City schedules meetings to discuss new sewer rules

• Council’s utility committee schedules two public meetings to discuss new state sewer regs
• The new regulations started on Jan. 1
• One of the meetings will be held Sept. 16. The other will be held Sept. 30
• Both will be held at Licking Heights High School

PATASKALA — Residents concerned about new state sewage regulations will have a forum in which to ask questions and gather more information.

The Pataskala City Council’s three-person Utility Committee scheduled separate meetings in the coming weeks to discuss the new aeration and septic system requirements.

Both of the meetings will be at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Licking Heights High School, 4000 Mink St. One will be held on Sept. 16, the other on Sept. 30.

The regulations became effective on Jan. 1, and the Licking County Health Department recently released a report detailing how it intends to implement them.

In Pataskala alone, officials estimate there are about 3,000 septic systems.

The new state regulations require local health departments to enact an operation and maintenance program for the systems.

Any systems installed or altered or updated after Jan. 1 must be entered into the program, and systems using aerators will require annual inspections, whereas septic tank systems will need to be inspected once every three years.

Licking County Health Commissioner Joe Ebel told The Standard in August that the health department initially intends to focus its inspections on older systems with a history of issues.

In Pataskala, the focus will be on Christy Lee Drive, Helen Drive and Woodside Drive.

The upcoming meetings, which are open to the public and residents from those areas, will include a presentation from the Ohio Department of Health, in addition to a presentation from the Licking County Health Department, according to a meeting notice from the city.

There also will be time for elected officials to comment on the requirements, in addition to time for public comment.