Commissioners adopt revisions to Clay County subsurface sewage code after public hearing

The Clay County Board of Commissioners closed a public hearing July 1 and adopted revisions to Clay County Code Chapter 61 governing subsurface sewage treatment systems (adopted in the meeting transcript as "ordinance 2025-6"). Environmental services staff presented the proposed deletions and explained that two lines in the current code required removal: a requirement for a minimum annual pump-out of holding tanks and a requirement that pumpers regularly tabulate and submit their data to the county. Staff said the reporting requirement is not currently practicable and that county staff would not have the capacity to maintain and use that data.

Environmental services personnel said the state compliance inspection approach already treats pumping information as part of a compliance inspection when a pumper performs an inspection at the time of service. Staff explained they do not require homeowners to pump before the county inspector arrives because pump scheduling is a separate arrangement between homeowner and pumper.

Following public hearing closure, Commissioner Ebinger moved to adopt the ordinance; the motion was seconded and the board approved adoption by voice vote. Staff described the administrative steps to update the online code and to file signed paper copies for the record.

The ordinance removes the two cited requirements from the county code; county staff said they will continue to require pumpers to provide tank inspection information as part of compliance inspections but will not require an annual mandatory pump schedule or centralized periodic tabulation of pumpers' data.