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HomeMy Public PortalAboutBoard of Health -- 2022-11-16 Minutes�v �4DER 6 t 2198 MAIN STREET BREWSTER, MASSACHUSETTS 02631-1898 PHONE: 508.896.3701 EXT. 1120 FAX: 508.896.4538 brhealth@brewster4-ma.gov W W W.BREW STER-MA. GOV Board of Health Meeting Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 6:30PM Town Hall, Room A Health D NIT mein i Cl i it i; i_,.E lil'. Amy L. von Hone, R.S., C.H.O. Director Sherrie McCiltb ru&R,S. Assistant Director Tammi Mason Senior Department Assistant Board members present: Annette Graczewski, MT (ASCP), Chair; Kimberley Crocker Pearson, MS, MD, MPH, Vice Chair; Penny Holeman, MPH, MA, MS; David Bennett and Casey Chatelain Others present: Amy von Hone, R.S., C.H.O., Health Director and Tammi Mason, Senior Department Assistant Meeting was called to order at 6:30PM. 2. Chair announcements A reminder that it is time to get a flu shot. The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older get vaccinated. If you have not gotten the flu shot yet, you can obtain both that and the Covid-19 vaccination or booster at any number of local retailers or make an appointment at capecodhealth.org. If it has been 2 months since you've finished your primary vaccine series or received a booster, you are eligible to receive an updated bivalent booster, which targets both the original strain and the Omicron variant. The Moderna booster is approved for anyone 6 years and older and Pfizer is approved for anyone 5 years and older. The Brewster Police Department is holding a blood drive on November 29, 2022. Appointments are required and can be made at www.ca�ecodhealth.arg/giveblood 3. Citizen's forum None. 4. Consent Agenda: 1. 10 A.P. Newcomb Road- Title 5 variance request AG- This is a failed system and the engineering is asking fora 24" variance to the 36" requirement by Title 5. 60" of fill will be placed over the SAS. Motion: Approve the consent agenda Motion: Penny Holeman Second: Kimberley Crocker Pearson Vote: 5 yes Action: Motion carried an Discuss I/A Local Regulation/Monnoring of Onsite System/Review enforcement policy AG- last week Amy von Hone, Sherrie McCullough and myself met with Brian Baumgartel from the County and his staff. A discussion about Brewster taking a more active role in the oversight of the performance of the I/A systems took place and also discussion on a potential program for enforcing inspections of the pressure dosed systems as required under Title 5. At this point, Brewster would be the only town on the Cape to do this. AG- did ask George Heufelder what advantages and disadvantages there would be and was told that it would require more effort and wouldn't return much in the way of significant environmental protection. N:\Health\from Shari\MSWORK F1) LDERS\MEETINGS\BOH\Nov1622m.doc BOH 11/16/22 Minutes Page 2 AVH- stated that pressure dosing is essentially a design of the septic system in order to equally distribute the effluent over the entire leaching facility to get better treatment. They are standard type Title 5 systems. Most pressure dosed systems are for the larger commercial systems. Anything over 2,000 gpd would automatically require pressure dosing. Things can go wrong, like electricity, wiring, etc. The idea for inspecting pressure dosing would be to make sure its functioning properly. DB -spoke about the functional part of a pressure dosed system and the benefits of having one. He would be willing to put together an informational letter to homeowners and believes that would be a good first step. AG -this would generate a lot of questions from the homeowners and would create more work for Health Department staff. DB -we could require homeowners to submit their inspection reports and send them to the board under "info items" in the packets. AVH-asked what the value was for having these inspections. DB -the systems shouldn't get to the point of failure. AVH- most failures are coming from commercial properties. DB -if the reports don't come in, the Board could look at doing something different. KCP- this kind of data collection will be in our future and it would be ideal for us to start this now. CC- likes the idea of a informational letter going to the homeowners. PH- asked what the cost of an inspection was and how much to change the Zabel filter. DB- believes that its between $500-$750 for commercial properties (quarterly testing) and $400-$500 for residential properties (annual testing) AVH- we need to be prepared to answer questions and there is nothing in Title 5 about who does the inspections. DB -a septic inspector can do the inspection for anything up to 2000 gpd and anything over that would have to be a PE. He will double check and let the Board know if that is correct. AG -asked the county if they could add this to their database and they stated they could. DB -thinks this should stay in-house for now. AG -are there certain instances that pressure dosing would be an advantage? AVH-can be used as an alternative to a standard system when the property is within 300' of a pond. AG- shared a memo from Mark Nelson from Horsley Witt en Group with the Board in regards to pressure dosing and when there would be advantages to using it. 6. Discuss BOH practices/policies regarding I/A (Innovative/Alternative) technology AG- stated that she went through the files in the Health Department to see why I/A 's were installed and how they were functioning. She suggested that the Board look at the quarterly reports that are on the county list and start there. There are I/A systems that are not on the county list. She stated that she will continue to look through the files. There was talk about maps, watersheds and watershed permits. There was back and forth discussion on enforcement, data, tracking, etc. AG- asked the Board if they wanted to set a specific time period for when the I/A systems were not meeting standards. CC- if there is a high result, require the homeowners to re -test. N:\Health\from Shari\MSWORK FOLDERS\MEETINGS\BOH\Nov1622m.doc BOH 11/16/22 Minutes Page 3 DB -offered to get a flow diagram started to use as a starting point for the Board to review the testing results. He also spoke about the fines in the regulations and how small they are. Thinks they should be increased. AG -the Board should start looking at when I/A systems should be required to be installed. DB -spoke about lot size and exemptions from putting an I/A system in. 7. Liaison Reports DB -he will be meeting with the Towns of Chatham and Harwich on December 1, 2022 with the Natural Resources Committee. 8. Matters not reasonably anticipated by the Chair None. 9. Items for next agenda I/A systems discussion 10. Next meeting: December 7, 2022 Noted. AG asked the Board if they were going to be available for the 12/21/22 meeting. Most of the Board members will be available. Informational items were noted. Meeting adjourned at 8:OOPM N:\Health\from Shari\MSWORK FOLDERS\MEETINGS\BOH\Nov1622m.doc