JASPER COUNTY, MISSOURI
SINCE 1841
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
The Jasper County Health Department’s Environmental Department takes an active role in protecting not only the environment but also the citizens of Jasper County from the spread of disease throughout the community.
The department protects ground water contamination through its Wastewater Treatment Systems program and Storm Water Contamination program. The Department also protects the citizen’s health with its Food Safety program by doing random inspections of these food service facilities to decrease the incidence of food borne disease. The child care and Lodging programs help promote healthy atmospheres protecting children and their families from the spread of communicable and food borne disease.
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CHILD CARE INSPECTIONS
Child care may be provided in a family child care home, a group home, a child care center, or a licensed-exempt facility (nursery school or a facility run by a religious organization). Licenses are issued to family child care homes, group homes and child care centers based on compliance with state regulations. Nursery schools and child care programs operated by religious organizations (called license-exempt facilities) are not required to be licensed but must be inspected annually regarding health and safety, fire safety and sanitation. Child care is regulated through various aspects, such as: staffing requirements on the number of children under the supervision of an adult, health rules to curb the spread of disease, background screenings, childhood injury prevention, fire safety, environmental health issues, staff training and education, physical plant requirements, space requirements and equipment requirements.
Anyone who is caring for six or fewer children, including a maximum of three children under the age of two, at the same physical address is not required to be licensed and does not have to report he/she is providing child care. For the purposes of this exemption, children who live in the caregiver's home and who are eligible for enrollment in public kindergarten, elementary, or high school shall not be considered in the total number of children under the provider's care.
CHILD CARE FACILITIES:
To open a new childcare facility within Jasper County you must first contact the Springfield Regional Office for Child Care 417-895-6541. Visit the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website for more information https://dese.mo.gov/childhood/child-care-licensing. After your initial sanitation inspection, a request will be sent to the Jasper County Health Department to inspect the facility on an annual basis.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION ORDINANCE
Lead mining and smelting activities have contributed to heavy-metal contamination in Jasper County. Exposure to heavy metals can affect every system in the body .Lead poisoning may cause learning disabilities, behavioral issues, and at high levels, seizures, coma, stroke, and kidney disease. Cadmium exposure may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle cramps, and convulsions, and long-term exposure can damage the kidneys, liver, bones, and red blood cells.
Environmental Contamination Ordinance
The Jasper County Environmental Contamination Ordinance, effective July 1, 2006, requires soil testing for regulated contaminants on properties within Superfund-designated areas when new dwellings, dwelling units, child-occupied facilities, or recreational areas are planned. These designated areas are outlined on the mine/smelter map. Soil testing in these areas is conducted by Health Department staff.
The ordinance also requires heavy-metal testing of all existing private wells when a property is sold or transferred. A DNR-certified well tester must collect these samples, and the Health Department can provide contact information for certified testers.
Environmental Contamination Ordinance
Private Well Water
All properties in Jasper County with private wells must have the water tested for lead and cadmium at the time of sale or transfer. Testing must be conducted by a DNR-certified sampler. If contamination exceeds EPA action levels, treatment is strongly recommended. For more information, contact Environmental Services at 417-358-0481.
Lead in Drinking water fact sheet
Soil Testing
The Jasper County Health Department and local municipalities maintain a GIS map identifying areas impacted by historical mining and smelting contamination. When new construction is planned within these areas, a soil test for heavy metals is required in order to obtain a permit. Lead program staff will assess the property to determine the presence and level of contamination.
If contamination exceeds EPA action levels, county lead program personnel will collaborate with the builder and/or municipality on required soil remediation. Builders must develop a remediation plan that meets all applicable requirements. The Health Department will perform a final inspection prior to occupancy to ensure adequate remediation has been completed. All soil testing results and remediation plans must be disclosed to the property’s owner-occupants.
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLAINTS
Click on the links below to download forms that can be filled out and mailed or delivered in-person:
Or fill out the form and submit online:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW ONLINE COMPLAINT FORM
ENVIRONMENTAL MAPS
Jasper County offers a mapping and data website where you can view aerial photography, data and a wide range of maps online for free. There is also a subscription available where you can view detailed parcel assessment information as well as building pictures and sketches.
Click here to visit the Jasper County Mapping Site-Beacon
The environmental maps available include:
· Mine/Smelter areas
· Soil testing locations
· Mining inventories
· Flood Zones
· Well Casing Depths
The MINE AREAS AND SMELTING MAP was compiled by the Jasper County GIS Department using data provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency. This map displays areas in Jasper County were there was active mining and an active smelter in the area. These former activities raise concern over soil quality. Jasper County and the EPA have made efforts to remediate soils in these areas of concern. See [insert link] Environmental Contamination Ordinance for more details. In addition to this map, these areas are highlighted on Beacon by turning on the layers “Mine Areas” and “Smelter”.
