[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of Price County 2-19-2008 by Ord. No. 2-08. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Animals — See Ch. 223.
Mass public assemblies — See Ch. 230.
Abandoned vehicles — See Ch. 469.
Private sewage systems — See Ch. 518.
A. 
Title. This chapter shall be referred to as the "Price County Human Health Hazard Ordinance."
B. 
When effective. This chapter shall be effective upon passage and publication.
C. 
Appointment. The Price County Health Officer shall be an employee of the Health and Human Services Department upon appointment of the Director of the Department.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
D. 
Administration. This chapter shall be administered by the Health Officer, or designee, in cooperation with the County Health and Human Services Board and the appropriate state agencies. Any situation involving septic systems and/or wastewater will be addressed jointly, as necessary, by the Price County Health and Human Services Department and the Price County Zoning Office. The Health Officer shall have the power to ensure compliance with the intent and purpose of this chapter by any means possible under the law.
E. 
Interpretation. The provisions of this chapter shall be interpreted to be minimum requirements and shall be liberally construed in favor of Price County and shall not be deemed a limitation or repeal of any power granted by the Wisconsin Statutes.
The purpose and intent of this chapter are to protect the public health, safety and general welfare, to maintain and protect the environment, and to assure the people and communities of Price County that the appropriate action will be taken in order that:
A. 
The spread of communicable disease is prevented.
B. 
Air quality problems that pose a human health hazard are properly addressed.
C. 
Problems with insects and rodents which threaten or could threaten the health of the public are properly addressed.
D. 
Surface water and groundwater contamination that poses a human health hazard is properly addressed.
E. 
Solid waste issues that pose a human health hazard are properly addressed.
F. 
Hazards related to unhealthy or unsafe substances are properly addressed.
G. 
The administration, enforcement, and penalties of this chapter are provided for.
H. 
Other health hazards as defined in § 312-4 are properly addressed.
The following definitions apply throughout the entire chapter. All other words not specifically defined in this chapter shall be defined as set forth in any applicable State of Wisconsin regulation, and if not defined otherwise the standard dictionary definition of the word shall apply.
COUNTY
Price County, Wisconsin.
DWELLING
Any structure, all or part of which is designed or used for human habitation. [§ 254.55(1), Wis. Stats.]
GROUNDWATER
All water found beneath the surface of Price County, located in sand, gravel, lime rock, or sandstone geological formations, or any combination of these formations.
HEALTH OFFICER
Public health professionals responsible for environmental sanitation.
HUMAN HEALTH HAZARD
A substance, activity or condition that is known to have the potential to cause acute or chronic illness, to endanger life, to generate or spread infectious diseases, or otherwise injuriously to affect the health of the public.
IMMEDIATE HEALTH HAZARD
A condition which exists or has the potential to exist which should, in the opinion of the Health Officer, be abated or corrected immediately, or at least within a twenty-four-hour period, to prevent possible severe damage to human health and/or the environment.
OWNER
Any of the following:
A. 
A person who has legal title to a property.
B. 
A person who has charge, care or control of a property or part of a property as an agent of or as executor, administrator, trustee, tenant, or guardian of the estate of a person under Subsection A. [§ 254.55(2), Wis. Stats.]
PERSON
Any individual, firm, corporation, society, institution, public body or any other entity.
POLLUTION
Contaminating or rendering unclean or impure the air, land or waters of the County or making the same injurious to public health, harmful for commercial or recreational use, or deleterious to fish, bird, animal or plant life.
SOLID WASTE
Garbage, refuse and all other discarded or salvageable solid materials, including solid waste materials resulting from industrial, commercial, and agricultural operations and from domestic use and public service activities, but does not include solids or dissolved material in wastewater effluent or other common water pollutants.
STATE
State of Wisconsin
STRUCTURE or BUILDING
A building or structure having walls and a roof erected or set upon an individual foundation or slab-constructed base designed or used for the housing, shelter, enclosure, or support of persons, animals or property of any kind. This definition includes mobile homes.
