Septic tank company told to carry out cleanup

SANDUSKY — Erie County's health board gave a septic services company 60 more days to clean up a farm field where the company allegedly dumped raw sewage from 2021 to earlier this year. A lawyer representing Father & Son Septic Services, Cleveland attorney Brent English, said the remediation work will be carried out. If it isn't, then Erie County Health Department officials said they will have the work done and use a lien to cover the cost. The health department says Father & Son dumped raw sewage in a farm field at 12312 Green Road, north of Wakeman. Health officials claim the company dumped up to 871,000 gallons of raw sewage when it was supposed to take the sewage to a sewage treatment plant. On March 26, the health board issued an order telling Father & Son to stop the dumping and to clean up the property, owned by Kevin and Jean Bates, in 45 days. Nothing was done to clean up the field, so the board scheduled a follow up hearing for its regular meeting, hosted Tuesday at the health department offices. The order calls for Father & Son to remove one inch of soil from an area covering about 44,700 square feet and to carry out a test at the location. Before agreeing to do the work, English sparred with assistant Erie County prosecutor Gerhard Gross and with health department officials over the scope of the work and how many tests should be carried out. English argued that the dumping took place in an area much smaller than the health department described. The health commissioner, Pete Schade, replied that the health department did its best to establish the area needed for cleanup, relying upon aerial photos and inspections on the ground. Charles Murray, a Sandusky attorney and a member of the health board, told English that after his client did nothing on the cleanup for months and made no attempt to modify the cleanup order, English's 11th-hour complaints were not relevant. "You are wasting our time," Murray said. English stated that he represents Father & Son and does not represent the Bates. Father & Son owner Jim Coon attended the hearing, as did Kevin and Jean Bates. English said Father & Son accepts responsibility for the situation and will not ask the Bates to contribute to the cost of the work. Kevin Bates also spoke and said the ground has been wet and so it was not practical to do the work. The ground is dry now and the cleanup can be carried out, he said. English declined to answer questions from the Register when he left the meeting. Father & Son holds three separate licenses to do business in Erie County. The health board suspended all of them in March. The company appealed the suspension to Erie County Common Pleas court. Court records show the case, assigned to Judge Roger Binette, is still being litigated. In the meantime, however, Father & Son had sought an emergency stay of the health board's license suspensions, allowing the company to still do business in Erie County. Ruling on the emergency stay request, Binette upheld two of the bans, saying that Father & Son cannot haul sewage in Erie County or install new septic tank systems. The judge ruled, however, that at least for now, the company can provide repairs and maintenance for existing Erie County customers. The case may take at least a few more months to resolve. An order from Binette's magistrate, Steven Bechtel, setting out deadlines for court filings, lists several deadlines, with a final deadline of Dec. 18.