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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003/04/10 - Board of HealthBOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS April 10, 2003 Commissioner Wes Johnson called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. Attendance: Cmmr. Dist. 1, Herb Baze; Cmmr. Dist. 2, Wes Johnson; Cmmr. Dist. 3, Jayni Kamin, Absent. ATTENDANCE Dr. Mark Trucksess, Health Officer Steve Kutz, Department of Health Director Debbie Riley, Environmental Health Director Lydia Bucheit, Public Health Nurse Nancy Plews, Clerk Rebecca Wells, Mason County Journal, Reporter CORRESPONDENCE Steve Kutz, Health Department Director, informed the Board that the State BOH is having a meeting in Mason County. The meeting is scheduled for May 14th 9:00a.m to 3:00 p.m at Squaxin Island Tribal Center. The State requested that Dr. Trucksess and Mason County Board of Health attend the meeting. Lunch will be provided for all that attend. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Cmmr. Baze/Johnson moved and seconded to approve the June 6, 2002; July 11, 2002; August 1, 2002; October 3, 2002; November 2002; December 2002 and March 2003 BOH meeting minutes. Motion carried unanimously. B-aye: J-aye; K-absent. ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES HEALTH OFFICER'S REPORT: Dr. Trucksess, Health Officer, reported that for March, 2003 Communicable Diseases was one case of Pertussis/Whooping Cough, one case of Chronic Hepatitis C, four people with Positive PPD's that were started on Latent Therapy, and one new active case of Tuberculosis. Mason County tested 152 people for HIV and all were negative. The STD report for March is four Chlamydia cases, three of which were from the WCC, and two cases of Herpes. Dr. Trucksess presented information on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The symptoms are fever of 101.4 or higher, respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, hypoxia, and x-ray findings of Pneumonia or Respiratory Distress Syndrome and recent travel areas reporting cases of SARS within seven days prior to illness onset or close contact with a person who has been diagnosed with SARS. Patients with recent travel to Asia who develop fever and acute respiratory disease syndromes should be rapidly isolated in an airborne infection isolation room with airborne and contact precautions. All patients who meet the CDC case definition should be immediately reported to your local health department. At this time there is not a treatment for SARS. There have been several cases in Washington State. Two cases have been reported in Seattle and one case in Tacoma. Those patients have survived. Dr. Trucksess reported that the West Nile Virus (WNV) was confirmed in two horses and two birds last fall. There has been no human cases reported in Washington. WNV is expected to impact animals and humans throughout the Pacific Northwest this summer. It is strongly urged that outdoor people use the repellant DEET. Cmmr. Johnson questioned if there have been any reported cases of SARS in Mason County. Dr. Trucksess informed the Board that the hospital did think they had a case but it was not proven. The patient had been in the Philippines and came back with similar symptoms. The Philippines has not reported any cases of SARS. BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS April 10, 2003 - PAGE 2 PERSONAL HEALTH ISSUES Steve Kutz Health Department Director, presented a proclamation to declare April 13 — April 19 as National Infant Immunization Awareness Week in Mason County. Cmmr. Baze/Johnson moved and seconded to declare April 13 - April 19 as Infant Immunization Awareness Week in Mason County. Motion carried unanimously. B-aye; J-aye; K-absent. Mr. Kutz stated that the Pertussis case Dr. Trucksess reported on was a two -month -old infant. This child is not old enough to receive vaccination for Pertussis but if the other people around her are all vaccinated there is less of a chance for the infant to contract the disease. Mr. Kutz shared with the Board that in Spokane at the WCC there was a large outbreak of Influenza A. This spread to 250 inmates getting sick in a 24-hour time frame. Locally our Correction Center secured vaccines for the inmates that have not been vaccinated. Mr. Kutz stated there are still doses of Influenza A vaccines left if anyone in the community needs to be vaccinated. Mr. Kutz presented information on the Tobacco Programs, which have been put in place through the public health system, school system and DOH to try and reduce tobacco use among youth. Two years after the program implementation, the sixth grade dropped 53%, eight grade dropped 39%, tenth grade dropped 40% and twelfth grade dropped 36%. This was measured in the Health Youth Survey completed in the school systems. Cmmr. Johnson questioned if there were any results for the Mason County youth. Mr. Kutz stated he is has contacted the Department of Health and requested the statistics for Mason County. He will report the data at a future meeting. Mr. Kutz stated the report showed the significant declines were in urban and rural communities. He hopes efforts that are being provided locally are making a difference Dr. Trucksess suggested Mason County follow New York City and abolish smoking in public places. