Decision Date: April 13, 2004

Panel: Don Cummings

Keywords:  Health Act – s. 8; Sewage Disposal Regulation – s. 3(a), 7(1)(b); sewage disposal system; floodplain, raised mound

Janet Hardin appealed the decision of the Environmental Health Officer (“EHO”) to deny issuance of a permit for a sewage disposal system on a parcel of land in Tulameen, British Columbia (the “Property”).  The Appellant sought an order rescinding the decision of the EHO.

The issue in this appeal was whether the proposed sewage disposal system would treat the effluent sufficiently to protect public health.

The Board found that public health would not be protected should the disposal system be approved.  The Board held that the Appellant’s engineer offered no technical evidence that could be evaluated in order to determine whether the design would be capable of protecting the public.  In addition, the Board held that the presence of similar systems in the vicinity did not justify the approval of the system on the Property.  Furthermore, the Board found that the engineer’s approach to the design of the system was one of simple compliance with a policy designed to assist the EHO in making a decision.  The Board held that the policy is not law and is not a formal design guideline that will guarantee issuance of a permit if it is followed.

The appeal was dismissed.