The Brown County Commissioners are likely to review a new proposed septic ordinance at a special meeting sometime in March, said commissioner Diana Biddle. The meeting time and date had not been announced as of press time.

Most homes outside the immediate areas of Nashville, Gnaw Bone and Helmsburg are on septic systems.

This is the ordinance the Brown County Board of Health has been working on for months. It needs the commissioners’ approval before it can be implemented, and the health board wanted a chance to explain it to the commissioners before they vote, Biddle said.

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The ordinance outlines requirements for septic system installation: what size the system needs to be, when various approvals have to be done and by whom, what constitutes a bedroom and how that relates to septic system size, and other details. Many rules in the county ordinance refer to state code.

The ordinance also lays out procedures for what must be done if a septic system is found to be not functioning; and explains the registration process for septic system installers.

It also explains the health department’s role in sewer system inspections. A clause in the draft ordinance says that when a home is transferred to a a new owner, a septic inspection must be conducted, and if the system does not comply with requirements of the septic ordinance at the time of the home’s construction or is failing, the system must be upgraded to meet current standards. Some exceptions to that rule are allowed, the draft says.