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ISSUES Debbie Riley, Environmental Health Director, presented the staff report regarding a well site that Mr. Petersen had drilled sometime before October 2, 2002 on property he owns in close proximity to his wood waste landfill. The Environment Health staff forwarded this to Mr. Vern at Department of Ecology (DOE) for enforcement. The DOE determined that the well was improperly sited for an individual drinking water well due to the required thousand -foot set back. The set back amount is enforced on all landfill property sites. Mr. Petersen then applied for a well site inspection to try to make the well into a public water system through the local health department. The well site was not passed because the site was less than a thousand feet from the landfill. Mr. Petersen then applied for a waiver. Mr. Petersen had applied for a conditional waiver for a well uphill from the landfill in 1995 and was approved. He applied for a setback waiver for the 2002 well, which is downhill from the landfill Dr. Trucksess reviewed the application for waiver and denied the request because of the thousand -foot setback not being met. Mr. Petersen's attorney, Mr. Smith, sent additional information compiled by Robinson and Noble that showed other wells had been drilled since the approval of the Petersen waiver in 1995 within the thousand -foot radius. Dr. Trucksess re-evaluated the waiver request containing the new information provided and denied it a second time because the set back was not made. The State would not approve the well siting for a single family residence because it is too close to the wood waste landfill, but Mr. Petersen requested the County allow this well to be used to serve more than one residence. Ms. Riley informed the Board the process for obtaining a Group B water system approval. The packet is available at the front counter in the Permit Assistance Center. The packet provides the procedures that the Mason County BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS April 10, 2003 - PAGE 3 Department of Health Services requires. Mr. Davis, the driller of the well in question, is a certified water system designer who routinely develops Group B public water systems in Mason County. Ms. Riley gave the history of Mr. Petersen's request for a well approval. Mr. Tokos, Environmental Health Specialist, mailed Mr. Petersen a letter in March of 1994. The letter outlined the conditions for the issuance of a wood waste landfill permit for Mr. Petersen's property. Mr. Petersen's attorney Mr. Paulson mailed a letter in response to Mr. Tokos letter that stated Mr. Petersen would comply with the conditions requested to obtain a certified water system. Ms. Riley stated that the listed planned use for the property states is it used for commercial storage and the Health Department questioned the need for water for that purpose. The wood waste landfill will take years to stabilize and a septic system can not be installed in the filled area so the Health Department feels there is no need for a public water system to the lot. Ms. Riley stated those conditions still have not been met. The necessary steps for a public water system were never taken. Although the well has been drilled it is not a public water system. Ms. Riley presented a packet that included a copy of the May 1995 well application for the well site inspection. That well site was not passed because it was 652' from the landfill. There is also a copy of the July 1995 letter from Carolyn Jensen, Environmental Health Specialist, to Mr. Petersen informing him the reason the well site was rejected and information on how to appeal the decision. There is also a copy of the minutes from the June 14th, 1995 meeting with Mr. Petersen, Mr. Davis, the well driller, Dan Watts, Mason County Department of Health Services, and a hydrogeologist from Robinson and Noble outlining the justification for a variance. In July 1995 John Noble provided mitigation for that waiver for the uphill well site. He stated the "the new well will be upstream from the previously sampled water sources from the landfill. The natural hydraulic drive will be from higher water levels at the south toward Hood Canal as such no contaminates can migrate from the landfill toward the well unless a reverse gradient can be imposed by the well, this is unlikely. He advised that Mr. Petersen be granted a conditional variance to drill and test the new well after the well is drilled and tested for the depth, water level and pumping distance can be specifically evaluated to confirm that a reversal of gradient would not occur. The relevant elevations between all points should be obtained. A survey with plus or minus three feet should be sufficient for this. If the hydrogeological analysis justifies than the variance should be made permanent." Ms. Riley stated that these