TRI-STATE MINING MAP COLLECTION AT
MISSOURI SOUTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY:
This collection consists of more than 5,000 maps that document lead and zinc mining in Southwest Missouri, Southeast Kansas, and Northeast Oklahoma. The collection has important historical, environmental, and economic information available in no other archival collection.
LODGING INSPECTIONS
The Jasper County Health Department regulates commercial lodging establishments throughout the county. Each establishment is inspected and is required to obtain a state-issued lodging license annually. The lodging industry is regulated under a rule that addresses water supplies, sewage/wastewater treatment, fire safety, electrical wiring, fuel-burning appliances, plumbing and swimming pools.
The licensing year runs from October 1 to September 30. Licenses are obtained by completing an application. Applications are mailed to each lodging establishment on the first of August; an additional copy of the application and more information can be obtained on the DHSS website at http://www.dhss.mo.gov/Lodging. With the application, establishments must include an approved inspection for the current year and pay the appropriate licensing fee.
Inspections are unannounced and can take place anytime throughout the year. The State Department of Health and Senior Services contracts with the Jasper County Health Department to conduct annual inspections on all lodging establishments. Those establishments meeting the sanitation and safety standards outlined in the lodging rule, 19 CSR 20-3.050, receive an approved inspection report. This report is submitted along with the application as part of the licensing process. Re-inspections are conducted as needed on non-compliant establishments. No license will be issued until the violations are corrected.
FOOD SERVICE
The Jasper County Health Department regulates more than 280 food service establishments throughout Jasper County. The JCHD provides training on health and safety issues to the food-service industry, as well as providing information to consumers on safe food handling practices, including hygiene, preparation and storage. Inspections are conducted to assure that food establishments, and food manufacturers and processors are preparing food that is safe to eat. It is through training and inspection that the Jasper County Health Department decreases the incidence of food borne illness.
Jasper County Food Service Sanitation Ordinance
Note on food service inspections:
Satisfactory means that the establishment passed its inspection. There were no critical violations seen at the time of the inspection and there were no repeat non-critical items from past inspections.
Unsatisfactory means the establishment failed its inspection due to a critical violation or repeat non-critical violations from past inspections that were not corrected.
Critical items that could lead directly to an immediate food borne illness and cannot be corrected during the inspections would require the establishment to be re-inspected within 72 hours. They include but are not limited to, temperature abuses, cross-contamination of ready-to-eat-foods, personnel with infections, lack of hand washing and pest infestation.
Non-critical items that cannot be corrected during the inspection are corrected on a time frame agreed upon with the owner/operator and the Public Health Specialist and shall be corrected by the next inspection. Examples of non-critical items, include, but are not limited to, non-food contact surfaces not clean, dumpster lids not closed and food not stored 6 inches off the floor.
Keep in mind an unsatisfactory declaration can be misleading since an establishment can be unsatisfactory for a hole in the screen door, due to the possibility of pest infiltration, although no pests are seen at the time of inspection. Compared to an establishment that received an unsatisfactory declaration due to multiple critical violations such at temperature violations of hot and cold holding of food in which the food had to be discarded. Also keep in mind a large facility with a couple of critical items may mean the facility was pretty well managed but the same two critical items in a small facility may represent that the facility is poorly run.
FOOD SERVICE PERMIT APPLICATION
Any person desiring to operate a food service establishment shall make written application for a permit on the form provided. Fees for the permit are based by a risk assessment done before an establishment opens and at the end of the inspection year. Low risk establishments are inspected once a year and generally are establishments that do not prepare food. For example convenience stores that only offer pre-packaged food items. The fee for a low risk establishment is $150.00. Medium risk establishments are inspected twice a year and generally are establishments that prepare potentially hazardous food. The fee for medium risk establishments is $225.00. High risk establishments are inspected three times a year and are establishments that generally serve a large amount of potentially hazardous food, serve a high risk population, or have had poor inspections in the past. Examples of high risk establishment are grocery stores and over 60 centers. High risk establishments have a fee of $300.00.
