Nuisances

WEBSTER COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
REGULATIONS NO. 2
PUBLIC HEALTH NUISANCES

SECTION 1: DEFINITIONS
  1. BOARD OF HEALTH The Webster County Board of Health
  2. HEALTH OFFICER The Sanitarian of the Webster County Public Health Department
  3. PUBLIC HEALTH NUISANCE Any act, failure to act, or any condition which in the opinion of the Health Officer is dangerous or detrimental to life, health, or related safety of one or more persons. This shall include, but is not limited to:
    1. Any condition of property which gives rise to noxious or offensive odors, gases, vapors, smoke, dust, pollen, or fumes which is injurious or dangerous to the health of any individual or the public.
    2. The storage, collection, accumulation, discharge, or depositing of any offal, fecal matter, filth, refuse, weeds, vegetation, dead organic material, junk, debris, contaminated material, garbage, stagnant or polluted waters, combustible materials, or similar materials in any place or on any property so as to threaten the health or safety of any individual or the public or to be conducive to the breeding of flies, rats, or other vermin.
    3. The presence of rats, flies, or other vermin.
    4. The discharge or depositing of any liquid waste, filth, dead animal(s), or other polluting material into any stream, river, lake, well, cistern, tile line, drainage ditch or other body of water so as to render the water, shore, channel, bottom, or other features thereof unsafe for the uses to which they are put or as to otherwise injure or threaten the health and safety of any individual or the public.
    5. The unlawful disposal of animal carcasses or the failure to properly dispose of animal carcasses as provided by the Iowa Administrative Code and the Code of Iowa.
    6. The collection, storage, depositing, or discharge of any flammable refuse, liquid, or other material in any building or on any place in such manner as to constitute a hazard of fire injury to any individual or the public.
    7. The dense growth of all weeds, grass, vines, brush, or other vegetation in a residential zoned area which is conducive to the harborage or breeding of flies, rats, mosquitoes, or other vermin.
    8. Inadequate or unsanitary sewage or plumbing facilities or septic systems.
    9. Failure to secure areas, buildings, equipment, or places against unauthorized access where such access threatens the health or safety of individuals.
    10. Any attractive nuisance which may prove detrimental to life, health, or safety whether in a building, on the premises of a building, or upon an unoccupied lot. This includes any abandoned, or unattended well shaft, basement or excavation, motor vehicle, discarded, abandoned, or unattended or used refrigerators, iceboxes and similar containers equipped with an airtight door or lid, snap lock, or other locking devices that cannot be released from the inside.
    11. Any building that is menace to the public health, welfare, or safety by being structurally unsafe, unsanitary, not provided with adequate safe egress, or constitutes a fire hazard or is otherwise dangerous to human life, or that in relation to the existing use constitutes a hazard to the public health, welfare, or safety by reason of inadequate maintenance, dilapidation, obsolescence, or abandonment.
  4. PERSON OR PERSONS RESPONSIBLE means both the owner of the nuisance and the owner or occupant of the premise where the nuisance is permitted to remain.
SECTION 2: INVESTIGATION
The Health Officer shall investigate, upon complaint of any person or upon his own initiative, any health nuisance in Webster County.
SECTION 3: REFUSAL OF ADMITTANCE
In the event the Health Officer, in proceeding to enter any premise for the purpose of making an inspection to carry out the provisions of this Regulation, shall be refused entry, a complaint may be made under oath to any magistrate of the county and said magistrate shall thereupon issue his warrant directed to some peace officer of the county commanding him between the hours of sunrise and sunset, accompanied by the Health Officer, to enter upon such premise to make such inspection, and to obtain such samples as may be required to carry out the provisions of this Regulation, which order shall be executed by said officer under direction of the Health Officer.
SECTION 4: INTERFERENCE WITH THE HEALTH OFFICER DURING NUISANCE ABATEMENT IS PROHIBITED
No person shall obstruct, impede, or interfere with any Officer, employee, contractor, or authorized representative of the Webster County Board of Health when abating a health nuisance as ordered by the Webster County Board of Health under provisions of this Regulation.

SECTION 5: NOTICE
  1. Whenever the Health Officer determines that there are reasonable grounds to believe that a public health nuisance exists, he shall order the person on whose property the nuisance exists or the person whose act or omission to act gives rise to the nuisance to abate said nuisance. Such notice shall:
    1. Be in writing.
    2. Include a statement of the reasons why it is being issued.
    3. Allow a reasonable time for any abatement act it requires.
    4. Be served upon the owner or his agent or the occupant, as the case may require, provided that such notice shall be deemed to be properly served upon such owner or agent, or upon such occupant, if a copy is served upon him personally, or if a copy is sent by certified mail to his last known address, or if a copy is posted in a conspicuous place in or about the premise affected by the notice, or if he is served by any other method authorized or required by any laws of this state.
    5. Contain an outline of remedial action, which if taken, will effect compliance with this Regulation.
SECTION SIX: HEARINGS
In the event a person is aggrieved by any order made by the Health Officer, he may within twenty (20) days of the date of the notice appeal to the Webster County Board of Health and in writing state his reasons for requesting such order to be rescinded or modified. The Board of Health shall review the action of the Health Officer, and if reasonable grounds exist, shall modify, rescind, or order compliance with said order. Appeal from any order of the Board of Health may be taken within twenty (20) days to the District Court of Webster County, Iowa. This provision shall not prevent the Health Officer from taking immediate action in any case of a violation of this Regulation which involves an immediate and continuing health hazard to the public.

SECTION SEVEN: REMEDIES
  1. The Board of Health or Health Officer, by serving notice as provided in Section Six, may order the person or persons responsible for the nuisance to remove such nuisance at his own expense.
  2. If the nuisance is not abated within the reasonable time period allotted, the Board of Health may order the Health Officer to initiate the abatement of the nuisance.
  3. All expenses incurred by the Board of Health in proceeding to abate the nuisance, including but not limited to court costs, removal expenses, investigation costs, and clean up costs may be recovered by suit in the name of the Board of Health against any and all persons responsible, or said Board may certify the amount of said expense, together with a description of the property, to the County Auditor who shall enter the same upon the tax books as costs for removing a nuisance and said amount shall be collected as other taxes.
SECTION EIGHT: UNFIT FOR HUMAN HABITATION
Any building, dwelling, structure, or business may be designated as unfit for human when any defect or condition which is in violation of this Regulation has been found to exist or when in the judgment of the Health Officer such defects or conditions create a hazard to the health, safety, or welfare of the occupant(s) or public. The person or persons responsible for any building, dwelling, structure, or business which has been designated as unfit for human habitation by the Health Officer shall within the time limit specified by the Health Officer vacate or cause for vacating the same. If the order is not complied with, the Board of Health may cause the occupants to be forcibly removed and close the premises and said place shall not be occupied as a dwelling or business without the written permission of the Board. No person shall deface or remove a placard from any building, dwelling, structure, or business which has been designated as unfit for human habitation by the Health Officer.

SECTION NINE: JURISDICTION
The provisions of this regulation shall apply throughout Webster County excluding the corporate boundaries of the City of Fort Dodge.

SECTION TEN: SEVERABILITY OF PROVISION
If any section, paragraph, clause, or provision of this Regulation shall be held invalid, this invalidity shall not affect any of the remaining provision of this Regulation.