In response to a question that arose at a recent county board meeting regarding the health hazards failing septic systems could cause, outgoing Environmental Health Specialist Leroy Halberg gave a little educational presentation to commissioners Tuesday, May 25, 2010.
In 1900, the average life expectancy for an American was 49 years. Eighty years later, that had risen to 74 years. The leading cause of death in 1900? Diarrhea caused by bacteria, Halberg said. Diarrhea killed a lot of kids before they reached the age of five.
According to Halberg, improved sanitation brought about the change in life expectancy. The leading causes of death today are non-infectious diseases such as cancer and heart disease, he said.
“There’s more bacteria in our intestines than there is food,” Halberg said. Three hundred of the 4,600 bacteria we have all around us and inside us can make us sick.
We rely on sewage treatment plants to clean our water, Halberg said. Eighty percent of all diseases are spread by bad drinking water.
Salmonella, typhoid, staph, and cholera are still a problem in places where sewage is not treated properly, Halberg said. Diarrhea remains the second leading cause of death in third world countries. Even in Lima, Peru, 50% of all water consumed has deadly bacteria in it, he said.
Repairing failing septic systems and having a revolving loan fund to help people pay for them are on the top of Halberg’s list of things he thinks a county should accomplish. He recommended a loan period long enough to enable people to pay the loans back.
Halberg described a functioning septic treatment field. A flat, absorbent surface is required. Lime is needed to bring the Ph level to 12. Thesoil must give bacteria and viruses enough time to die before they totally soak down to the bottom, Halberg said.
Commissioner Fritz Sobanja commented on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s current process of overhauling its septic rules. Northern counties need more money to help people clean up their septic systems rather than more rules, he said, adding that he believes the current rules are adequate.
The new rules will cost counties more money to enforce, Halberg said. The standards back in the 1920s (such as having two to three feet of soil in a trench) are still followed today. The new laws address larger systems, system design, and enforcement, he said.
Commissioner Jan Hall stated that a lot of Cook County properties with old septic systems now have large homes where small cabins were originally built.
Where is the money for greater oversight going to come from? Sobanja asked.
Some of the new rules “might be overkill for us,” Halberg said, but they are needed in other places in the state.
The new rules would accelerate the process of getting noncompliant systems into compliance, Planning and Zoning Director Tim Nelson said. His department needs to do as much inspecting as they can with the limited staff and resources they have, he said.
Halberg’s last day before retiring was May 28.
Environmental Health Officer
Filling Leroy Halberg’s shoes might not be easy. Of six people who have applied for his position, only two have the right qualifications, and they have both withdrawn from consideration, Planning & Zoning Director Tim Nelson reported. No one inside the department is interested in the job.
Planning & Zoning Administrator Bill Lane will be processing septic permits until a replacement can be found. The department will be “taxed” until Halberg’s position is filled, Nelson said. The search has included “extensive” advertising, he said.
Septic system legislation update
Nelson reported that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has until April 4, 2011 to complete all of its amendments to the chapters 7080 through 7083 septic rules adopted by the legislature in 2008.
Counties have until February 4, 2012 to adopt all of the MPCA’s final rule revisions.
The MPCA will be forming an implementation and enforcement task force that will include representatives from the Association of Minnesota Counties, the Minnesota Association of County Planning and Zoning Administrators, the Association of Realtors, and the Minnesota Onsite Wastewater Association. A May 19 memo from Nelson to the county board states, “Thistask force is to work for a timely implementation of the new rules to rapidly reduce the number of imminent public health threats within the state.”
Zoning ordinance public hearing
A public hearing will be held during the Wednesday, July 14 Cook County Planning Commission meeting to discuss minor changes to the county’s zoning, subdivision, and storm water ordinances initiated by the Planning & Zoning Department.
According to Nelson, most of the changes would be renumbering items, rewording things to be consistent with the language used in state laws, making clarifications, and repealing things that are no longer applicable.
The proposed changes are available in the Planning and Zoning office and will be on the county website later this month.
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