Environmental Health

The Northeast Health District offers the following environmental health services:

• Restaurant inspections (see below for more info)
• Septic tank permits (see below for more info)
• Public swimming pool inspections
• Hotel/motel inspections
• Tattoo and Piercing Regulations
• Tracking of infectious diseases and
  food-borne illness outbreaks

Restaurant Inspections

Restaurants are inspected on a periodic basis.  However, if you have a specific concern regarding a particular eatery, please contact the Environmental Health Services office for your county.  Additional information, including where to find restaurant health scores.

Septic Tank Permits

Through our sewage program, we provide many services that help to protect public health as well as Georgia’s natural resources. These services include septic tank permits, repair permits, existing system evaluations, site evaluations, and subdivision plan reviews. Inspections are also required on both septic tank permits and repair permits. Each inspection is performed by an Environmental Health Specialist according to the Rules and Regulations for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (Chapter 511-3-1). These inspections help to ensure correct installation and proper repair of domestic on-site sewage management systems. By regulating the installation and repair of on-site sewage systems, our district helps to protect Georgia’s groundwater, drinking water and surface water from harmful organisms and chemicals.

A Homeowner’s Guide to Septic Systems is a resource developed by the EPA that provides a good explanation on how septic systems work.  This booklet also contains many helpful tips on properly caring for and maintaining your septic system.

The State of Georgia’s Division of Public Health has also developed another helpful resource, Homeowner’s Guide: On-Site Sewage Management Systems.

Rules and Regulations for On-Site Sewage Management Systems