Leelanau septic ordinance passes after years of blockage
Aug. 31—SUTTONS BAY — Homeowners in Leelanau County will need to get their septic system inspected when the home is sold or transferred to another owner.
The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department Board will create a time-of-transfer septic ordinance for Leelanau County. It will mimic one that has been in place in Benzie County since 1992. But that ordinance will be reviewed and updated if needed, as state laws have changed during the last 30 years.
The action comes after the Leelanau County Commission voted earlier this month to enact a septic ordinance, and begin the multi-step review process that includes public hearings in both counties, as well as approval by the health board and by each county board.
Writing ordinances can be a long process, but the septic ordinance will likely take only a couple of months as it is not being written from scratch, said Ty Wessell, chairman of the Leelanau board.
The Leelanau ordinance will require a homeowner to have its septic system inspected when the home is sold or transferred to another owner, such as when a parent passes a property to a child.
Leelanau commissioners have tried and failed to pass such an ordinance for about three decades, but it was defeated time and again by Republican majority boards.
"There have been many years of study, consultation with experts, advocacy and debate," Wessell said. "I'm pleased that the health board unanimously voted to move forward with the request from our board. I'm confident that we will finally have a much-needed ordinance in place."
In May the board flipped to a Democratic majority with the recall of Commissioner William Bunek and election of Commissioner Lois Bahle. The board wasted no time in getting the issue before commissioners once again.
"We've been working on this for 30-some years," said Commissioner Gwenne Allgaier. "This is a big, giant step toward protecting our rivers and lakes."
Leelanau commissioners Debra Rushton and Melinda Lautner voted against the ordinance, with Rushton calling it "unconscionable" and an "arm of big government" that forces the ordinance on a big portion of county residents who don't need it.
Commissioner Rick Robbins, also a Republican, voted for the ordinance after doing his research and talking to about 60 county residents on both sides of the aisle, most of whom were for it, he said.
He also talked to all township supervisors in the county and said only one was against it.
"We're surrounded by water and in the middle is a big lake," Robbins said. "It only made sense. We've got to take care of our water resources."
Eric Johnston, environmental health director for the BLDHD said the ordinance is long overdue.
"We have found quite a few systems next to rivers and lakes that were not up to compliance and were contaminating surface water right next to where people were swimming," said Johnston, who has been with the health department for more than 26 years.
Statistics show that testing of septic systems in the county reveal a 20 to 40 percent failure rate.
Inspections are a valuable tool for getting systems up to date, Johnson said.
"Without it we're guessing and we find them when they fail," he said.
Michigan is one of the few states that does not have a statewide septic inspection ordinance.
That is one of the things that tipped Robbins in favor of the ordinance, as he has been against it in the past. That and the fact that the health department isn't going to send sanitarians out to check everyone's septic system, but only when a property is sold or transferred.
The cost of a septic inspection by the BLDHD depends on if there are records of the system after 1992. Without records, the cost of a well and septic inspection is $558; with records $311.
For just a sewer inspection the cost without records is $306; with records $199.
