MCHD annual report: Inspections, permits among environmental health services at MCHD

Sarah Hawley, The Daily Sentinel, Pomeroy, Ohio
·3 min read

Apr. 20—Editor's note: This is part three in a series of articles on the Meigs County Health Department's 2020 annual report.

POMEROY — Environmental Health encompasses a wide range of services which are provided by the Meigs County Health Department.

The Environmental Health division includes Director Steve Swatzel, inspector and educator Dawn Keller and sanitarian in training Daschle Facemyer.

In 2020, the Environmental Health division completed the following activities:

Food service

110 Food service operations and retail food establishment licenses issued;

246 Inspections of retail food establishments and food service operators;

13 Inspections of temporary food services, vending operations and farm markets;

13 Inspections of mobile food services (11 locally licensed, two non-locally licensed);

3 Plan reviews for new food services and establishments;

43 Food service workers trained and certified in food safety.

Sewage/Septic services

67 Sewage installation permits issued;

63 Site reviews;

122 Sewage system operation permits issued;

2 Inspections/Approvals to land apply domestic septic;

41 Septic registrations (22 installers, 10 service pros, 9 haulers);

277 Inspections of sewage treatment systems.

Animal services

65 Rabies/animal bite investigations (45 dog, 16 cat, 3 raccoon, 1 monkey);

5 Specimens sent for rabies testing (all negative);

140 Animals vaccinated at the rabies vaccination clinic held in partnership with Dr. John Krawsczyn of Meigs Veterinary Clinic;

Other services and inspections

18 Public school health and safety inspections;

2 Inspections of tattoo and body piercing operations;

10 Public campgrounds licensed and inspected;

4 Public swimming pools licensed and inspected;

17 Water samples collected and tested for bacterial contamination;

105 Nuisance complaints investigated (93 COVID-19, 33 solid waste, 25 sewage, 19 other, 10 mosquito, 7 pests, 6 bedbugs, 5 mold);

6 Inspections completed of solid waste disposal facilities (active and closed);

16 Garbage trucks registered/21 inspected;

1 Jail inspection;

18 Household sewage treatment systems repaired or replaced using $100,000 in funding obtained through OEPA-Water Pollution Control Loan Fund.

The Meigs County Health Department received a grant in the amount of $21,600 from the Ohio EPA Mosquito Control Grant Program, With these funds, the health department conducted the following activities:

Treated and confirmed nuisance sites with larvicide when applicable;

Provided "Fight the Bite" public services announcements on the radio;

Increased areas of surveillance to include sites in Columbia and Olive Townships;

Hired Elizabeth Teaford as a summer intern to set traps and monitor area mosquito populations (168 traps set, 807 mosquitoes identified, no West Nile Virus detected);

Distributed 100-plus mosquito safety kits containing repellent, larvicide, and educational materials;

Provided free scrap tire recycling for residents (2,529 scrap tires collected);

Removed scrap tires and solid waste from an open dump site in Salisbury Township which was serving as a mosquito breeding site.

The health department was also awarded $16,000 from the Gallia, Jackson, Meigs, Vinton Solid Waste District to conduct investigations and inspections on solid waste programs.

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Sarah Hawley is the managing editor of The Daily Sentinel.