Walworth County officials in Wisconsin don’t want to use the court system to get people to comply with state law requiring septic system inspection every three years. Sometimes they have no choice if people don’t respond to two notices of non-compliance, and that was the case in August when 56 people had to be called to court.

When only two showed up, the rest had judgments filed against them with a $663 fine and a $150 processing fee. County code enforcement officer Rick Dorgay told the Janesville Gazette that the county has agreed to continue the cases and try to work out something with the landowners. Ignoring the court order, he added, did nothing to change the situation. Those owners face fines and still must comply with the regulations. If they don’t pay the fines, the amounts would be added to the owners' property taxes.

When a system is not certified as being compliant, the property owner is sent a notice from the county and must comply with the inspection requirement within 30 days. If not, another notice is sent with a 15-day deadline, along with a warning of court action for failure to comply.

 Dorgay said the cost of compliance could be as low as $75 for an inspection and a signed compliance card, adn about $150 if the system is found to need pumping. Read more at http://gazettextra.com/news/2012/aug/17/walworth-county-septic-court-ghost-town.