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Key Peninsula residents urge Pierce County to allow homeowner septic inspections, criticize enforcement
Summary
Residents and residents' groups told the council the health department's current septic inspection enforcement is punitive and that Pierce County should permit homeowner inspections so lower-income households can avoid costly contractor fees.
Several Key Peninsula and Burley Lagoon area residents urged the Pierce County Council during the Jan. 7 community forum to permit homeowner septic-system inspections and to revise enforcement practices they say disproportionately target low- and fixed-income residents.
Speakers described a local enforcement approach that they characterize as selective and costly. They said the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department requires inspections by certified companies that charge fees and imposes penalties when inspections are not completed — an approach residents argue places a financial burden on homeowners. A speaker said eight other Washington counties allow homeowners to perform their own inspections with state-provided training materials, and asked Pierce County to change its code (cited as Pierce County Code 8.36 in testimony) to allow the same.
Why it matters: On-site sewage systems affect groundwater and marine water quality in portions of Pierce County. Residents told council members they want a fair and affordable inspection option and expressed concern that enforcement has resulted in unnecessary repairs or inconsistent inspection reports by private inspectors.
Council response and next steps: Council staff recorded the concerns and said they would follow up. Speakers asked the council to consider amending county code to permit homeowner inspections. Testimony included specific allegations that professional inspection firms had filed inaccurate reports on a resident’s system; a resident asked the council to use its authority over county code to direct the health department to adopt homeowner inspection options similar to other counties.
Noted public commenters included: Josh Johnson (Key Peninsula resident), Dewey (identified in transcript only by first name), and others who said they had attempted to get information from department staff and had not received responses.
