The Environmental Health office provides primary prevention of environmental hazard and illness through surveillance, education, enforcement, and assessment to identify, prevent, and abate the environmental conditions that adversely impact human health. Our office mandates programs related to food service, land use with special focus on on-site sewage, public swimming pools, tourist accommodations, water wells, bacterial water testing, and individual water well supply regulations. We also oversee the Rabies Control Program, and we assist in indoor air quality relating to mold.
If you have any complaints regarding the environmental health office, please call us and leave your name, phone number, and detailed information. 706-298-3702
Applications for Permits and Inspections
- Residental Sewage Application
- Commercial Sewage Application
- Sewage Repair Permit Application
- Well Permit Application
- Well Water Sample Application
- Visual Inspection Application (Sewage or Well)
- Sewage Addition or Pool Application
- Food Service Application
- Temporary Food Service Application
Food Services
The Department of Environmental Health in partnership with food service operators is responsible for assuring food safety and protecting the public from food
borne illness. There are over 200 permitted food service establishments in Troup County. Food service establishments are inclusive of restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, nursing homes, mobile units, correctional institutions, theaters, bars and lounges. Temporary food service establishments are also permitted by this division and must operate in conjunction with a fair, carnival, or public exhibition not to exceed 14 consecutive days. Troup County inspectors are charged with the task of providing periodic, regulatory inspections that include educating the food service operator on the importance of food safety practices. Most inspections are conducted at least twice a year. In addition, this program is responsible for plan reviews and complaint investigations.
Food Safety Class
Accredited food safety manager training or food service employee training offered daily.
Contact Arma White 706-298-3702 to schedule a class at your facility.
Prices are:
- $125 for 3-person class
- $250 for 6-person class
Classes are conducted at your restaurant and take about 3 hours to complete. Your employees will receive hands on training and a certificate of completion will be issued to each worker who finishes the course.
On-site Sewage
A major factor influencing the health of individuals where public or community sewerage is not available is the proper treatment and disposal of human wastes and other sewage, including industrial and processing waste. Many diseases, such as dysentery, infectious hepatitis, typhoid and paratyphoid, and various types of gastrointestinal problems are transmitted from one person to another through the fecal contamination of food and water, largely due to the improper disposal of human wastes. Chemical contaminants affecting individuals through individual drinking water supplies have been attributed to groundwater pollution caused by improper disposal of on-site sewage. Because of such problems, every effort shall be made to prevent the existence of these and other potential health hazards.
Safe disposal of all wastes – human, domestic and industrial – is necessary to protect the health of the individual family and the community and to prevent the occurrence of nuisances. Basically, to accomplish satisfactory results, all such wastes must be disposed of in such a manner that:
- They will not contaminate any approved drinking water supply;
- They will not give rise to a public health hazard by being accessible to insects, rodents, or other possible carriers of disease that may come into contact with food or drinking water;
- They will not give rise to a public hazard by being accessible to children;
- They will not violate laws or regulations governing water pollution or sewage disposal;
- They will not pollute or contaminate the waters of any bathing beach, shellfish breeding ground, stream or lake used for public or domestic water supply, or for recreational purposes; and
- They will not give rise to a nuisance due to odors or unsightly appearance.
Where public or community sewage disposal systems are not accessible, these criteria can be met by the discharge of sewage to an approved on-site sewage management system. Such a system, properly designed and maintained and properly installed where soil and site conditions are favorable, can be expected to function satisfactorily. Experience through the years has shown that adequate supervision, inspection, and public health maintenance are required to insure compliance in this respect.
Public Pools
The purpose of the rules developed by the Georgia Department of Community Health is to establish minimum standards in Georgia for the design, installation, operation and maintenance of these facilities in order to protect the bathing public from injury, minimize the potential for disease transmission, and provide a safe and healthy aquatic recreational environment. The Pools and Spas Program is a state mandated program which is enforced by the Troup County Health Department for all public pools, spas, and special use pools located inside the county. Pools and spas are inspected at least 2 times per year during a licensing year.
A public swimming pool is defined as any indoor or outdoor structure, chamber or tank containing a body of water for swimming, diving or bathing but does not include a private residential swimming pool.