TOXIC AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Any chemical and/or biological material that is or has the potential to create a public health hazard.
The jurisdiction of this chapter shall include all air, land and water (both surface and ground) within Price County.
A. 
Written orders. Compliance with this chapter shall include compliance with written orders issued under this chapter or state health laws by the Price County Health Officer to abate and/or correct a human health hazard or bring any other situation or condition in noncompliance with this chapter into compliance.
B. 
Noncompliance. Noncompliance with this chapter and/or with a written order from the Health Officer shall be cause for enforcement action under § 312-11 of this chapter.
A. 
General provisions. This chapter shall be interpreted, administered, and enforced by the Price County Health Officer.
B. 
Powers. The Health Officer shall have all powers necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter, without limitation by reason of enumeration including the following:
(1) 
To enter any structure or premises at a reasonable time for the purpose of performing duties under this chapter and to secure a court order to accomplish this purpose if necessary.
(2) 
To order abatement and/or correction of any human health hazard in compliance with this chapter or state statutes.
(3) 
To delegate the responsibilities of administration and enforcement of this chapter to a registered environmental health sanitarian or another person qualified in the field of public health.
(4) 
To initiate any other action authorized under the law or this chapter to ensure compliance with the purpose and intent of this chapter and the requirements of this chapter.
A. 
Human health hazard prohibited. No person shall erect, create, cause, continue, maintain, or permit any public human health hazard within the County. Any person who shall cause, create, or maintain a human health hazard, or who shall, in any way, aid or contribute to the causing, creating, or maintenance thereof, shall be guilty of a violation of this chapter and shall be liable for all costs and expenses attendant upon the removal and/or correction of such a human health hazard and to the penalty provided in § 312-11 of this chapter.
B. 
Responsibility of property owner. It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to maintain such owner's property in a hazard-free manner and also to be responsible for the abatement and/or correction of any human health hazard that has been determined to exist on his property.
C. 
Human health hazards enumerated. Specifically, but not limited by enumeration, the following are human health hazards if determined to meet the human health hazard definition (§ 312-4 of this chapter):
(1) 
Unburied carcasses. Carcasses of animals, birds, or fowl not intended for human consumption which are not buried or otherwise disposed of in a sanitary manner within the time period specified by the Health Officer or as required by § 95.50, Wis. Stats. Carcasses intended for food shall be processed within a reasonable amount of time.
(2) 
Manure. Accumulations of the bodily waste from all domestic animals and fowl that are handled, stored, or disposed of in a manner that creates a health hazard.
(3) 
Air pollution. The presence in the atmosphere of one or more air contaminants in such quantities and of such duration as is or tends to be injurious to public health, harmful for commercial or recreational use or deleterious to fish, bird, animal or plant life.
(4) 
Noxious odors. Any negligent use of property, substances or things within the County emitting or causing any foul, offensive, noisome, noxious or disagreeable odors, or stenches extremely repulsive to the physical senses of ordinary persons or as a whole.
(5) 
Solid waste. Any solid waste which is stored or disposed of in a manner which may pose a human health hazard as defined in § 312-4.
(6) 
Food and breeding places for vermin, insects, etc. Accumulations of decayed animal or vegetable matter, trash, rubbish, garbage, rotting lumber, bedding, packing material, scrap metal, tires, animal and human fecal matter, or any other thing(s) or substance in which flies, mosquitoes, disease-carrying insects, rodents, or other vermin can breed, live, nest, or seek shelter.
(7) 
Toxic and hazardous material. Any chemical and/or biological material that is stored, used, or disposed of in such manner or quantity that it is, or has the potential to create, a human health hazard.
(8) 
Wastewater. The presence of wastewater or sewage effluent from buildings on the ground surface, backing up into the building and/or running into a surface water body caused by a damaged, malfunctioning, improperly constructed, or inadequately maintained private sewage system or private sewage lateral. Also, any wastewater or sewage effluent that is not handled and disposed of in compliance with all applicable County and state codes.