conditions have not been met and the variance from 1995 has not been made permanent. Ms. Riley provided the Board with a map prepared by Robinson and Noble of the property that outlines the elevations. Ms. Riley compiled a history and background of the Petersen wood waste landfill and included copies of letters from the Mason County Department of Health Services to Mr. Petersen, letters from Mr. Petersen and his attorneys' to Mason County and the letters from Depaitalent of Ecology. Ms. Riley stated that once all of the conditions of closure are met and the landfill moves into the post closure phase, this phase is up to twenty years. No development will be allowed on the site until it has stabilized. Currently the Health Department and the DOE have not recognized the well as being complete and proper. Ms. Riley stated that the type of well Mr. Petersen is seeking is an individual residence and is regulated by the DOE. All of Mr. Petersen's information has been turned over to DOE. Mason County only regulates and enforces public water systems in Mason County. Mr. Vern informed Ms. Riley that several wells have been drilled in Mason County and are in violation to code standards. He stated the DOE is responsible for administering and enforcing well siting standards in the State of Washington. Ms. Riley presented the Board with pictures provided by Mr. Petersen of the drainage ditch. Ms. Riley asked that Mr. Petersen give an explanation of the pictures. Steve Kutz, Department of Health Director, stated public water systems have more stringent requirements than private water systems. The DOE can not allow Mr. Petersen's well to be a private water system. Mr. Petersen is now applying for a public water system through Mason County. BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS April 10, 2003 - PAGE 4 Cmmr. Johnson asked Ms. Riley if she had pictures of the other well sites that are in violation with the DOE regulations. Stephanie Kinney, Environmental Health Specialist, presented pictures of the other sites to the Commissioners and stated that the DOE is currently working on these sites as well as Mr. Petersen's. Cmmr. Johnson stated, for the record, that Mr. Petersen had contacted him by phone two months prior to the hearing and described the issues that were involved with his well. Cmmr. Johnson informed Mr. Petersen that he would be in a decision making position and that he would have to inform the others involved of their conversation. Mr. Petersen presented his well site and history to the Board. He presented the Board with a report prepared by Robinson and Noble. He stated the report suggested there was not a need for sampling from the landfill and that there would not be an adverse affect on the water. Mr. Petersen presented the Board with a letter and pictures prepared by Mr. Adams showing fish barrels where a hundred thousand Coho Salmon are released each year. The pictures also showed a holding pond that holds all drainage from the upper part of the property. He stated there is a pond on both the upper and lower part of the property for drainage support. Mr. Petersen presented the Board with a letter approving his property as a dumpsite in 1987 by the Health Department. Cmmr. Johnson asked when the dumping began. Mr. Petersen stated that the dumping began shortly after he received the letter in 1987. Mr. Petersen stated Mason County had not shown any reason for the thousand -foot setback. He opened his wood waste landfill with a closure permit of his previous landfill and it stated that no test wells were required up to ten thousand yards. He feels the County has failed to prove there was any pollution. Mr. Petersen refered back to the Robinson and Noble report stating "ground water in near the closed wood waste landfill does not appear to have been impacted by the land fill operation". Mr. Petersen feels that it will never be impacted and there is no evidence to prove otherwise and he has submitted all the documents to show this information with the request for a waiver. He stated it is similar to the waivers granted for the Bridges and Currey wells. Mr. Petersen stated the other two wells in Mason County were granted waivers within the setback of a thousand feet. Mr. Petersen said he is being discriminated against by refusing him a well within a thousand -feet when two others have been approved. Mr. Petersen presented the well reports of the other sites to the Board. Mr. Petersen also spoke about a drawing that Agate Surveying prepared that showed that when the wood waste landfill started in 1992 that there were twenty other wells within the thousand feet of his wood waste landfill. He questioned why he would be granted a wood waste landfill permit that is within the thousand -feet of the wells already in place if there was a hazardous concern. Cmmr. Johnson questioned Mr. Petersen if there was a ten -thousand yard limit and did it include the sand that would be put on to cover the field material. Mr. Petersen stated that there is a two -foot cover required over the material. But there is approximately a four -foot