After 4:30 p.m. this becomes our emergency contact number. Call and follow instructions.
Environmental Health
Environmental Health Departments & Programs in Portsmouth, OH
The Environmental Health Division is responsible for safeguarding the health and welfare of the public. This includes but is not limited to food service and retail food establishment inspections, swimming pool inspections, school inspections, other state mandated inspections, animal control, solid waste/housing/nuisance complaint abatement, the issuance of birth and death certificates and burial permits.
The Portsmouth City Health Department conducts pest control activities such as baiting public sewers for rats and spraying for mosquitoes for the residence of Portsmouth. For advice or further questions about pest control please contact our office at (740) 353-5153 Option 1.
The Environmental Health Division inspects all licensed food service and retail food establishments in city of Portsmouth.
As part of the food safety program, the Environmental Health Division also inspects all licensed temporary food events and all licensed mobile food service operations.
This section contains useful food safety information and links to ensure food is safely prepared, stored, and handled.
The Portsmouth City Health Department investigates all nuisance complaints including: housing, solid waste/trash/garbage, sewage, animal complaints and restaurant/food complaints.
Please contact the Environmental Health Division at (740) 353-5153 to file a complaint.
Please provide a correct address for the complaint at the time of your call.
All complaints may be given anonymously.
The Animal Control Officer conducts surveillance for dogs running at large and investigates all complaints relating to animals within the city. All animal bites resulting in human exposure within the city of Portsmouth are investigated to prevent the spread of rabies.
Animal bites/scratches that are treated at a hospital or urgent care facility are required to be reported to the Portsmouth City Health Department if they occurred within the city limits.
Bites and scratches which are not treated at a hospital, or for which there is a further concern or need for investigation should be reported directly to the PCHD at (740) 353-5153.
An animal bite or scratch could be considered a potential exposure to the rabies virus. Although rabies in humans is rare in the United States, and it is mainly a disease of wild animals—bats in particular—it is considered reportable to the Ohio Department of Health on a yearly basis. Because rabies is an entirely preventable disease, it is important to have your pets vaccinated. Protect both you and your pets by having them vaccinated and keeping all vaccines up-to-date.
Section 3701-3-29 of the Ohio Administrative Code states that “no owner, keeper or harborer of a dog, cat or ferret that is four (4) months of age or older shall fail to have such animal currently vaccinated against rabies by or under the supervision of a veterinarian”.
What this means is that as a pet owner you are required by the state of Ohio to have your dog, cat or ferret vaccinated against rabies at the age of four months, and thereafter as directed by your veterinarian. The vaccine MUST be administered by a licensed veterinarian and cannot be bought at a local feed store, from the internet or any other independent source and given to the animal by you.
State Mandated Programs
Recreational Vehicle Parks (RV), recreation camps (campgrounds), combined park-camps, and temporary park/camps in Ohio are regulated under the authority of Chapter 3729 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC). All camp and park rules are developed by the Ohio Department of Health. These camps are inspected monthly during their open season which begins during the license period on April 1st and extends to the last day of March of the following year.
A recreation camp (campground) is defined as any tract of land upon which five (5) or more portable camping units are placed. RV parks and campgrounds are subject to the rules for construction, layout, drainage, sanitation, safety and operation as specified in OAC 3701-26
Routine inspections regarding campgrounds and parks typically cover sanitation, pest control, fire and electrical, and wastewater/solid waste management. Efforts to keep campers from disrupting each other AND the environment are made to assure that preserving public health is top priority during the warmest months of the year.
Manufactured Home Parks are now regulated by the Ohio Manufactured Homes Commission. All manufactured home parks must still comply with the rules for construction, drainage, flood-plain management, sanitation, safety and operation specified in Chapter 3701-27 of the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC). These codes and regulations are enforced by the Portsmouth City Health Department for Manufactured Home Parks located within the city limits.
The definition of a Manufactured Home Park is any tract of land upon which three (3) or more manufactured homes used for habitation are parked. Manufactured homes within parks must be installed and inspected in accordance with standards adopted by the Ohio Manufactured Homes Commission as specified in Chapters 4781-6 & 4781-7 of the OAC.
Manufactured Home Parks are inspected once per licensing year. During a routine inspection of the park, inspectors look to see that general sanitary practices are being used at all times. Some of these practices consist of proper management of:
Important Resources, Links & Forms
Please review the additional information below to learn more:
Animal Control Frequently Asked Questions
No.
This is a common concern among pet owners who receive a letter in the mail following a dog bite incident.
Our primary concern is that the pet has been properly vaccinated and shows no signs of the rabies virus and therefore has not transmitted the virus to a human or to other animals.
This is done by confining the animal at home, or under a licensed veterinarian’s care and by prohibiting contact of the animal under your control to the public.
The animal is to be confined for ten (10) days and then taken to a veterinarian for an evaluation and vaccination if required. A form will be mailed to you in the case that your animal has bitten someone and it has been reported to the Portsmouth City Health Department.
This form needs to be taken to the veterinarian with the animal, filled out by the licensed veterinarian and returned to us in a timely manner.
Confine your animal as ordered by the health department for the required ten day period.
After this ten day period is up, take the animal to a licensed veterinarian who will determine if your animal requires rabies vaccination.
Failure to comply with this procedure MAY RESULT IN LEGAL ACTION.
A letter will be sent to the person who has been bitten to notify them that there is no potential threat of rabies transmission due to the bite they have sustained.
The important thing to remember is that you are responsible for your animal.
In the event that it has bitten someone and you do not follow the proper procedures and we cannot verify that the animal does NOT have the rabies virus, we may be required to advise a person to seek a physician as to whether or not they should take the rabies post exposure vaccination which is a series of five (5) doses and can be expensive.
Chad Wamsley, REHS
Director
Helen Trapp
Office Manager / Deputy Registrar
Wendy Payton
Animal Control Officer/Code Enforcement Officer
Alysa Robinson
Environmental Health Specialist-in-Training
605 Washington St.
Portsmouth, Oh 45662
Opening Hours:
Mon – Fri 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
After 4:30 p.m. this becomes our emergency contact number.
Call and follow instructions.
Call and follow instructions.
Useful Links