(9) 
Surface water pollution. The pollution of any stream, lake or other body of surface water within the County that creates noncompliance with Chapters NR 102 and NR 103 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.
(10) 
Groundwater pollution. Addition of any chemical and/or biological substance that would cause groundwater to be unpalatable or unfit for human consumption. These substances include but are not limited to the chemical and/or biological substances listed in Chapter NR 140 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.
(11) 
Holes or openings. Any hole or opening caused by an improperly abandoned cistern, septic tank, dug well, or any other improperly abandoned, barricaded or covered up excavation.
(12) 
Nonfunctional public building fixtures. Nonfunctioning water supply systems, toilets, urinals, lavatories, or other fixtures considered necessary to ensure a sanitary condition in a public building.
(13) 
Unhealthy or unsanitary condition. Any condition or situation which renders a structure or any part thereof unsanitary, unhealthy, and unfit for human habitation, occupancy or use or renders any property unsanitary or unhealthy.
(14) 
Salvage yard. The maintenance or operation of a nonpermitted junk or salvage yard as defined in Chapter 530, Zoning, of the County Code.
(15) 
Other. Any other situation determined to meet the definition of a human health hazard as per § 312-4 of this chapter.
D. 
Investigation of possible human health hazard. The Health Officer or his/her designee shall investigate all potential human health hazards and shall determine whether or not a human health hazard exists. In the event that an owner or occupant shall refuse entry for inspection purposes, the Health Officer or designee may obtain a special warrant under § 66.0119, Wis. Stats.
E. 
Abatement, correction and enforcement. Abatement, correction and enforcement of this chapter will be according to the provisions in § 312-11 of this chapter.
A. 
The Health Officer may declare any dwelling or dwelling unit found to have any of the following defects a human health hazard (as defined in § 312-4 of this chapter). It shall be condemned as unfit for human habitation and shall be placarded by the Health Officer.
(1) 
A dwelling which is so damaged, decayed, dilapidated, unsanitary, unsafe, or vermin infested that it creates a serious hazard to the health or safety of the occupants or of the public.
(2) 
A dwelling which lacks a potable water supply, a properly functioning public or private sanitary sewer system, or a functioning heating system adequate to protect the health or safety of the occupants or of the public. Nothing in this section shall prevent the use of a privy which meets the requirements of Chapter SPS 383 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.
(3) 
A dwelling, because of its general condition or location, is unsanitary or otherwise dangerous to the health or safety of the occupants or of the public.
(4) 
A dwelling, because of its condition, has been implicated as the source of a confirmed case of lead poisoning or asbestosis.
B. 
No person shall occupy or continue to occupy, let for rent or lease quarters for human habitation which are declared unfit for human habitation by the Health Officer.
C. 
Any dwelling or dwelling unit condemned as unfit for human habitation, and so designated and placarded by the Health Officer, shall be vacated within a reasonable time, as specified by the Health Officer.
D. 
No dwelling or dwelling unit which has been condemned and placarded as unfit for human habitation shall again be used for human habitation until written approval is secured from, and such placard is removed by, the Health Officer. The Health Officer shall remove such placard whenever the defect or defects upon which the condemnation and placarding were based have been eliminated.
E. 
No person shall deface or remove the placard from any dwelling or dwelling unit which has been condemned as unfit for human habitation.
F. 
Any person affected by any notice or order relating to the condemning or placarding of a dwelling or dwelling unit as unfit for human habitation may request and shall be granted a hearing in the matter before the County Health and Human Services Board.
G. 
Whenever the Health Officer determines that a violation exists or has reasonable grounds to believe that there has been a violation of any provision of this section, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, he/she shall give or cause to be given notice of such violation to the person or persons responsible therefor; such notice shall be in writing, including a description of the real estate involved, a statement of violations and corrective actions required, and allowing a reasonable time for the performance of any act required. Such notice shall be served upon the owner, operator or occupant, as the case may require, and may be served by certified mail or in the manner provided by Ch. 801, Wis. Stats., for service of summons. Such notice shall contain an outline of remedial action which, if taken, will effect compliance with the provisions of this section and with the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
H. 
