ELYRIA, Ohio — There's a buzz in Lorain County after some homeowners recently received a bill for their own home septic systems from the Lorain County Public Health Department.
The bill comes as a surprise, notifying families they need a permit newly required by the county. The permit will cost $120 for new enrollees and will cover three years. If a homeowner put in a septic system from 2015 until now, their system is already enrolled. Those families will be assessed the annual permit fee of $40.
The Lorain County Public Health Department said that in 2015, Ohio law changed to require all county health departments to run an operational maintenance program for home septic systems.
Some Northeast Ohio counties already have the program in place; others, like Lorain County, are just getting started.
On Jan. 2, Elyria homeowner Rick Hathaway said he got a notice he needed the permit for his septic system, which would cost $120.
"It is going to cause hardship, a lot of hardship. We have a lot of seniors in this area that are just barely hanging on now," said Hathaway.
Hathaway's system is underground. On his street, connecting to the city's sewage system is not an option, Hathaway said, "I've lived here 30 years, I work on my own system, and I have of course it emptied by a professional. It's never had problem No. 1."
Hathaway and some of his neighbors told News 5 they are frustrated.
"My age, it's hard to come up with money," said Barton Pennington, who also has a septic system in Elyria.
"The government has no right to tax me on using the bathroom in my own home," said Alex Staten, who also has a septic system in Elyria.
The Lorain County Public Health Department estimates there are 20,000 septic systems in the county. Records show about half of those were installed before 1970.
"If the homeowner is not maintaining their system on a certain street, we'll be able to identify, or hope to identify the cause of that and reduce the impact of the septic systems," said Ryan Tristano, an environmental health supervisor for the Lorain County Public Health Department.
Hathaway, Staten, and Pennington agree the timeline is tight to pay up and get the permit by Jan. 31.
"Over the past year we've been trying to get the message out as best as possible. We've been doing town halls, we've been in newspapers, we've been on the radio, social media, we have flyers throughout the community," said Tristano.
"This is the first I've seen it, and you know you've got to have it in by the last of the month," said Pennington.
"We understand that a lot of people are just now hearing about it, we would encourage them to give us a call. We have been inundated with calls recently, but we do encourage that so we can answer any questions that they have," said Tristano.
The Lorain County Health Department said the permit feed were approved by the Lorain County Board of Health after three public readings this Fall.
If a homeowner doesn't pay, the county said it will send 25% late fees and another chance to pay. Ultimately, if the fee isn't paid, septic feeds will be assessed on property taxes.
"We will only go to homes if people do not get a permit AND we do not have any information about their system. There could be instances where someone does not pay, but we know what kind of system they have. We have a sewage database that has been established for a few years where some of that info is kept," the health department said.
The county set up a new "sewage hotline" for questions and concerns, 440-284-3240.
Frequently asked questions and more information, plus a septic system tracking system, CAN BE FOUND HERE.
