KINGWOOD — The Preston County Board of Health is exploring the possibility of a revolving loan fund to help county residents with septic system repair.
Health Department Administrator V.J. Davis said the department has access to a loan through the West Virginia Housing Development Fund. The fund, in partnership with the State Department of Environmental Protection, is called the On-Site Systems Loan Program. It is designed to help eligible households repair or replace on-site septic systems or connect to a public treatment system.
Davis said the loan does not cover surface discharge systems. He said the revolving loan program used by Mon County allows individuals who cannot get a traditional loan to borrow the money needed to repair or replace septic systems.
“It’s set up so people can get a lower interest loan than they can get from the bank,” Davis said.
The Dominion Post previously reported that Todd Powronik, environmental health agent at the Mon County Health Department, said the Waste Water Revolving Loan Fund, through the Water Systems Council, provides low interest loans up to $10,000 to repair or replace failing on-site sewage systems. Interest on the loans does not exceed 2 percent. Powroznik said the loan repayment is 15 years.
“It’s done so much for people who might not be able to afford to repair or replace their septic system,” Powroznik said earlier. “The loan process is not credit-based and as long as you own your property and meet the qualifications you will qualify for the loan.”
Davis said he believes the program would benefit Preston County.
“Maybe the [Preston County] commission could put so much into the fund and we could put some in to start it up,” he said. “It’s something we could do to clean up some of the septic system problems. We run into one or two every year.”
Davis said he would do some research and then bring the idea to the commission. No further action was taken.
In other business, board members re-elected Jim Fields as board chairman, and approved a contract with Oxford Diagnostic for T-Spot testing. T-Spot is a blood test used to diagnose tuberculosis.