Permanent Food Service Permit Application
Permanent Food Service Permit Application Spanish
Temporary Food Service Permit Application
NEW FOOD SERVICES CHECKLIST
The Jasper County Health Department provides a New Food Service Checklist which quickly briefs a new food service provider with what the JCHD will be looking for at a new establishment. It covers basic construction such as floors, walls and ceilings as well as what sinks are required.Also it highlights what temperatures equipment should be kept at to keep food safe. It also describes what procedures you should follow to obtain a food service permit.
ON-SITE WASTEWATER
TREATMENT SYSTEM PROGRAM
An estimated twenty-five percent of homes in Missouri rely on an onsite wastewater treatment system (OWTS) in areas where public sewers are not available. Onsite systems treat wastewater and disperse it on the property where it is generated. When functioning properly, onsite systems prevent human contact with sewage, and prevent contamination of surface and groundwater. Factors that affect the proper functioning of onsite systems include the site and soil conditions, design, installation, operation and maintenance.
Public health and the environment are protected when new systems are constructed, and failing systems are repaired or replaced, using criteria equal to or better than Missouri’s Minimum Construction Standards. Homeowner understanding of the need for regular maintenance and proper operation of their onsite sewage system is important for long-term system performance and public health protection.
Jasper County adopted their own on-site wastewater treatment systems ordinance in September of 1995. This ordinance requires any person building in Jasper County to obtain building and wastewater permits.
BUILDING PERMITS
Since May, 1999 the Jasper County Health Department requires any person in Jasper County that will build, erect, install or construct any structure to be used as a residence, house, home, or as a commercial facility to obtain a building permit through the Jasper County Health Department. Building permits require the property to be checked for proper 911 address, lot size, flood plain, mine waste areas and storm water control in unincorporated urban areas. Since May 6, 1999 the County requires a minimum lot size of 0.92 acres per septic system. Owners will need to show proof of lot size via a tax receipt, survey, or warranty deed. A building permit fee is $50.00.
WASTEWATER PERMITS
Since September 1, 1995 the Jasper County Health Department requires any person that constructs, modifies, repairs or operates any sewage treatment system to obtain an Onsite Sewage Treatment System Permit issued by the Jasper County Health Department. New systems require a soil profile to be done by a licensed soil morphologist located in the vicinity of the proposed lateral lines. Homeowners can install their own onsite system but all permits still have to be attained and approved before work can start. If the homeowner chooses not to do the work themselves a state and county licensed septic installer shall be chosen from the counties list. Once the soil profile is obtained a wastewater permit should be filled out with a sketch plan of the entire septic system.
New system permit fee is $150.00. Repairs on existing systems require a repair permit from the Jasper County Health Department.Soil profiles are required for additions to lateral fields over 100 feet. Repairs under 100 feet of line are allowed on a one shot bases. If the repairs do not fix the system an updated system brought up to current code will be required. Cost for a repair permit is $50.00. Once all the permits are turned into our office they will be evaluated for approval. Approval usually takes 3 to 5 days.
Wastewater Treatment Systems Ordinance
SEWAGE COMPLAINTS
The Jasper County Health Department investigates all forms of onsite sewage complaints. Sewage complaints need to be in writing. Once a sewage complaint form is filled out a representative from the health department will investigate the complaint. If the complaint is verified a letter stating the problem is sent to the owner of the property. If there is no response to the letter an official notice of violation is sent certified mail giving the owner thirty days to correct the problem. Another thirty day extension can be given if approved by our department. If further violation persists after the designated time period, the case is then turned over to the Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney.
LIST OF SOIL SCIENTISTS, SEPTIC INSTALLERS,
LICENSED SEPTIC INSPECTORS / EVALUATORS
List of Septic Inspectors / Evaluators
Please Contact our Environmental Services (417) 358-0480 for an Updated List of Septic Installers
SEPTIC INSPECTION AND PUMPING
It is generally recommended to pump your septic every 3 to 5 years; by doing this you may extend the longevity of your system. The cost of pumping is around $250 which you can compare to the possibility of up to $12,000 for a full replacement.
CURRENT SYSTEM IS FAILING OR NEEDS REPAIR
Signs of Failure: if you smell sewage, or see a sunken wet spot in your lawn, or a lush growth, your septic system may be malfunctioning and may be repairable. Call a licensed installer or the Jasper County Health Department immediately.
What are your Options: Once a problem is identified there are numerous courses of action that can be taken. These may include a range of actions from simple repairs to a full system replacement. A licensed installer can advise you on the best solution for each individual site.
WELL TESTING
Bacteria water testing kits are available at the Health Department for testing well water only.
Testing for heavy metals, nitrate and minerals, can be done by one of our Environmental Health Specialists by appointment.