Grand Traverse County is moving closer to adopting a new septic ordinance – one that could require septic system inspections when certain properties are sold or transferred. Commissioners are considering starting with properties that are on or near the water, with the goal of potentially expanding the program in the future as more inspectors are trained and/or new state rules take effect.

Michigan is the only state lacking a statewide septic code – a situation that could soon change under pending legislation that would require regular inspections and create an inspection database and certification system. Many health departments are worried that the legislation would require so many inspections to happen at once – the draft bills suggest all septic systems be inspected every five years – that it would overwhelm communities, who would be unable to find or fund enough inspectors to comply with the regulations.

The proposed legislation includes language giving communities several years to transition to the state regulations if they have an existing local septic ordinance. That’s motivation enough for many communities to get an ordinance in place, which would buy them time and allow them to train inspectors over a period of years in anticipation of having to ramp up inspections under state rules down the road.

An ad hoc committee of county commissioners has been meeting this fall with staff and local representatives – including various township officials as well as stakeholders like realtor groups and The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay – on a potential new septic ordinance. Chair Rob Hentschel said the committee is working toward a “balanced” policy that’s realistic to implement. “We don't want to hold up real estate transactions any more than we need to,” he said. “We also want to protect the environment as much as we can.”

The ad hoc committee will meet again December 2 to review the latest draft, which has been fleshed out enough to now go through legal review. The proposed ordinance would require a septic system when certain properties are sold, transferred, or conveyed in Grand Traverse County. The owner of the property would be responsible for having the system inspected by a certified inspector. Rather than applying the ordinance to all property sales – which total close to 2,000 annually, a threshold committee members said would be very difficult to meet under the county’s current capacity – commissioners are focusing on the highest priority properties: those on or near the water, where septic leaks or failures pose the most risk.

Grand Traverse County Deputy Health Officer Mike Lahey said the committee will decide between “two really good options,” which could be either to apply the septic inspection requirement to parcels immediately adjacent to a surface body of water or alternatively to properties within 500 feet of a body of water. The ad hoc committee initially considered additional parameters, such as requiring inspections for any parcels that don’t have permitting records for an on-site septic system from the health department. While Commissioner TJ Andrews, who sits on the ad hoc, said it was important for the county to “get (its) arms around” unpermitted septic systems that exist throughout the region, documenting those will likely take time and additional administrative work that could bog down the rollout of a new ordinance.

“How do we narrow down where we start?” Andrews asked. She said the county could “take a smaller bite” out of the apple by starting with a manageable number of annual inspections and potentially expanding the parameters over time. The draft ordinance envisions working with third-party private inspectors – rather than adding on county staff – and charging financial penalties for ordinance violations. Lahey agreed with Andrews that starting with a smaller focus for inspections would allow the health department to slowly ramp up the program over time. While the state legislation is asking health departments to “spring out of the gate,” Lahey said, the county ordinance “gives us the ability to walk before we run.”

“This gives us the ability to build capacity and then build the awareness within our community as to what the landscape of these systems looks like,” Lahey said, “so that when we need to expand on the criteria...we've begun to equip ourselves to be properly positioned for that.”

Grand Traverse County is home to approximately 25,000 septic systems. Inspections can typically cost up to $750. Historically in Michigan – lacking a statewide code – it’s been up to local governments and their health departments to determine how to regulate septic systems, approaches that can vary significantly from county to county. Grand Traverse County’s code was first adopted in 1964 and last updated in 1994. Despite its age, Lahey previously said the existing code is “robust” and “provides more safeguards” than other counties. It includes a required 50 feet of isolation from surface waters and wells and a 48-inch vertical separation from the infiltrative surface to the groundwater.

Still, once a septic system has been installed in Grand Traverse County, there are no required inspections or maintenance schedules after that. Inspections typically only happen because of failure, complaints, or a change of use – like building a home addition, said Lahey. The average lifespan of a septic system in Grand Traverse County is 30 years, though systems can last longer or fail sooner depending on use. Other counties surrounding Grand Traverse County – such as Benzie, Kalkaska, Manistee, and Leelanau – already have codes requiring septic inspections when a property is either sold or transferred. Long Lake Township has a similar ordinance in place. Lahey previously said it’d be far preferable to have one coherent policy for Grand Traverse County than numerous individual townships enacting their own sets of septic rules.