resources, and extend the average life of septic systems in <br />Orange County. One of the main facts that must be continually emphasized in this <br />effort is that the systems must be viewed by all parties-homeowners, government <br />and private sector contractors-as a perpetual utility which must function for the <br />life of the house, not just as a stopgap until public sewer arrives, <br />.. .. _ _ <br />