The duties required of Dysart septic tank inspectors have been expanded to include aspects of the township’s relocation bylaw.
In addition to conducting annual septic tank maintenance inspections, Dysart City Council voted Sept. 26 to allow inspectors to use the opportunity to educate property owners about the importance of coastal health.
Karl Korpela, Dysart’s chief building official, said staff is exploring whether they could use aspects of the bylaw to prepare a health report for the property’s shoreline in conjunction with the township’s ongoing inspection program for septic system maintenance.
The community passed its bylaws regarding the location change in August. A page dedicated to legislation has been added to the Dysart website. The page contains a summary of the regulations, educational material and a link for comments, questions and complaints.
“Such a specific educational component with the property owner’s full attention could be extremely beneficial,” Korpela wrote in a report to council.
He said the local repair and supply industry cannot keep up with the work resulting from recommendations in septic tank inspection reports. Hiring septic tank inspectors to carry out coastal inspections could help to complete inspections more quickly and remediation work to be carried out more quickly.
“Our inspection staff could inspect any existing developed property for quantity and quality of natural vegetation compared to today’s standards, ensure retaining walls remain in good condition and how foundation drainage is managed,” he said.
This is so important because property owners must be on site to inspect the wastewater treatment plant.
“We have their full attention,” Korpela said.
It would be advantageous to also include educational contributions to coastal protection during these visits.
As this is an educational part about the coast, it is not intended as an inspection with the aim of rehabilitation.
“We found in the inspection program for the maintenance of the sewer system that many residents directly engage with it,” Korpela said. “They want to know what their score was. They want to know how good it was.”
“I think as long as it’s educational and doesn’t punish people for not having something that looks good to us,” said Mayor Murray Fearrey. “Tell them about it and tell them how they can make it better.”
“The testimony doesn’t actually affect anything other than their own ego,” Korpela said. “Other than the maintenance component of the sewage system, this will be the component we move forward with. If there are problems there, they have to improve them.”
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