Response to the 2024-2025 Butte County Grand Jury Final Report*

Dry wells in parcels on the East side of Palermo imply that residents must have water delivered to them paid for by temporary grants obtained by EH. Response: The respondent disagrees with the finding – EH is a regulatory agency that implements federal, state and local laws and regulations, with a focus on permitting proper well and wastewater treatment construction and potable water supply for building permits. EH occasionally pursues grant funding for projects that are specific to regulatory program improvements and/or education. Currently, the County's Drought Resilience Outreach Project (DROP), funded by the State Water Resource Control Board's Safe and Affordable Funding for Equity and Resiliency (SAFER) Drinking Water Program, provides water deliveries to domestic well owners whose wells have been impacted by drought conditions; although this program is managed by the Butte County Office of Emergency Management, EH does provide technical guidance and shares funding resources on the EH website: Funding-Resources-PDF The requirement to develop a well deep enough to mitigate any future drought impacts is the responsibility of the well owner. Although there may be presence of dry wells in this area, Environmental Health (EH) has only received a single report of a dry well in the last three (3) years. EH is an active member of Butte County's Drought Task Force. EH has also partnered with other county agencies on the Drought Resilience Outreach Project (DROP) to form the Well Repair and Replacement Program. This program will be serving several Palermo, CA residents impacted by dry wells. County Environmental Health does not provide maps with the location of reported dry

wells and new well permits, thus not keeping Butte County residents informed of issues arising in their neighborhood. Response: The respondent disagrees with the finding - Well data is publicly available through the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), including maps of reported dry wells and statewide well completion reports: Well Completion Reports and Dry Well Reporting System. The Butte County Environmental Health (EH) webpage links to these resources: Private Water Wells: Residential & Ag | Butte County, CA. While EH does not create its own maps, it supports transparency through quarterly well permit summary reports available on the County website. EH also shares well-related updates through regulatory programs and leads the Butte County Well Driller and Wastewater Advisory Groups. Both forums promote community engagement and information sharing: Citizen Participation | Butte County, CA. Additionally, EH is partnering with the Department of Water and Resource Conservation to develop a County Drought Resilience Plan under SB 552, which will identify drought- vulnerable areas and outline mitigation strategies.

Flooding causes septic failures and contamination of coliform bacteria and high nitrates in stormwater, generating a continuous health hazard. Response: The respondent disagrees with the finding – Flooding can cause septic failures and may result in coliform bacteria and high nitrates in stormwater that could generate a continuous health hazard. This is true in areas where onsite wastewater treatment does not meet current standards as required in our Local Area Management Plan (LAMP). New treatment systems must meet current standards designed to prevent the systems from failing and resulting in potential public health impacts, including flood control mitigation. The State Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) has direct oversight of significant water quality concerns within the state and approves Butte County's LAMP.