Septic installers to meet with P & Z April 8

On Wednesday, April 8, septic system installers will again meet with members of the county’s Planning and Zoning department to review areas of agreement and concern over implementation of the current septic ordinance. County Planning Director Tim Nelson told WTIP he believes we have a very good and professional bunch of septic contractors who do have the very difficult task of trying to design and install affordable systems in our county under challenging physical and regulatory conditions.  He also believes that they are very close to finishing up with the ordinance language revisions, especially with regard to a couple of sticking points.

The current Cook County Subsurface Sewage Treatment Systems (SSTS) Ordinance was adopted on March 11, 2014 after several  years of being worked on initially by a committee appointed by commissioners and then
continued through a special task force. The process included several public hearings, county board work session and meetings with septic contractors.

Nelson points out that when the SSTS Ordinance was published for the final public hearing before the Planning Commission, there wasn’t a single public comment submitted, and nobody attended the hearing to speak to the ordinance provisions either in favor or in opposition. He said we all  took that as a sign that people were ready to move forward. That said, unexpected issues are always anticipated with new ordinances.

Planning and Environmental Health staff have met informally with the septic contractors since early January of this year with the intent of listening to their concerns and comments, and to further explore possible ordinance amendments and improvements in customer service to make the program more efficient and equitable.

At the April 8 meeting, staff and contractors will meet to review a final set of proposed ordinance provisions that will be discussed at a public hearing with the Planning Commission on April 29. After that it goes to the County Board for adoption, prior to the start of the construction season.

Issues expected to be reviewed April 8 include revising the approach to inspections and enforcement as well as the process of “abandonment” -- or the destruction of old systems. Nelson said one of the main concerns also expressed by the installers was the desire to see improved customer service from the Environmental Health staff. He said all department staff members will be required to attend two levels of customer service training including providing exceptional customer service, and how to handle situations in ways to keep disagreements from escalating.

In recognition that septic issues are often “flash points” Nelson has met with regional Planning & Zoning Administrators, and gained support for
starting a regional group of just the septic inspectors as a means of promoting consistence throughout the region where possible, and encourage peer internal growth & development.

Nelson said, “Our goal is to build trust through very clear, reasonable
and consistent standards, and to balance our responsibility of environmental protection with the flexibility needed for our unique county topography and features.”