During a routine inspection of a licensed public pool an inspector checks the following:
- Proper Water Supply/Quality
- Circulation System, Hair and Lint Strainer, Piping, and Disinfectant
- Proper Turnover Rates
- Approved Filter(s)
- Inlets/Outlets, Main Drains, Gutters or Skimmers
- Pressure or Vacuum gauge
- Automatic Chemical Controllers-not hand feed
- Vacuum Limit Switch
- Proper Lighting
- Safe Ladders and Handrails
- Depth Markers
- Special Requirements for Recreational Diving
- Proper Signage for “No Diving” in shallow or wading pools
- Telephone with Emergency Numbers
- Proper Signage if No Lifeguard on Duty
- Intermittent Floats at changes that increase pool bottom slope
- Proper Sanitation of Water Supply
- Proper Temperature Maintenance
- Adequate Ventilation for indoor pools/spas
The Virginia Graeme Baker Act (VGB) requires that all swimming pools, spas, and special use pools have anti-entrapment and anti-evisceration mechanisms in place. These mechanisms will be a special type of drain cover which will prevent a child from injury by way of drain suction. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is the federal agency tasked with enforcing this legislation, and all public pools, spas, and special use pools MUST comply with this federal legislation as a result.
Tourist Accommodations
Citizens and visitors enjoy the 20+ tourist accommodations (hotels, motels) throughout Troup County. All tourist accommodations must have a permit and a current license from this department to operate. Staff inspect these facilities routinely to ensure they are maintained in a clean and sanitary manner and in accordance with state law.
Well Water
Installation:
Wells must be installed by a licensed water well contractor. By using a licensed water well contractor, you can ensure that they meet basic criteria listed below. In addition, prior to actual construction, the water well contractor must notify the county health department of the intent to drill a water well, providing such information as is required on forms prepared by the Water Well Council.
Have two years’ experience working in the water well construction business under a licensed water well contractor.
Pass an examination relating to the applicant’s knowledge of basic ground water, basic well construction, and the general contents of this part.
The Environmental Protection Division provides a complete list of licensed well drillers.
Licensed well drillers are required to provide a performance bond or letter of credit to ensure proper drilling operations and compliance with the procedures and standards in the Well Water Standards Act. If your well has been installed in the past year and does not meet the construction and location requirements of these regulations, the bonding program is in place through the Environmental Protection Division, Watershed Protection Branch.
Maintenance:
The well should be located as far removed from known or potential sources of pollutants as the general layout of the premises and surroundings permits. The well must not be located in areas subject to flooding unless the well casing extends at least two feet above the level of the highest known flood of record.
Chlorination Instructions
Wellhead protection measures:
- Maintain the area around the well to be clean and accessible.
- Do not store any chemicals, gasoline, or fertilizer within 50 feet of the well.
- Divert surface water away from the well. Install a water tight curbing, sloping away from the casing that is sufficient to prevent contamination.
- Protected the upper terminal of the well by a sanitary seal or cover to prevent entrance of pollutants to the well.
The following horizontal distances are required under DNR’s Water Well Standards Act:
- Not less than ten (10) feet from a sewer line
- Not less than 50 feet from a septic tank
- Not less than 100 feet from a septic tank absorption field
- Not less than 150 feet from a cesspool or seepage pit
- Not less than 100 feet from an animal or fowl enclosure
Sampling Recommendations:
It is recommended that a bacterial test (total/fecal coliform) of well water is done every 6 months. This testing may be available through County Environmental Health Offices. It is also recommended that a chemical screening (W33 analysis) of well water is done every 3 years. This test may be available through UGA Extension Offices.
Proper Abandonment of Wells:
Any existing abandoned well or borehole shall be filled, sealed, and plugged by the present owner. An abandoned well is one that is no longer in use. Generally, “temporarily abandoned” means those wells unused for a minimum of 365 days, and “permanently abandoned” are those wells unused for three years.
Indoor Air Quality
The Indoor Environments Division (IED), located within the Office of Radiation and Indoor Air (ORIA), under the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), is responsible for implementing EPA’s Indoor Environments Program, a voluntary (non-regulatory) program to address indoor air pollution.
Most Americans spend about 90 percent of their time indoors, where pollutant levels may be 2-5 times higher, and occasionally 100 times higher, than outdoors. The Agency defines indoor air pollution as chemical, physical or biological contaminants in the breathable air inside a habitable structure or conveyance, such as in homes, schools, offices, and vehicles. Sources of indoor air pollution include natural sources, building materials, products, and occupant activities. Health effects from indoor air pollution range from immediate to long-term, and treatable to severely debilitating or fatal.
EPA’s Indoor Environments Division seeks to reduce human health risks posed by contaminants in indoor environments. IED analyzes those risks based on sound science, and uses social marketing techniques to conduct broad public education and outreach. IED encourages people to take action to minimize their risk and mitigate indoor air quality problems. To complement efforts, IED partners with public and private sector entities, in some cases providing funding support. Partners across EPA Regions include state and local governments, tribes, non-profit public health organizations, and industry.
Since 1987, EPA has addressed public health risks from indoor radon, indoor asthma triggers, environmental tobacco smoke, and air toxics, in schools, public and commercial buildings, homes, and communities. Other program areas include mold, green buildings, and international assistance in developing nations to reduce indoor smoke from household heating and cooking.