HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-05-06, Page 32Continued from page 1proposed a slightly-differentsolution, saying that Huron Countycould authorize mandatory pump-outs every five years (for example)and that the pumper could be on theHuron County payroll. MacLellan
said this would save precious
inspector time, with the pumper
preparing a report for the Health
Unit after every pump-out. This way,
he said, inspectors would only be
required to make visits to a residence
if there is an issue.
MacLellan said he would be
raising the proposal at the next
Huron County council committee of
the whole meeting on May 12.
Worsell conceded that
MacLellan’s idea could work, but
said the educational aspect of the
Health Unit’s proposal was one of
the most important aspects of the
entire proposal.
“The program is educational in
focus and preventative in nature,”
Worsell said. “We’re not going to hit
them over the head with the building
code. If they have an old system and
it’s non-compliant, but it works,
we’ll leave them alone.”
Worsell said that hopefully, the
program aims to achieve simple, but
regular, inspections that are quick in
nature and provide homeowners
with some literature and guidance on
how to maintain their septic systems.
He said that because the program
is preventative, it can be hard to see
right away.
“Prevention can be hard to
measure,” Worsell said. “Hopefully
down the road we will see the
improvements in lake quality and
river quality.”
And while the program came to
Huron County’s municipalities now
as an optional user-pay program,
Worsell said that he could easily seethe program become mandated bythe Ministry of the Environment inthe next year or so.“This could easily be legislatednext year through source waterprotection,” Worsell said. “This is
aimed at protecting ground water
and surface water. I think this is one
more good step in the right
direction.”
MacLellan said, however, that he
was uncomfortable with the wording
that Worsell had been using
throughout his presentation, saying
that “he hopes” the program would
help and that it “might” do the trick.
“I was on board with this program,
until I learned what could actually
be determined by these inspections,”
MacLellan said. “I was sold up front,
convinced by the sales pitch, but
now I’ve got a problem charging
ratepayers another $50 per year for
something that ‘might’do something
for them.”
Worsell said he is confident in the
program and feels that it can do a lot
of good through Huron County, that
is, if all of the county’s
municipalities buy into the program,
which is currently uncertain.
In addition, addressing
MacLellan’s concerns about costs
associated with the program,Worsell
said that the cost of an annual
inspection could very well go down
if all municipalities invest in the
program, which again, remains to be
seen.
Councillor Larry McGrath,
however, remained skeptical, saying
that having the tank pumped and
inspected won’t tell the inspector if
the tank is leaking into the
environment or transporting toxins
to the ground water.
“We’re still spinning our wheels
here,” he said. “There has got to be abetter way.”Until McGrath could come upwith a better way to carry out theprogram, Councillor Joe Stefflersaid, council should be taking somesteps towards improving water
quality.
“But until you find a better wayLarry, we have to start somewhere,”Steffler said.The recorded vote by councilresulted in six councillors voting toapprove the program in principle andsix voting to not support the
program, thus defeating the motion.
In favour of the program wereCouncillors Frank Stretton, AndyFlowers, Bill Siemon, Steffler, andBlaney and Deputy-MayorMacLellan. Mayor Joe Seili, AlvinMcLellan, Orval Bauer, LesFalconer, Bob Fisher and McGrath
were against the motion.
PAGE 32. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2010.Huron East votes against mandatory inspections
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Bracing for contact
Austin Clarke from St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School
made a run for it with the ball, but was ready for impact on
Friday at the third annual Matthew Dinning Memorial rugby
tournament at F.E. Madill Secondary School. St. Anne’s lost
the contest by a score of 30-10. (Aislinn Bremner photo)
Getting creative
Shea McLean was just a step ahead of a few Sacred Heart (Walkerton) defenders on Friday
at the third annual Matthew Dinning Memorial rugby tournament at F.E. Madill Secondary
School. McLean’s Madill squad took the contest by a score of 20-5. (Aislinn Bremner photo)