Board may OK health code
By Dionna HarrisFact Box
At a glance
The Superior Health Code is a new sanitary code for residential and small commercial on-site wastewater.
A review of the health code was conducted by county board-appointed members to the Technical Advisory Comittee (TAC).
A draft sanitary code was recommended by the TAC in March.
Six public hearings on the code were held throughout Delta and Menominee counties beginning in April.
ESCANABA - The Delta County Board of Commissioners may adopt a recently-completed Superior Health Code during its regular meeting tonight.
The Superior Health Code is a new sanitary code for residential and small commercial on-site wastewater that will also be presented to the Menominee County Board of Commissioners for adoption, said Barb Chenier, health officer/administrator for Public Health Delta Menominee Counties (PHDM).
A review of the health code was conducted by county board appointed members or Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to evaluate the Superior Environmental Health Code utilized by other counties in the Upper Peninsula.
A review was requested following the approval of permits for on-site disposal by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality after property owners appealed denials from the PHDM. The PHDM denials were based upon subsurface criteria established by the state.
TAC members Don Shirley, Dennis Bittner, Jerry Doucette, Ray Fettig, Dave Holmgren, Bob Zinn, Dianne Matthews and Mike Synder of Delta County, and Randy Demeuse, Mike Erdman, Brian Kozikowski and Chuck Schwenner of Menominee County started working on reviewing the Superior Health Code. Once a review of the Superior Health Code was completed, the panel was directed to present their recommendations to their respective county boards.
"A draft sanitary code was recommended by the TAC in March," said Chenier. "The board of health then directed PHDM to proceed with educational sessions and public hearings."
According to Chenier, six public hearings were held throughout Delta and Menominee counties beginning in April.
"A public hearing was also held in each county in May, and written comments were also accepted. After a careful review of all received comments, the new code was presented to the board of health in June," she said. "The final step, with the recommendation from the Board of Health, is the adoption of the new code." If the new code is adopted by both county boards, it will become effective 45 days later. "The TAC committee process has allowed community members, professionals working with water, well and septic regulations, and PHDM Environmental Health supervisors to work together to develop the best sanitary code for our two counties," said Chenier. "We appreciate the countless hours these committee members have contributed to developing a new code which is protective of public health, while still providing property owners with more options."
