LAKE COUNTY — Septic system regulations being considered at the state level will be the subject of an update that Lake County Health Services Director Ray Ruminski will present to the Lake County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
Public input workshops in Santa Rosa and Sacramento about the controversial regulations had to be rescheduled earlier this year, according to a State Water Resources Control Board memo dated Jan. 30. The memo says the regulations will be revised to take public comment into consideration.
One of the myriad proposed requirements is that property owners who have septic systems and water supply wells on the same property should have the wells tested once every five years.
“The objections are three: the regulations are not necessary, they are too expensive and they are not likely to give good information relative to septic systems and water supply wells,” Ruminski said.
An additional consideration, according to Ruminski, is that the state regulations don”t take into account the depth of a water well or its distance from a septic system on the same property.
“Lake County has a whole lot of homes using individual septic systems. We feel there is adequate ground water protection, regulation and public health protection with our local rules. If the state of California is going to develop statewide regulations, we don”t want it to unnecessarily change our local program. We believe our local program is working, and if the state feels the need to have statewide regulations, we want consideration for our local program,” Ruminski said.
In other business news, the Lake County Board of Supervisors will consider a measure that would address problems that arise when unfinished homes go into foreclosure. The proposed ordinance would establish a mechanism to inform potential buyers about outstanding permit issues and to recoup the county”s costs involved with correcting violations.
Sitting as the board of directors for the Lake County Redevelopment Agency, the board will also consider buying property from the United Methodist Church in Clearlake Oaks to be used for the reconstruction of the Live Oak Senior Center.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
