Frontenac townships have 10 months to find a new provider or take service in-house

Jeff Green | Feb 12, 2020

Health Unit to pull out of septic inspection business

Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Public Health (KFL&A PH) sent a letter to Central Frontenac Council on January 30th, informing the township that as of January 1st, 2021, they will need to find a new provider for sewage inspection services for new construction.

KFL&A PH provides sewage system inspection services, as outlined in part 8 of the Ontario Building Code Act, for the city of Kingston and the 8 municipalities in Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Counties. The program, which cost $566,000 to operate in 2019, is entirely funded out of permit fees. Public health inspectors work with developers and building departments to make sure that septic systems that are put in during new construction and renovations conform to the building code. This involves site visits before, and after, excavation work is done.

However, it is not a program that most public health agencies in the province offer for their member municipalities.

In the letter to Central Frontenac Township, Linda Murray, director of corporate services for KFL&A Public Health, said that in preparation for the public health modernisation program which is being undertaken by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, her agency is seeking to align itself to the services that are offered by other public health units.

“We have determined that KFL&A Public Health is one of only four of the 34 health units in Ontario that are voluntarily involved in handling sewage system inspections, “Murray said in her letter to Central Frontenac.

“Given the Ministry of Health’s direction, we realise that we are in a difficult position and need to be proactive going forward.”

As Murray pointed out in her letter, the direction the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is taking, in regards to public health, is to align all of the services offered by public health with the “Ontario Public Health Programs (OPHP)” that they run.

“Sewage inspections do not fit that profile, as their legislative oversight comes from the “Ontario Building Core, not the OPHP” she wrote.

The letter leaves no room for doubt.

“We are providing you with notification of our intent to terminate our agreement to carry out the municipality’s responsibilities for sewage system … effective January 1, 2021.”

Murray wrote that Sarah Ryding, from KFL&A PH, will be available to talk with township staff “to discuss the details of a transition plan”.

When contacted on Tuesday (February 11), a spokesperson for KFL&A Public Health said that some municipalities in the province contract out the service to their local Conservation Authorities, while others run the service themselves, either by employing outside contractors or township employees.

The spokesperson also confirmed that every jurisdiction in the KFL&A catchment area, including the separated City of Kingston, has been sent a similar letter to the one that was sent to Central Frontenac on January 30th. Public Health will attempt to avoid any staff layoffs as the result of the change, if at all possible.

KFL&A PH has contemplated getting out of the septic inspection business before. In 2009, they informed the municipalities that they serve, of their intention to close the septic inspection office, noting that it was not a core business and that the person who had been over-seeing the program for them was retiring. Pressure from the municipalities who use the service led to a change of heart.

Not only was the program maintained but KFL&A PH offered to provide re-inspection services to townships, such as those in Frontenac County, who had become concerned about the impact that older systems may be having on water quality, particularly older systems on lakeside properties.

But it was the Mississippi-Rideau septic office, which is jointly operated by the Mississippi and Rideau Valley Conservation Authorities, who ended up being contracted to provide re-inspection services for older systems for both Central and North Frontenac.

Central Frontenac recently brought about a mandatory re-inspection system, which is being run by the.

The Mississippi-Rideau septic office also provides the part 8 building code inspections, for new systems, to Tay Valley Township and may be in a position to do the same for the other townships within the Mississippi and Rideau watersheds, which includes North, Central, and even South Frontenac.

However, Conservation Authorities are facing a similar restructuring initiative from the province of Ontario as the public health system is, so their ability to provide this kind of service is not guaranteed.

When the matter was discussed at Central Frontenac Council, the township Chief Building Official, Andy Dillon, briefly outlined four options: provide the service in-house (which would require more staffing), enter into an agreement with another municipality or municipalities, or enter into an agreement with a conservation authority.

Mayor Frances Smith was concerned about the net effect on ratepayers.

“We don’t know how much this is going to cost, and what sort of revenue will pay for it,” she said.

Andy Dillon pointed out that the costs are all currently taken from building permit fees and he envisions that will remain the case under a new service model.