Reno County health director seeks industry meeting; EZflow system cleared while review policy is developed

Reno County Health Department director Nick Baldetti updated the commission on a draft engineering‑review policy aimed at speeding, standardizing and documenting reviews of proprietary wastewater systems and atypical site installations under the Reno County Sanitation Code.

Baldetti said two products — the EZflow 12‑03 system and an ADS septic stack system — prompted the policy work. He told commissioners the EZflow product has already been fully reviewed and stamped by an engineer and is approved for use in Reno County; the ADS system remains in engineer review.

Baldetti said manufacturers and local wastewater contractors have urged faster, more consistent review timelines and greater transparency. He described outreach to national manufacturers and to peer counties (Sedgwick, Johnson and Miami counties) and said staff is scheduling a meeting with manufacturers, distributors and contractors for Friday, Aug. 16, to discuss process and language in the draft policy. Baldetti said he is consulting Sedgwick County about its wastewater advisory board to learn how that model works.

Commissioners debated whether to create a formal board with decision‑making authority or to use a quarterly industry‑users committee and rely on the health department to protect public safety and apply technical review as needed. Several commissioners favored trying a quarterly users forum first to improve communication without creating a new regulatory body.

Industry speakers at the meeting urged the county to gather peer‑county data and to use documented engineering or broader installation experience to speed approvals. Rick Kirkpatrick of Infiltrator Water Technologies recommended the county look beyond Kansas for evidence and offered his company’s assistance. Ron Vincent of Carl Vincent Service and other contractors urged exhausting less‑costly options and using engineer review only when necessary.

Baldetti asked the board for agreement to formally allow the engineer‑approved EZflow 12‑03 system to be used in Reno County while staff finalizes the policy and continues outreach on the ADS system. Commissioners signaled agreement to proceed with products that have favorable engineering reviews and to convene an industry users meeting for further discussion.