cover over the wood waste landfill He feels that a wood waste landfill is different than a garbage landfill and that is why there is no rule for having a test well on site. Mr. Petersen stated that if there is pollution then it is required to have a test well. Mr. Petersen presented pictures to the Board showing the well behind a duplex that is sixty feet closer to the wood waste landfill than his well. He also stated that the well behind the duplex is a Group B system serving three BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS April 10, 2003 - PAGE 5 residences and the County doesn't have any records of it. Mr. Petersen questioned Ms. Riley if there is any record on the Group B system. Ms. Riley stated many systems in the past that served more than two residences were not recorded with the Department of Health. When the Environmental Health Department finds this situation the owner is required to bring their system into compliance. Mr. Petersen presented pictures to the Board showing the original well he had drilled in 1995. Cmmr. Johnson questioned how deep that well was drilled. Mr. Petersen stated that the well was two hundred eighty eight -feet deep. He also stated that it was at an aquifer below the landfill. He stated that he is trying to settle the argument with the County. In the event that the water supply was ever polluted he would accept responsibility and supply his neighbors with a new water supply. By looking at the Robinson and Noble report he felt this would never be an issue. Cmmr Baze asked to see Mr. Petersen's well log. Mr. Petersen presented the Board with the well log. Cmmr. Johnson asked how deep the new well that was drilled in 2002 is. Mr. Petersen stated the new well is about sixty feet deep. Mr. Davis spoke on Mr. Petersen's behalf. He is the driller of the well sites on and around Mr. Petersen's property. He stated that the County didn't grant variances on these other wells that are in question. The other wells are private residences and don't need variance approval prior to sighting the well. He stated the landfill was over -looked on the other private wells he drilled nearby. Cmmr. Johnson stated that private wells needed to be approved by DOE and questioned Mr. Davis if he is aware of that. He asked Mr. Davis if the approval was given to these other wells in question. Mr. Davis stated that DOE doesn't grant prior approval. It is his job as a driller to site each well. Mr. Davis did state that the landfill was over looked and it is his responsibility to know that there was a landfill there. He stated that by appearance you could not tell there was a landfill on the property. He normally does not investigate each piece of property he drills wells on unless you have previous knowledge of the site. He felt the waiver for the Group B water system needed to be clarified. Mr. Davis stated that Mr. Petersen is actually requesting a two party private water system which is reduced Group B standards. He stated that it was recommended to request the two-party private system by the DOE. He stated that the DOE can't give a waiver but the County can give the waiver. Cmmr. Johnson asked Mr. Petersen if the request here today is to give a variance on a Group B water system. Mr. Petersen stated that he requested a two-party system. It doesn't have to come under a Class B system, it can be a reduced Class B system. It is for two lots. One lot is 4.3 acres and the other is 2.2 acres. These lots were short platted in 1978. Mr. Petersen presented a survey prepared by Agate survey and it was required by the Assessor's office to close his landfill site. The survey is the exact place of the landfill. This survey was prepared on February 1998. The landfill was 1.2 acres. He showed the Board the location of the water system and the sites that it would serve. BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS April 10, 2003 - PAGE 6 Cmmr. Johnson questioned Mr. Petersen about the 1995 well that was drilled. He stated that Mr. Petersen had all the OK's to install the original well and why would he want to pump water uphill rather than let the water flow from the first well downhill Mr. Petersen stated that the 1995 well was for the three lots that were sold to an individual party. That well was for those three lots. He stated that he had the new well drilled in 2002 to furnish his two remaining lots. Cmmr. Baze asked what the elevation was at the new well site. Mr. Petersen stated that it was approximately one hundred feet high. Cmrru. Baze questioned if it needed to be a hundred and sixty feet to drill a well at that elevation to hit the correct aquifer. Mr. Petersen stated that would be correct. Ms. Riley stated that Mr. Petersen brought up his water agreements with the wood waste landfill and she presented a letter that is not included in the packet. The letter is from Allen Consulting Engineers, who is his engineer for the closure plan of the wood waste landfill. The plan states that the water sample will be tested every five years. This sample was tested in 1999 and the next test will not occur until 2004. The