Resident alleges repeated sewage dumping, flooding and health risks near Salt Springs Road; county officials advise referrals

At the public-comment portion of the meeting, resident Adena Brumbaugh described longstanding flooding and alleged large-scale dumping of contaminated material near her home on Salt Springs Road, saying her property had been flooded with raw sewage multiple times and that the issue had caused health and property impacts.

Brumbaugh, who gave her address and said the house had been her childhood home since 1974, said the county auditor had devalued her property and that she had experienced as many as 13 raw-sewage floods. "I have been flooded with raw sewage 13 times," she said, and added that the presence of rats and a collapsing house had led to significant personal and financial harm.

Brumbaugh alleged that trucks used her driveway as a staging ground during nearby sewer work and that contaminated material had been dumped near her property. She said she had reported the conditions to multiple agencies, that she believes the health department investigated, and that her insurance company removed coverage because of repeated losses.

County officials in the meeting suggested procedural next steps rather than making determinations about the claims. The county's prosecutor’s office representative, Bill Danso, said the prosecutor’s office does not represent private citizens and recommended Brumbaugh consult private counsel; he added that the board could reach out to the health department for clarification if the commissioners wished.

Gary Newbrow, the county sanitary engineer, told the board the area in question is unsewered and likely involves private septic systems and storm drainage; he said the sanitary-engineers office is not the appropriate body for a septic-system complaint and recommended the board of health as the responsible authority for health and sanitation issues. Gary Shaper from the engineer’s office described prior drainage work near the property (culvert replacement and storm line collection) and said the house sits low and has a stream that turns 90 degrees near the parcel, which can create drainage concerns outside the county right of way.

The board declined to take immediate enforcement action during the meeting and suggested Brumbaugh contact the planning commission, the health department or the prosecutor's office for next steps; commissioners also noted that if sanitary-services infrastructure were implicated, that might involve the sanitary engineers or the county engineer.

The transcript records multiple specific allegations by Brumbaugh — 13 raw-sewage floods, $380,000 of damages estimated by engineering firms, and repeated dumping by numerous trucks — that the board did not resolve during the session. The board referred the matter to appropriate agencies for further investigation and recommended follow-up by the resident with those offices.