(a) The health director shall be the administrator of the county department of health. He shall devote his entire time to his duties and shall not engage in any other occupation or business.

(b) The health director shall exercise the power to employ personnel conferred upon the county department of health. In exercising this power, the health director shall give preference to professional and technical personnel employed by municipal departments or boards of health at the time such departments or boards were dissolved in accordance with section 15 of this act,¹ and to professional and technical personnel employed by the State Department of Health whose positions in the county or counties served by the county department of health may have been terminated as a result of the establishment of the county department of health, if such personnel meet the qualifications prescribed by the State Department of Health.

(c) The health director and his authorized subordinates may enter and inspect at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner any places or conditions whatsoever within the jurisdiction of the county department of health for the purpose of enforcing the health laws, rules and regulations of the Commonwealth and the county department of health, and for the purpose of examining for, and abating nuisances detrimental to the public health.

(d) Whenever the health director finds a nuisance detrimental to the public health, he shall cause such nuisance to be abated. Except in an emergency, the health director shall give notice in writing to the owner or his agent, or to the occupier of the premises where the nuisance or cause of the nuisance is located, or to the person known or suspected to have caused the nuisance. The notice shall contain a statement of the conditions constituting the nuisance and an order to abate the nuisance within a specified time. The time specified shall be reasonable. In the case the order of abatement is not obeyed, the health director shall abate the nuisance. The cost of abatement shall be recoverable from the owner of the premises where the nuisance or cause of the nuisance was located, or from any other person who may have caused the nuisance, in the same manner as debts of like character are now collected by law, or in the manner provided by law for the collection of municipal claims. Any legal action necessary to recover the cost of abatement shall be instituted by the county commissioners of the county in which the nuisance was located. In the case of a joint-county department of health, moneys so recovered shall be paid into the fund of the joint-county department of health, except that the portion which represents the costs of legal action shall be paid into the treasury of the county which instituted such legal action. In lieu of, or in addition to the above procedure, the county commissioners may, upon the advice of the health director, seek relief from a nuisance or threatened nuisance detrimental to the public health by instituting proceedings in a court of equity.