Committee refers proposed parish septic inspection ordinance to full council; members debate urban growth boundary exemptions

The finance committee voted to refer an ordinance that would require triennial inspections and certificates for individual sewer systems to the full St. Tammany Parish Council, but several council members said they plan to amend the measure before final consideration.

The ordinance (ordinance calendar number 79‑37aa) would amend the St. Tammany Parish Code of Ordinances, Part I, Chapter 40 (Utilities), Article XI (Sewage for Septic and Sludge), and specifically section 40‑330 (inspection of individual sewer systems) to require periodic inspections and issuance of certificates. The committee discussion focused not on the inspection interval but on exemptions tied to the parish's urban growth boundary.

Mister Coogel said constituents complained the proposal is uneven and intends to offer an amendment at the full council meeting to remove exemptions and make the ordinance parish‑wide. "I am gonna be offering an amendment at the council meeting to remove the exemptions because we did promise a parish wide ordinance," he said.

Planning staff and other council members provided data on the number and sizes of lots affected. Councilmember Corwin said planning department counts show that fewer than 1% of the roughly 36,300 systems under review are smaller than one acre and would be excluded above the urban growth boundary if the current boundary remains in the text. Another member cited average lot sizes above the boundary (1.36 acres) to argue that exemptions lack a rational basis.

Several members said the item will also be discussed at the Infrastructure Committee and signaled further edits before a council vote. After discussion, the committee voted to refer the ordinance to the full council.

Motion to refer: Mister Coogel; second: Mister Laughlin. Voice vote: ayes carried.