Two well program positions created

During their Feb. 11 meeting, Macon County commissioners approved the establishment of two positions to enforce the new Private Drinking Water Well (PDWW) rules, which will become effective July 1.

Macon County must implement the well program because of a state mandate (15A NCAC 02C.017) on well construction standards. The program will primarily serve homeowners, realtors, developers and installation contractors during the permit application and permitting process.

Health director Jim Bruckner presented the report to commissioners recommending they hire two additional registered sanitarians. He said they would be necessary to effectively implement the PDWW program.

He explained that at present the Public Health Center is not adequately staffed to coordinate the program and put it into action.

The new program will cost an estimated $89,629 to launch, a figure that includes salary, benefits, general operating, computers, two new vehicles and required training costs, according to Bruckner.

He said there are currently no revenues available to cover these initial costs. It is estimated that between 350-500 wells are constructed each year in Macon County, and once implemented, the program should cost approximately $181,332 annually to operate.

Permitting fees should cover these costs, Bruckner said.

He proposed an estimated $375 fee for the PDWW program, which is based on the actual cost of operating the well program.

Commissioner Jim Davis said it was his understanding that the well program would be self-sustaining. Bruckner said that this was the goal.

Forty-one counties have implemented well programs thus far according to Bruckner, and drawing statistical information from their experience he determined the appropriate number of staff positions for the Macon County program.

In addition to the two well specialists, the environmental health department plans to cross-train five current on-site wastewater specialists for the PDWW program, so the process is not held up in the event they cannot find anyone by July 1.

Bruckner said the health department would make every effort to find people before that date.

He told commissioners that some of the other health directors in the region began the well program with insufficient staff and are now suffering the consequences.

Bruckner added that a December meeting with local drilling companies substantiated this fact.

He said the objective is to avoid keeping a well driller waiting on site any longer than they have to. They do not want a situation where environmental health staff are not available to observe the process and collect the appropriate water samples needed to permit a well.

Simpson asked what guarantee a well driller would have that they would not be kept waiting on a site.

Bruckner reiterated that timeliness is the objective behind the hiring of two staff persons for the PDWW program.

Commissioner Chairman Charlie Leatherman said that what scared him was the prospect of getting to the point where the septic permit backlog was last year with the well permits.

He suggested the need to have a firewall or scheduling and have coordination with well drillers.

Fred Crane of Crane Bros. Well Drilling,Inc., who attended the meeting, said the county would not need two people for the well program.

Leatherman commented that the program is a required state mandate and the county must implement it.

Beale expressed concern over the $375 permitting fee and said the price of permitting in the county was getting too high.

Before spending the $181,332, Beale asked if Bruckner if they could start with one employee for the first six months and then see if they need more staff.

If they launched the program with one person, Bruckner said they would have to use the services of the on-site wastewater staff more frequently, which would give them less time to focus on septic permits and could lead to another potential backlog issue.

The board passed a motion 3-2 to hire two PDWW program specialists for implementation of new well rules, with Beale and Simpson dissenting.