surface water samples are being taken regularly and that is from the pond. Salmon and Trout seem to do well in water that have organisms in them that bother people. Ms. Riley feels that you can't compare people to fish because healthy water for fish may not be healthy for people. Ms. Riley questioned Mr. Petersen what was the content of the original dumpsite prior to wood waste. Mr. Petersen stated that it was just wood waste. Ms. Riley stated that she has pictures of metal and propane tanks and smoldering piles. Mr. Petersen stated those items were in the wood waste landfill. Ms. Riley stated that there was a change in the State regulations that forced some people to close and sent others to another line of work such as wood waste landfill. Mr. Petersen stated that was correct. Ms. Riley stated that in the five -page letter from Mr. Tokos, he summed up the DOE information that was provided on the site versus the Robinson Noble information. This letters conclusion stated that surface water traveling through the current and future wood waste deposits could impact water quality in Hood Canal. Ms. Riley stated that Mr. Petersen's original request was for an individual water system, then when DOE denied the well site he tried to make it a Group B system. Ms. Riley stated that it doesn't meet sighting requirements for a Group B system. The reduced Group B system still has to meet the sighting requirements but does not have to make all the test requirements for a regular Group B system. Cmmr. Baze questioned if it is a private water system, will Mr. Petersen still have to meet the requirements. Ms. Riley stated that is correct. Cmmr. Baze questioned Mr. Davis if there is any limiting factors in the stratus as he drilled the well down to the aquifer. BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS April 10, 2003 - PAGE 7 Mr. Davis stated that there was confining layers of clay. Ms. Riley stated that the County has not had enough samples to prove or disprove pollution of the site. The closure plan for Mr. Petersen's site has not been completed which means the property has not even moved to the post closure stage. The post closure stage could be up to twenty years. Ms. Riley would like to point out that the well that was drilled and give a conditional waiver to in 1995 was sold by Mr. Petersen and is not a public water system. The conditions have not been met and the requirements were laid out have not been met. So when the new owner comes into build on the three parcels they will have to start all over. Cmmr. Johnson requested that Ms. Riley respond to Mr. Petersen's statement that twenty wells are within the one thousand feet of the landfill. Ms. Riley stated that a lot of them were very old wells that were in existence before the new regulations from DOE and these sites were being looked at. Cmmr. Johnson asked Ms. Riley about another statement made from Mr. Petersen regarding a one thousand -foot setback in the RCW/WAC and is there a distinction as the type of landfill it would apply to. Ms. Riley stated that it is for all landfills. She stated that each landfill is different in the amount of time that it takes to settle and break down after it is filled in but the set back is still the same. Mr. Kutz stated that the issues of the other wells in the area are the responsibility of Mr. Petersen's if the wells become contaminated. This applies to all the wells no matter how long they were in place. Mr. Petersen stated that the County gave him the permit to have the landfill and it would not be his responsibility to other people in the area if their water becomes contaminated. He has nothing in writing that states the wells were in place and if they become contaminated by his landfill he would be responsible. Mr. Petersen read from the Washington States first annual solid waste report from the DOE. The report is from 1993 about other items in his wood waste landfill. This is the ruling that Mr. Petersen went by when he allowed other items on his site which are the items Ms. Riley stated she had pictures of. He also stated that there is no limit on a wood waste landfill like there is on a garbage dump of twenty years. Mr. Petersen presented the Board with a report showing the lab work performed by Analytical Resources. He did forward this report to the wood waste. He stated he has never had a bad test for pollution. He also stated that he has five -feet of cover on the landfill. Cmmr. Johnson declared the hearing closed at 11:49 a.m. Cmmr. Baze/Johnson moved and seconded the hearing closed and the decision to be brought back on the next Board of Health meeting scheduled for May 1, 2003. Motion carried unanimously. B-aye; J-aye; K-absent ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WAIVERS/VARIANCES Submitted to the Board by Health Director, Steve Kutz. ADJOURNED The meeting adjourned due to no further business. BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS April 10, 2003 - PAGE 8 BOARD OF HEALTH MASON COUNTY, WASHINGTON HEALTH OFFICER Wesley ECJJohnson%Commissioner Dr. Mark Trucksess, Health Officer Herb Baze, Commissioner