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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017 Planned OSS&OM Performance MeasuresJefferson County Public Health – Planned Performance Measures 2017 Onsite Sewage (OSS) and Septic Operations & Monitoring (O&M) Programs [1] PROGRAMS: Onsite Sewage (OSS) Permitting and Onsite Operations and Monitoring (O&M) Programs MISSION: The mission of the Onsite Sewage Program is to minimize the threat of surface and ground water contamination from failing or improperly designed, installed or maintained onsite sewage systems. The mission of the Operation and Monitoring Program is to protect public health by ensuring onsite sewage systems are monitored, identify failures, and items that may lead to costly premature failures of OSS that contaminate ground and surface waters. Goal Objective Task Performance Measure 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Projected 2017 Planned Goal 1: Educate homeowners, builders, real estate personnel, banks, installers, designers and onsite system maintenance personnel in the proper operation and maintenance of onsite sewage systems (OSS) Develop written informational materials and conduct workshops for the public addressing OSS operation and maintenance, program incentives for initial inspection, installation of monitoring access risers and homeowner inspection program Provide training to community groups to increase awareness of OSS regulatory requirements Conduct OSS operations and maintenance needs and requirements workshops for homeowners & professionals # of workshops and presentations 4 4 20 4 10 6 6 Issue press releases about OSS training opportunities and general OSS info # of press releases provided -- -- 6 4 5 10 5 Create OSS operation and maintenance information to be included in Monitoring Inspection Reminders Statements/info created -- -- 4 4 7 12 7 Goal 2: Ensure a high quality-onsite sewage system monitoring program Send Monitoring Inspection Reminders to property owners Create and send inspection reminders # of reminders sent -- -- 800 0 4,980 5,000 5,000 Review monitoring and inspection reports, provide timely follow-up and coordinate with online submittal program data Develop procedure and standards to triage reports with corrective actions required % of OSS receiving monitoring inspection 3.4% 3.8% 4.7% 5.1% 7.8% 7% 15% Pass/Fail -- -- PASS PASS PASS PASS PASS Review reports, triage, send follow-up letters/notices # reports reviewed -- -- 641 685 1060 800 2,000 # follow-up letters sent -- -- 154 156 168 200 200 Ensure Local Sewage Management Plan is consistent with current status and practices Update Local Sewage Management Plan to reflect progress and needed Pass/Fail -- -- FAIL FAIL FAIL PASS PASS Jefferson County Public Health – Planned Performance Measures 2017 Onsite Sewage (OSS) and Septic Operations & Monitoring (O&M) Programs [2] Goal Objective Task Performance Measure 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Projected 2017 Planned Goal 3: Investigate complaints and action requests in a timely manner to reduce the threat of human contact with untreated wastewater Utilize existing data systems to track action requests and complaints1 Develop system to quantify response time for complaints within 30 days Pass/Fail -- -- FAIL FAIL PASS PASS PASS Create a report to track response time Pass/Fail -- -- FAIL FAIL FAIL PASS PASS % OSS complaints investigated within 30 days -- -- 90% 94% 98% 90% 90% Goal 4: Document all onsite sewage systems in Jefferson County Identify previously unknown onsite sewage systems Complete sanitary surveys to move sites served by OSS from unknown to known status # of systems identified 100 107 204 69 107 120 120 % of estimated existing 13,500 systems identified 74% 75% 78% 78.5% 79.2 80 83 Goal 5: Implement the Homeowner Inspection Program adopted in code revisions May 2012 to comply with monitoring requirements under WAC 246- 272A Establish Homeowner Authorization program Complete database upgrade incorporating all elements of Homeowner Inspection Authorization Pass/fail -- -- PASS PASS PASS PASS PASS Establish online portal for monitoring inspection report submittal Link database to online report portal Pass/fail -- -- PASS PASS PASS PASS DONE Establish access to training programs (Septics 101 and 201) for homeowners to obtain authorization to complete monitoring inspections Provide trainings and link to online trainings # of homeowners who take in person and online trainings -- -- 410 81 251 200 250 Respond to requests for authorization to inspect by homeowners # of homeowners authorized -- -- 192 75 147 150 300 # of homeowners that submit inspection reports -- -- 15 3 66 100 800 1 Complaints include all reports from the public and others regarding onsite sewage issues. These range from reports of someone parking or driving on their drainfield, living on property without a permitted septic system to surfacing sewage. Jefferson County Public Health – Planned Performance Measures 2017 Onsite Sewage (OSS) and Septic Operations & Monitoring (O&M) Programs [3] SUMMARY OF KEY FUNDING/SERVICE ISSUES: Tracking will be done with existing data systems to evaluate effectiveness of permitting and monitoring programs. Ongoing O&M activities will be funded through state and federal grants as well as local funding from either the ‘filing’ fee that is submitted with monitoring inspection reports or a ‘per septic system’ fee. Implementation in 2017 will focus on sending site specific reminders to properties that are not current with their monitoring inspection. Staff will be involved in providing assistance navigating the training website for homeowners who wish to become authorized to inspect their own system and submit the results online. Follow-up with homeowners on inspection results is critical to the understanding of how systems work and why maintenance and proper operation is important. A more robust system for