Massachusetts Residents Look for Onsite Alternative to “Big Pipe”

Chatham Concerned Tax payers sponsored a meeting with the intent of finding a wastewater solution that is less expensive than the $300 million sewer system and treatment plant upgrade currently being planned.

Chatham Concerned Tax payers sponsored a meeting with the intent of finding a wastewater solution that is less expensive than the $300 million sewer system and treatment plant upgrade currently being planned.

Addressing the crowded room were Valerie Nelson, Coalition for Alternative Wastewater Treatment director and former Gloucester city councilor, environmental consultant Patrick Lucey of Victoria, B.C.; Jim Kreissl, former EPA wastewater expert; environmental engineer Pio Lombardo of Newton, Mass.; and state representative Matt Patrick, D-Falmouth.

The best system for Chatham, according to Kreissl, is a mixed system of neighborhood cluster systems, onsite nitrogen-removing septic systems, and a small sewer system. Kreissl estimated that it would cost each taxpayer about $60,000 to connect to the new sewer system, including the cost of building the plant and extending the sewer lines. Treating wastewater using nitrogen removal technology, however, would cost each taxpayer about $20,000 and connecting to medium-sized cluster systems around $15,000, by his estimate.

Permeable reactive barriers and nitrogen removal technologies are not yet permitted, but Patrick says he and other members of the Cape Cod legislative delegation plan to encourage the state to step up its investigation and approval of the technology so that towns like Chatham can consider a full range of options.

Ontario

The Ministry of Environment proposed major changes to the Canadian CSA B66 standard involving liquid level depth and air space requirements on prefabricated septic tanks. The proposal also introduces an Equivalency Test Protocol that allows new tank designs to be tested side by side with standard tanks to show that they are equivalent in functionality. The year-long test is conducted by a third party. If accepted, the changes will bring a greater variety of septic tank configurations to regulators and homeowners.

Oregon

A proposal by the state Department of Environmental Quality will raise most onsite system application fees by 40 to 60 percent. The new fees will take into account raising costs through 2015, and do not affect the fee schedules for counties that administer the program themselves.

New Jersey

A proposed ordinance by the New Jersey Highlands Council would require municipalities within the Highlands region to license, mandate pumping and inspection every three years, and impose fees on residential onsite systems.

In a letter to John Weingart, the council chairman, assemblyman Michael Doherty, R-Warren and Hunterdon, writes, “The Highlands Council’s proposal is far more stringent than those proposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection and other model ordinances, and clearly establishes an unfunded state mandate, as well as the precedent of the licensing of residential properties.” The proposal applies only to municipalities within the Highlands region. Doherty plans to gather support to stop the imposition of the fees and rules that single out the Highlands region.

Virginia

A proposal by the Three Rivers Health District in Saluda would regulate the operation and maintenance of alternative systems, establish performance requirements, and specify horizontal setbacks for the systems. It also would require all owners of alternative systems to hire a licensed operator to inspect, sample, and maintain the system.



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