Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Public health urges opt-in choices, stakeholder process as state amends onsite wastewater rules
Summary
Garfield County Public Health summarized the state’s Regulation 43 revisions and recommended a stakeholder process and several local opt-ins (licensing/registration of installers and inspectors, inspection-ports, contractor licensing) before adopting local rules that must be at least as stringent as the state’s.
Ted White, Garfield County Public Health environmental health specialist and on-site wastewater treatment system (OWTS) program lead, told the county board that Colorado’s updated Regulation 43 (5 CCR 1002-43) took effect June 15, 2025, and that local boards of health have one year to adopt local regulations that are at least as strict as the state rule.
White said the state changes include clearer designer documentation requirements (for example, reporting “squirt height” test results for pressurized distribution), new soil/bedrock classifications, requirements for tank access risers and interior safety grates, and prohibitions on certain serial-distribution designs. "Septic tanks are confined spaces and not a fun place to be," White said, underscoring a new safety requirement that tanks include a secondary grate below the lid.
Public Health recommended that the board instruct staff to open a…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
