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Health department faces backlog, staffing shortfall and missing files for well-and-septic work; commissioners urge case-by-case follow-up
Summary
Kent County Health Department staff and commissioners heard numerous resident complaints about delays and missing documentation for septic and well approvals; health officials cited workforce shortages, missing file documentation and strict state regulations as causes and offered follow-up meetings and guidance documents.
Kent County health officials and residents discussed delays, missing records and workforce shortages in the county’s well-and-septic program at the April 15 meeting. Health Department leaders said the office lacks licensed specialists, that many older file records are incomplete, and that state regulations and monitoring-well data drive wet-season percolation testing decisions.
Bill Webb, director of the Kent County Health Department, described four permit categories (land evaluations, septic permits, building-permit reviews and well permits) and said staff are working through a backlog of pending items. Webb said the department has not had a licensed well-and-septic specialist on staff since June 2023 and that recruiting licensed staff has proved difficult. He said Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) staff have provided direct assistance and an ongoing appraisal of the county’s program found recurring missing documentation in historic files — soil-evaluation details, percolation testing results, water-table readings and as-built inspection reports.
Webb said the department is waiving repeat-test fees when county records are incomplete and is trying to expedite cases where possible, but added that many approvals require inspections or documentation that must be produced under state regulations. "When we have encountered the situation where we have to repeat specific tests, on a case by case basis, we have waived the fee to redo a perk test or to redo a land evaluation," Webb told commissioners. He said wet-season testing is opened only when county monitoring wells show the water-table rise required to perform saturated-soil evaluations; county data did not support opening wet-season testing in 2025.
Multiple residents and contractors described situations where previously documented perk tests could not be found in county files, where piezometer installation coordination failed to produce timely results, or where routine projects (garages, small additions) are delayed because a missing historical file prevents permitting. Contractors urged the department to allow interim building permits in some cases; health staff said they were reluctant to permit construction before confirmed wastewater handling was approved because that would risk installing buildings without adequate wastewater systems.
Health staff offered several follow-ups: guidance documents on permit and testing requirements (to be published on the county website), individual meetings with residents and contractors to examine pending cases, efforts to mentor and license two environmental-health trainees on staff, and participation in a new apprenticeship program intended to grow the state workforce. The board encouraged residents with outstanding cases to schedule individual appointments at the Health Department for case-by-case review.
Commissioners did not take formal action on policy changes during the meeting but instructed health staff to work with constituents to resolve open files and review guidance materials for wider publication.
