As of July, the state septic code required all 2.6 million onsite systems to be inspected and pumped every five years. The state has estimated that one in 10 septic tanks are failing and expected about 260,000 to be replaced by 2020.
Health officials, however, are concerned about what to do with all the septage pumped from those systems, since the state’s new water supply legislation bans land application of septage in 2016.
Because of the legislation, Marion County commissioners repealed sections of the Springs Protection Ordinance. They rescinded provisions requiring tanks to be inspec-ted every five years and failing systems to be replaced with low-dosing systems.
Replacement systems must now have a 24-inch separation between the drainfield trenches and the water table. Since the county land-applies septage, health department officials must submit a septage management report to the legis-lature by February. They are considering a mandate providing incentives for private waste-processing plants to increase their disposal capacity.
New Mexico
Socorro County is using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and USDA Rural Development funds to replace onsite systems with sewer service for homes in the Middle Rio Grande Watershed.
The state Department of Environmental Quality categorized the area as impaired based on levels of E. coli bacteria traced to onsite systems. The agency also requires systems to pass an inspection before transfer of the property, making the switch to sewers an incentive for homeowners.
California
The assembly amended a bill that would prevent nondispersible or poorly dispersible products from entering sewer or onsite systems and potentially causing overflows. The rule would enable consumers to identify which products are safe to dispose of via the plumbing system, and update the guidance criteria for flushability published by the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry to reflect new plumbing, onsite, and sewage technologies. If passed, the law would take effect Jan. 1, 2012.
