All household sewage treatment systems in Clermont County are part of Clermont County Public Health’s Operation Permit Program. Each health department within the state is given authority under the Ohio Administrative Code to conduct inspections of these systems.
- Systems with electrical components are inspected once every 19 months.
- All other systems are inspected once every 38 months.
- Based on this outline, Public Health inspects systems in each township on a 19-month rotating schedule. Larger townships, like Miami Township, require approximately three months to complete all inspections.
The Clermont County Board of Health has authority under the Ohio Administrative Code to conduct the operation permit program and system inspections during installation and repairs.
Rule 3701-29-23 verifies compliance and enforcement:
A. The Board of Health may, at any reasonable time, inspect any household sewage treatment system or parts, conduct sampling, collect data, or perform other duties in order to comply with this chapter.
B. No household sewage disposal system or part thereof shall be covered or put into operation until the system has been inspected and approved by the Health Commissioner.
What if my system is working as normal?
If your system works and has no code violations or sewage nuisances, you will be issued an operation permit. Our office will charge an operation permit fee.
What if my system isn’t working or fails an inspection?
Systems that are not working correctly must be repaired or replaced. A homeowner with a failing system will be charged the operation permit fee. They also will be charged a reassessment fee for each additional visit until the system is repaired, replaced, or working correctly.
Extensive repairs to a system require an alteration or replacement permit, and reinspection fees will be charged.
Violations found during initial inspections are documented on the inspection report and mailed to the homeowner. The homeowner has 30 days to correct the violation; however, this can vary depending on the type and severity of the violation.
A follow-up inspection is conducted at the end of the timeframe. If no corrections have been made, a Notice of Violation is sent via Certified Mail notifying the homeowner that they have 30 days to correct the violation. Another follow-up is conducted at the end of the time period. If the violation has still not been corrected, the matter is referred to the Board of Health to be declared a code violation or a nuisance.
The Board of Health sends a certified notice that the matter has been declared a nuisance or code violation. An inspection is conducted 30 days after receipt of the notice and, if the matter is not corrected, it is referred to the Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office to take legal action against the homeowner.
Clermont County Public Health may be willing to accommodate various timeframes given the seriousness of the nuisance or violation, the level of cooperation of the homeowner, the time of year, or the cost of the repair; however, this is looked at on a case-by-case basis with input from the field staff.
