TRUMBULL COUNTY Officials mull rules on septic systems

New regulations would not change standards for acceptable levels of pollution.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The Trumbull County Board of Health is considering new regulations that would expand its power to police all but the largest commercial septic systems.
The regulations, which will receive a first reading at the health board meeting tonight, also incorporate a fee structure that raises the minimum cost of an annual commercial inspection from $25 to $125.
The top fee, to inspect large, complex systems, will remain $400, said director of environmental health Frank Migliozzi.
The regulations being considered would not affect one-, two- or three-bedroom homes, he said.
The new rules apply to roughly 1,200 Trumbull County businesses with septic systems that handle less than 25,000 gallons a day. A typical home system handles 480 gallons a day, Migliozzi said.
Businesses covered by the regulations would include restaurants, greenhouses, garages and smaller campgrounds.
Annual inspections
The health department already conducts annual inspections on commercial systems on behalf of the EPA, then reports the results to them.
"It takes them all of eternity to enforce them," Migliozzi said. For example, the agency still has not taken action on one failing septic system that was brought to its attention in 1997.
Migliozzi estimated that 30 percent of commercial systems have been reported to the EPA because of problems.
If proposed changes are implemented, the health department could declare failing commercial septic systems to be health to be nuisances and take the owners to court.
The proposed regulations would not change standards for acceptable levels of pollution, he said.
Fee increases are needed to cover the actual cost of conducting inspections, Migliozzi said.
The health board plans to hold three readings of the regulations and two public hearings before they are put into effect, he said.