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Officials say state law may block stricter DeKalb County septic rules
Summary
Commissioners discussed rewriting the county septic ordinance to require septic inspections upon sale, but a county official said state law appears to prevent county rules that are stricter than state requirements; staff will consult the health board and review the statute before next steps.
Commissioners discussed revising DeKalb County's septic ordinance to require certified inspections when a house is sold, but were told state law may bar county rules that are stricter than the state standard.
A commissioner proposed an ordinance rewrite that would require any house sale to include a certified, operable septic inspection to help bring delinquent, non-functioning systems into compliance. "Any house that is sold would have to be tested, certified the septic would have to be certified as being operable," the commissioner said during the meeting.
A committee member who checked with the county health board said the health board's view is that "state law now says that our ordinance cannot be any more strict than what state ordinance is." That statement raised a legal question about whether a county could mandate inspections tied to transfers of ownership or whether state law limits county requirements to technical design and siting standards.
The Plan Commission was cited during the discussion for its current two-acre minimum for new home lots. A commissioner said the two-acre requirement exists in zoning as a flat requirement for new-home lots, "not connected to septic systems," and noted the county cannot enforce a two-acre minimum if state rules permit a septic on a one-acre parcel. One participant recalled that the minimum had been five acres originally but was reduced to two acres after local pushback.
Commissioners agreed they need a clearer reading of the applicable state statute and input from the health board before proceeding. Staff were asked to gather the relevant state guidance and to provide the county's loss-run or other data as needed for future ordinance drafting. The item was left for further review and will return to the board after staff and legal review.
Next steps: staff will consult the health board and identify the controlling state statute; the commission will revisit the proposed language after those clarifications are provided.
