VDH spends a great deal of time lobbying public health without implementing achievable goals. 

 For an agency who collects approximately 20 percent of the administrative cost for an application,

the debt erodes any possibility of administering a public health program.   

"From:                                         Roadcap, Dwayne (VDH)

Sent:                                           Tuesday, September 13, 2011 7:33 AM

To:                                               Knapp, Allen (VDH)

Cc:                                               Hicks, Robert (VDH); Bowles, James (VDH); Bolling, Patrick (VDH)

Subject:                                     Update on HB 2185 Meetings

Allen,

At the Franklin and Washington County meetings, we heard some interesting thoughts, many of which I have included below.  I will be reviewing our notes soon but wanted to give you a quick glimpse of what we are hearing.  I could use a second travel partner this Thursday to Shenandoah County.  Patrick can’t make it because of the scheduled hearing next week.

Patrick, feel free to add or augment to the list of thoughts below. 

Notes in brief:

1.  The majority of the private sector does not want to do any repair work (mandated or voluntary).

   1. Repair work has too much civil liability.
   2. Repair work is time and resource intensive (can’t make sufficient profit, can’t charge for the time it takes).
   3. Repair work is highly discretionary.  Everyone must use professional judgment to determine whether a particular design “complies as closely as possible” to the regulations.  The private sector can never know what the local health department’s reviewer considers adequate for their professional judgment.  Hence, it takes time to work through these issues and re-designs are frequently needed.
   4. Repair work has enforcement elements and private sector does not want to be the bad guy.  At a minimum to make it work, the private sector needs a license mandate to report failing sewage systems.

   5. One person (Tony Bible) in far SW suggested that some OSEs would be willing to do “pro-bono” work and that licensees should have a mandate to do a certain amount of repair work.  Others expressed concerns about how such a program would work and how that work could be tracked.

      1. Tony also reported that he prefers being a “second point of contact.”  If health department tells property owner they must have secondary treatment, then people come to him for that service.  If he were the first point of contact, then people would not trust the answer.

          

2. There are not enough OSEs.

   1. In Tazwell, the county engineer reported a number of people were unhappy about the length of time to get a permit.  The county administrator thought adding private sector requirement would be helpful.  Brian Stanley reported that the primary problem was incomplete applications (e.g., people needed to mark property lines, mark house site, get private sector plans for AOSS).

   2. A phased in approach would not be sufficient to work.

      1. There is not enough OSE work demand and phasing in will not cure the root cause of no work = no OSEs around.

   3. In Franklin County:

      1.  OSEs prices for service would likely increase if the economy picked up and there were a mandate to use private sector.
      2. OSE work is not sufficient and prices for OSE work have fallen 25 percent.
      3. A board of supervisor candidate (running un-opposed) who self identified himself as a deep conservative said there is no competitive market in the Franklin area.  As an example, he noted the O&M requirements to have an AOSS inspected once per year.  He said that the cheapest person in the area was $500 per year—and that was for an annual inspection; it would cost extra to have any work done on the system.  Without an adequate, robost, and competitive market, then prices were monopolized and exhorbitant.

   4. In Washington County:

      1. People believe that VDH should allow conventional systems and go back to policies in place in 1982.
      2. Some believe the local health department should do AOSS, COSS, and new construction applications.  There is no need to have the private sector involved.  There is not a competitive market for those services in the private sector.

      3. The Indoor Plumbing Rehab (IPR) program fixes about 22 -40 homes per year for peoplewho do not have a bathroom and need a structure replacement.  These people routinely get ATUs and cannot afford the O&M costs.  Failures of ATUs creates a greater public health threat than a conventional system failing.  At least with conventional systems, it’s under the ground.  Several people working in this type of work felt that they would be “rehabbing the rehabs” because of the requirement for treatment and the inability to pay for O&M.

          

3. Fees are a problem.

   1. Present fees have ended speculation.  Most people only apply when they are ready to build.  Reduce fees and more income would follow.
   2. Fees are hurting the lower incomes.  Fees should be scaled to income or be a percentage of the dollar cost of the work (sort of like how much local governments charge for building permits).
   3. People feel they are being double and triple charged….they pay general taxes to support health department; health department charges a fee for services; and then health department requires people to seek help from private sector which is a third charge.
   4. The $725 fee for a well/septic permit is outrageous given the cost of the work being performed ($725 for $3,000 to $8,000 of work).
   5. The increased fees has caused people to preferentially seek health department services.  It costs an extra $500 to $800 to go see someone in the private sector because of the fees.  The health department’s fees should not charge a $200 difference between a “bare” application and “application with supporting work.”  It places $200 value on private sector work.
   6. The OSE community in Franklin believes fees are primary driver and a change in fees would create an atmosphere whereby people would voluntarily go to the private sector.
   7. If the health department only worked on repairs and indigent cases, then VDH would not have a sufficient revenue stream to support its needed local programs.
   8. Franklin county is a pro-growth community and fees are a hindrance to a beaten down housing market.

   9. The EH fees support another series of services for the community (e.g., complaint investigations, rabies, vaccinations, etc.).  If the fees are taken away or reduced, then replacement funding is needed.

       

4. VDH must keep oversight and control of the private sector so “bad actors” are promptly removed and owners required “to do the right thing.”  (Enforcement issues)

    

   1. The Franklin County meeting focused on this topic---not any of this in Washington:

      1. Homeowners must be required to properly operate and maintain all sewage systems---COSS and AOSS.
      2. Licensees must be required to report failing sewage systems.
      3. VDH should focus on O&M instead with extra time if it is no longer doing site and soil evals and designs.
   2. Health Department in Brian Stanley’s area will do subdivisions up to five (5) lots.  Some report that the local health departments are very lenient in their interpretations and do more than is needed.  Health departments make decisions that private sector cannot make.  This is keeping the private sector guys in a quandary. 
   3. The private sector, being more cautious (or inept)—as one views the issue--will design AOSS when a COSS is acceptable."