correspondence and follow-up will be implemented to manage the increase in inspections. Response to notices regarding deficiencies identified has improved via follow-up reports and applications for repair. We developed a method to track ‘transfer of title’ and will continue to notify those who did not have a monitoring inspection that one is required. We will conduct community outreach to increase awareness of the new requirements. An incentive program to assist homeowners in completing inspections and install access risers and monitoring ports will be continue to be available in 2017. The online Homeowner Training and Authorization for septic system inspection was successfully launched in 2016. A substantial amount of staff time is involved in assisting homeowners with the program as many older homeowners are less comfortable using an online system. Staff have continued to take the Septics 101 and 201 ‘on the road’ to meet the desire of homeowners to obtain the inspection authorization via a live class. With the roll out of the online program we expect to offer fewer ‘in person’ classes and expect an increased use of the web based program. In the first month the web based program was operating over 100 homeowners went through the program and obtained authorization to inspect their septic system. Identification of previously unknown onsite sewage systems is ongoing as part of a project in the Marine Recovery Area (MRA) along the Hood Canal. The project will continue to move forward the work identified in the Local Onsite Sewage Management Plan. The state requirement that all unknown systems be identified by 2012 was not met but we are pursuing the goal as resources permit. Revised and new elements of the Local On-site Sewage Management Plan will continue to be implemented in 2017 as identified in the plan. Onsite sewage permitting and staffing is rebounding after the decline of 2009 - 2014. The number of permits received dropped significantly in 2010 and 2011 from previous years. A small uptick in activity occurred in 2012 but was not continued into 2013. 2014 and 2015 saw slight increases and at mid-2016 we are up approx. 60% over the same time in 2015. The proportion of repair permit applications to new has dropped (from 29% of total applications to 19%) We observe that the time involved in bringing the repairs to a successful conclusion is much greater than for new cases. The team continues to strive to maintain effective communication with our clients and partners (other state and local departments) to effectively manage workload and requests for information while diligently reviewing and enforcing county code and policies. Additional staff has been trained and assigned to conduct inspection of system installations and review new applications. Coordination with our Environmental Health Tech is assisting staff in timely review and documentation of activities in the database. Training and Round Table meetings continue with professionals certified by JCPH. These meetings assist in improving the quality of submittals and offer an opportunity to resolve questions about the codes and challenging site conditions. An auditing process is under development for both professionals and homeowners to assure consistency in work practices and accuracy in reporting. Additional staffing needs are anticipated with the increase in monitoring inspections completed, assisting homeowners in participating in the online training program, following up on deficiencies identified during inspection and managing permit application for new and repair permits. Jefferson County Public Health – Planned Performance Measures 2017 Onsite Sewage (OSS) and Septic Operations & Monitoring (O&M) Programs [4] PROGRAM STATISTICS PERMITS 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Projected 2017 Planned # of septic permit applications submitted 1 231 169 158 118 147 148 156 163 165 205 # of systems repaired/upgraded 32 32 37 31 43 40 46 43 50 50 % of system failures less than 5 years in use 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 # of complaints received* 42 43 52 36 20 60 52 109 45 65 # of complaints closed** 24 19 33 25 26 25 43 42 33 40 # of Installers Certified 37 37 36 34 31 31 27 31 29 OPERATION, MAINTANANCE & MONITORING 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Projected 2017 Planned # of evaluations of existing system (EES) 295 255 463 469 511 641 781 1060 750 1000 % of existing systems receiving regular 3rd party monitoring. 2 2.20% 1.80% 3.40% 3.40% 3.80% 4.7% 5.1% 7.8 5% 8% # of previously unknown systems having a monitoring inspection 15 9 10+ 595 15+ 854 14+934 204 69 107 100 50 % of monitoring inspections resulting in some maintenance needed. 29% 28% 56%5 68%5 59%5 63%5 63%5 64% 60% 70% % of monitoring inspections resulting in required significant maintenance or repair. 12.5 16% 18.70% 12.40% 18.50% 13% 23.3% 17.6% 17% 18% EDUCATION AND OUTREACH 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Projected 2017 Planned # of educational workshops 6 5 19 4 9 20 4 10 12 7 # of workshop participants 239 102 355 156 220 410 131 354 200 250 * Includes COM cases created when violation identified during a sanitary survey. **The number of Closed complaints can be greater than Received because cases from previous years may have been closed during the current year. 1Number of applications does not equal approved permits 2 Based on estimated 13,500 systems in the County (from the Local Sewage Management Plan) 4The first number indicates systems that were identified and observed via regular monitoring inspections. The second number indicates systems that were identified (and had some level of observation) via sanitary surveys and are sites where no previous records exist. 5 Includes inspections where the only maintenance item identified was that the tank needed to be pumped. Previous years did not include this maintenance item. XX Data were not available at time of publication.