Environmental Health Office
Environmental Health Office
Jotham Arber, MPH
Employees in Environmental Health Department:
County Sanitarian:
Mike Stringham
Environmental Technicians:
Justin Downing
Kent Irwin
Guthrie County Environmental Health
200 N 5th Street
Guthrie Center, IA 50115
fax. (641) 747-3839
Answering machine available 24 hours per day
Downloadable Forms
Downloadable forms used in the Environmental Health Office
- No current forms
In 1989 the Cass County Board of Supervisors (through the Cass County Board of Health) contracted with Guthrie County to operate its program. This was a more cost-effective means of providing full-time services than hiring a full-time person in Cass County.
Staff is available (although we are out a lot) weekdays. There is an answering machine 24-hours a day as well. We hope you will visit the Guthrie County site to learn of the programs and then contact us for details or to sign up for some program.
The two high profile programs operated are those involving septic systems and those involving wells and water. A number of other programs are also administered by Guthrie County. These include:
- radon awareness,
- unsafe dwellings,
- animal abuse,
- dumping,
- rabies/animal bites,
- swimming pool inspection,
- tanning bed inspection,
- tattoo parlor inspection,
- bioterrorism, and
- a number of other minor programs
Anyone needing to install or replace a septic system in Cass County needs to contact the Environmental Health Department. After a percolation test is done, a permit is then issued, and an inspection is done before the system is covered up. The Department works with the contractor and homeowner to see that a properly designed system is properly installed by the contractor.
To drill a well a State and County permit is required. The well driller will work with the Environmental Health Dept. to see that there is compliance with these rules. After the well is completed, a water test is done as part of the permit. Heat pump wells also require a permit.
One of the most important parts of the program is the Grants To Counties program for providing cost share money to plug abandoned wells, rehabilitate existing wells, and to do water testing on existing wells. The State provides each county with funds to utilize for these programs. Cass County receives $15,000-$20,000 annually for this program.
For those who would like further information, you may go to the website for a wide range of web pages on all the above topics and many more. It is at http://www.guthriecounty.org/envhealth/index.html. It should be kept in mind that these topics are specific for Guthrie County BUT in most cases are about 90% or more the same for Cass County. The web pages cover lots of specific programs that Guthrie County has that Cass County does not but these are obvious in most cases.