- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Officials take action on sewage spill at mobile home park
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – County and state officials are taking action against a Kelseyville mobile home park where a sewage spill took place earlier this month.
The spill occurred at Kolaia Landing, located at 8910 Soda Bay Road.
On Saturday, July 13, the wheels of a boat trailer ran over a sewage effluent pipe at the 12-space park, crushing the pipe and leading to the spill, according to Lake County Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski.
Ruminski said he received a call from Lake County Central Dispatch at 6:30 p.m. the day after the spill, and went out to check things over that night and talked to a resident.
He said the park is served by two separate septic tanks and leach fields, which Ruminski added is “fairly typical” in older mobile home parks like Kolaia Landing.
The pipe that was broken transported effluent up to a leach field at a higher elevation. A pressurized part of the pipe is above the ground and next to a driveway, said Ruminski. That's the area that was damaged by the boat trailer.
Instead of having the repairs made immediately, the park's management waited until Monday, July 15, Ruminski said.
Ruminski went out again that same Monday to find the pipe had been repaired. However, he said, “To us, the repair is not adequate.”
He said the pipe remains above the ground – a violation of county code – which means it can be crushed again at any time.
Effluent from the septic tank also remained on the ground at that time. While not raw sewage, Ruminski said effluent is just as much of a health hazard.
“For us, the risk, the hazard, the nuisance, the risk of disease – it's sewage,” he said.
The other issue, said Ruminski, is conducting repairs without the proper county permits.
Ruminski said he has not been able to speak to the owner, Susan Frances – reported to be out of the country – or to her manager, David Brown, which Ruminski said is a frustration in the effort to resolve the matter.
When Ruminski knocked on the door of the manager's residence no one answered, he said.
The park's listed phone number also has been disconnected and Brown did not return a message seeking comment from Lake County News.
When it comes to handling mobile home parks, Ruminski said the county works with the California Department of Housing and Community Development, which has jurisdiction over such parks.
However, he said the county can still use its local codes and authorities to pursue action against Kolaia Landing.
Eric Johnson, California Housing and Community Development spokesman, said the agency sent out an inspector on Tuesday, July 16.
The state’s inspector made three findings identical to those made by Lake County Environmental Health – sewage discharge on the ground, sewage pipe repaired without a permit and a pipe that's carrying sewage being exposed to damage or, in other words, being above ground when it's supposed to be buried, Johnson said.
Johnson said they were assured by the park's manager that he's cleaned and sanitized the area, but the inspector found there was still sewage exposed.
However, a park resident told Lake County News that the manager's idea of sanitizing was dumping bleach on the affected area. Ruminski said a water hose was running into it to dilute it.
The park has 30 days to comply from the July 16 inspection date, Johnson said. “If all goes according to plan, it will be fixed very soon.”
An inspector will return to the park to make sure the effluent is cleaned up and the pipe is properly buried, said Johnson, adding there will not be penalties if those corrections are made.
Other than this most recent issue, “We have no complaints in our records about this particular mobile home park,” Johnson said.
Ruminski, who is serving the park with a notice of violation, said there could be monetary penalties and fees – including charging the park for his staff's response time – if the park fails to correct the problems. Those penalties don't require a court decision, he added.
“The residents really shouldn't have to mess with that and be exposed to that hazard and that nuisance,” Ruminski said.
There also is the possibility of infractions or misdemeanor charges for failure to comply. “I'm going to explore that,” Ruminski said.
Ruminski expects the case could become very time consuming for his department if it goes to court.
He added, “We don’t not do something because it’s extra work.”
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