Environmental Health

The staff of Environmental Health Services conduct programs designed to control the factors that are responsible for the spread of disease through food, water, and other environmental exposures. Although many of our services benefit all residents of Linn County, most of our services are funded by license fees, permit fees, and other user fees. Our main program services include:

Food, Pool, and Lodging

ANNOUNCEMENT: We now offer ONLINE Food Handler Training through a partnership with Lane County. A permit issued from this website is valid for 3 years in every Oregon County. The fee is $10 and you can return to the website anytime to print duplicate cards at no additional cost. For information about facility based food handler training, follow the Food, Pool, and Lodging link above.  We are discontinuing the Albany testing site effective June 1, 2010.

Our primary responsibilities in the Food, Pool, and Lodging program are to license and inspect facilities used by the general public to ensure that they are safe and sanitary. When these facilities are constructed, operated, and maintained according to the statewide standards and rules we administer, the risk of disease transmission is low. The kinds of facilities we license and inspect include:

• Restaurants and catering operations
• Commissary, vending, warehouse and mobile food units
• Temporary restaurants and farmer’s markets
• Hotels, motels, bed and breakfast, including both lodging and food service operations
• RV parks
• Public swimming pools and spas
• Organizational camps

Onsite Wastewater Management (Septic Systems)

We administer statewide rules to prevent the contamination of groundwater and surface water, eliminate surface discharges of sewage, and ensure proper installation, operation and maintenance of installed systems. Properly sited, designed, constructed, and maintained septic systems give many years of safe, trouble free service.

We provide site approvals, plan reviews, permits and inspections for new systems and changes in use of existing systems. Uses include residential, commercial, and public facilities. We also provide information and technical assistance to contractors, installers and the general public.

Safe Drinking Water

We ensure that public water systems in Linn County consistently comply with the requirements of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. These requirements include regular monitoring and reporting of drinking water quality, assuring proper operation and maintenance of systems, training and certification of operators, and providing public notices of any changes in drinking water quality. The funding for this program comes from a combination of federal grant dollars, State general funds, and user fees for sanitary surveys. Our services include:

• Sanitary surveys of public water systems
• Ensuring that water systems monitor water quality and report results in a timely manner
• Technical assistance to public water system operators
• Access to financial and engineering resources for water system improvements
• Operator training
• Source water protection

If your drinking water comes from your own individual, domestic (private) well, please visit the OSU Well Water Program website for more information. This program is provided by OSU Extension Service.

Solid Waste and Recycling

We manage solid waste collection and disposal franchises for rural Linn County. Any proposed change to service or rates must first be considered by the Linn County Solid Waste Advisory Committee at a public meeting. The Committee is charged with fact finding, deliberating the proposals and making recommendations to the Linn County Board of Commissioners. The Committee includes representatives of Albany, Lebanon, Sweet Home, one additional city, and three members of the general public.

The Committee also considers matters of common interest to cities and the County such as solid waste management planning. Examples include the annual determination of countywide recycling rates and the recent development of a household hazardous waste management plan. Revenues from franchise fees support staffing for the Committee and abatement of solid waste and nuisance violations in rural Linn County.

Community Health and Disease Prevention

Our Community Health and Disease Prevention efforts typically benefit all Linn County residents. Most of these services do not receive direct support from user fees. Some examples of these services include:

• Communicable disease surveillance and outbreak investigations
• Enforcement of public health laws
• Services to low and moderate income families for housing rehabilitation
• Contract inspections for School Food Service Programs and certification inspections for Day Care and Pre-School operations
• Quarantine and rabies testing for animal bite exposures
• Response to environmental and health related hazards
• Information and referral