Elizabeth Bailey
With the coming of warmer weather, residents of the unincorporated town of Sardinia have officially passed the deadline for acquiring septic permits to remedy the area’s violation of health and environmental codes.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) cited Decatur County due to human waste being found flowing from the storm sewer along State Road 3 into Poplar Root Creek. The finding showed that residential septic systems were not functioning properly, which is a violation of both local and state policy if the homes are inhabited.
In November, the county drafted letters to the area residents requiring a septic permit be filed by March 1. Now that mid-May has arrived, only one or two permits have been filed at the Decatur County Health Department. This poses a serious problem for the county, as fines will begin to build up at a rate of $250 per week or $13,000 per year if the situation is not resolved, attorney Peg Polanski explained.
As a result of the residents’ inaction, the county will begin filing law suits against property owners along State Road 3 and move away from the roadway to the east and west in coming months. The suits are intended to bring the properties into compliance, remedying the problem of sewage discharge into the creek. Only once all septic systems are certified as functional, replaced or installed will the process end.
Area residents voiced their intention in a series of meetings last summer to work together to install or replace ailing septic systems in order to avoid the installation of a costly collector system for the town of approximately 45 properties. However, in the months following the meeting, little or no action has taken place. Without the individual septic systems being brought into compliance with state and local codes, a collector system, at a cost of more than $1 million, will become the only option.
Other projects in the county are moving forward, however. Bridge 115 should reopen this week, highway superintendent Mark Mohr told the commissioners. Work has also begun on Bridge 30. Due to IDEM regulations, Bridge 25 will have to be realigned, requiring additional surveying and purchases of right of way at an increased cost to the county.
Some changes in the way the county deals with bridge inspections may also be impending, as engineering consultant Ron May, who has assisted the county in previous inspections, fell off of a bridge in Ripley County recently. Depending upon the outcome of medical treatment, the county may have to replace him as its consultant, the commissioners noted.
In the interest of properly handling emergencies at the courthouse, security officer Tony Blodgett has finished an evacuation plan, for which the commissioners commended him. He has also been in contact with David Fry of Decatur County Memorial Hospital during efforts to acquire an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). Fry expressed the hospital’s desire, in conjunction with Clarion, to donate a unit to the courthouse. This donation is expected to take place during the first June meeting of the commissioners, and a plaque will be placed next to the cabinet to denote the donation.
Progress is also impending on the plan for a recreational path from Freeland Road to the Greensburg Public Library. Bob Dawson reported that arrangements have been made to get easement descriptions for the project that could assist in securing funding. The commissioners offered their blessing.