For each day that elapses after the allowance of a reasonable time for the performance of corrective acts required or of any other acts of compliance, there is a violation which subjects the person, owner or occupant to forfeitures according to § 312-11D(2) of this chapter for the period such violations continue.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
A. 
Written order. When a violation of this chapter is encountered, the Health Officer shall issue the violator a written order, served personally or by registered mail with return receipt requested.
(1) 
This order shall specify the following:
(a) 
The name, address, and pertinent information on the violator.
(b) 
The nature of the violation and the steps needed to abate and/or correct it.
(c) 
The time period in which the violation must be corrected and/or abated (usually one to five days for immediate human health hazards, or 10 to 30 days for health hazards, depending on the nature of the violation). Allowance for limited extension of this time period may be allowed if warranted by extenuating circumstances.
(d) 
The penalty or penalties the violator would be subject to if the apparent violation is not abated and/or corrected within the given time period; see Subsections C and D below.
(2) 
A copy of this order shall be forwarded to the local governing body.
B. 
Exceptions to written order. In extreme cases where a violation poses an immediate health hazard as determined by the Health Officer or in the case of repeating occurrences of the same violation by the same person, the violator shall be considered to be in noncompliance and the action(s) specified in Subsections C and D below can be initiated immediately.
C. 
Noncompliance with order.
(1) 
If a person does not comply with a written order from the Health Officer and/or designees, the person may be subject to one or more of the following actions and/or penalties:
(a) 
Issuance of an enforceable citation.
(b) 
Commencement of legal action against the person(s) seeking a court-imposed forfeiture and/or imprisonment (see Subsection E below).
(c) 
Commencement of legal action seeking an injunction to abate the violation and/or correct the damage created by the violation.
(d) 
Any other action authorized by this chapter or by other applicable laws as deemed necessary by the Health Officer.
(2) 
The initiation of one action or penalty under this section does not exempt the apparent violator from any additional actions and/or penalties listed prescribed by law.
D. 
Abatement and penalties.
(1) 
Abatement or removal of health hazards. If the human health hazard is not abated or removed by the date specified in Subsection A(1)(c) above, the Health Officer or designee may enter upon property and abate or remove the human health hazard or cause such actions to be taken. The cost of the abatement or removal may be recovered from the person permitting the violation or may be paid by the County Treasurer, and the account, after being paid by the County Treasurer, shall be filed with the County Real Property Lister, who shall enter the amount chargeable to the property in the next tax roll in a column headed "For Abatement of a Human Health Hazard" as a special tax on the lands upon which the human health hazard was abated, and the tax shall be collected as are other taxes. The only defenses an owner may have against the collection of a tax are that no human health hazard existed on the owner's property, that no human health hazard was corrected on the owner's property, or that the procedure outlined in this subsection was not followed or any applicable defense under § 74.33, Wis. Stats.
(2) 
Penalties. Anyone maintaining such a human health hazard shall be subject to a forfeiture as provided in Chapter 290 of the County Code together with the cost of prosecution. On default of payment of the fines and costs, the violator may be imprisoned in the County Jail for no more than 90 days. Each day a violation exists or continues shall constitute a distinct and separate violation of this chapter and, as such, forfeitures shall apply accordingly.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
E. 
Initiation of legal action. Legal action shall be initiated against a violator, as requested by the Health Officer, in accordance with the following:
(1) 
The Corporation Counsel shall be responsible for all cases where an injunction to correct and/or abate a violation is being sought.
(2) 
The County District Attorney shall be responsible for all cases where a court-imposed forfeiture is being sought.
F. 
Coordination with state agencies. Where a human health hazard involves noncompliance with a state-enforced Administrative Code, the Health Officer shall first refer the complaint to the appropriate agency for abatement and/or correction. If the abatement and/or correction is not achieved through the appropriate state agency in a reasonable period of time as determined by the Health Officer, then the Health Officer may initiate action under this chapter to bring about proper abatement and/or correction.