PORT ANGELES – Clallam County will not charge a fee on properties with septic systems, at least for a year.

This week, the county board of health voted to table the plan until next year.

The decision came after county commissioner Mark Ozias, who serves on the board of health, proposed the county instead use reserve funds for this year if needed. He says the county needs to not only look at funding of the state-mandated program, but also measure its effectiveness in the future.

How do we fund those mandated requirements? That has the potential to limit the conversation a little bit and then we’re talking about what are the appropriate metrics, and what is the actual problem,  and what is the actual goal that we’re trying to get to? Because only if we do that do we move this beyond the academic exercise of here’s how much it costs to do this work and here’s a mechanism for funding it to “are we actually getting something something productive?”

County health department officials had proposed a $13-a-year fee on properties with septic systems to raise money to pay for the county’s on-site septic program.

That program had been running on state grants however those grants may be going away. The state requires Clallam County to document and inspect all septic systems, however the state does not provide funding for the requirement.