Public health staff recommend limited changes to Reg 43; recommend Board of Health decide reduced setbacks

Local public health staff presented recommended local responses to recent state changes in on-site wastewater treatment system (OWTS) regulations known locally as Reg 43 and asked the Board of County Commissioners for guidance at a workshop.

The public health presenter said the state’s new rules allow counties to opt in or out of certain provisions and identified three decisions for Montezuma County: (1) whether to require licensing or a transfer-of-title inspection requirement for OWTS practitioners; (2) whether to allow the local public health agency (LPHA) to approve property-line setback reductions below 10 feet; and (3) whether to adopt provisions that reduce treatment-system sizing when composting or incinerating toilets are used.

The public health presenter recommended opting out of a transfer-of-title licensing requirement and continuing not to license OWTS practitioners locally because the county does not currently require transfer-of-title inspections. On property-line setbacks, the presenter advised against delegating approval authority to the LPHA, saying smaller setbacks increase the risk of wastewater encroaching on adjacent properties, create potential neighbor disputes or legal claims, and increase oversight needs. The presenter recommended that requests for setbacks under 10 feet be decided by the Board of Health rather than by LPHA staff. On composting or incinerating toilets, staff recommended not opting in because Montezuma County currently does not allow those systems.

Staff described a multistep process: after the board provides direction, county staff will submit proposed local regulations and the selected appendix options to the state for review, respond to any questions, post the draft for public comment, and, if all goes well, obtain final approval in April 2026 with a June 2026 effective deadline. The presenter said, “If all goes well with all these different steps that we have to make, is that we'll get final approval in April 2026, and we have until June 2026 to make this effective.”

Commissioners asked technical questions about how setbacks would be determined in the field, whether surveys would be needed, and how engineers perform site visits and soil testing during design and final inspection. Public health staff said engineers visit the site and determine placement during the design phase and that final inspections occur after installation.

No formal regulatory adoption or vote occurred at the workshop. Staff requested the commissioners’ approval of the three appendix choices at a subsequent meeting and said staff will submit the drafted regulations to the state after receiving the board’s direction.