Rep. Chris Dorworth introduced legislation that would repeal mandatory five-year septic tank inspections and give local governments the power to regulate them. The bill uses the current statute’s mandatory inspections, including who would be allowed to do them, how often they are required, and price caps for each step of the process.

It also makes the measures optional at the discretion of county commissions and allows county health departments to inspect tanks with possible compliance issues. Rep. Marti Coley, who is sponsoring legislation that would repeal the septic tank inspections entirely, was a primary co-sponsor on Dorworth’s bill.

Senator Charles Dean filed the Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems bill that would transfer onsite permits with the title of the property, provide circumstances when systems are not considered abandoned, assure the system’s validity if rules change before final approval of the system, and require an upgrade only if a bedroom is added to a single-family home. If passed, the act would take effect on July 1, 2012.

 

New Jersey

The state Department of Environmental Protection rewrote legislation passed in 2008 that limits onsite systems and sewers on more than 300,000 acres. Ray Cantor, chief adviser for the DEP, stated that the rules were flawed and could not be implemented.

An overhaul of the solid waste and recycling code by the State Commission of Investigation to combat organized crime infiltration could require pumpers to undergo an extensive criminal background check before obtaining or renewing their licenses.

 

Rhode Island

Coastal homeowners wishing to extend a wall or add a breezeway will no longer be required to install denitrification units. The state Department of Environmental Management rewrote the rule and suspended the requirement for three years. Only renovations costing 50 percent or more of the assessed value of a home – or a septic system failure – would trigger the requirement to install a denitrification system.

The agency also allowed alternative denitrifying technologies permitted in other states to be used in Rhode Island. A third rule change would allow up to 10 pilot installations of each new nitrogen reduction technology. The agency also plans to re-file legislation requiring onsite upgrades as part of property transfers.

 

Iowa

About 40 people in Washington County have filed a class action suit against a planned regional wastewater treatment plant. Residents for a Better Richmond contend that the town could comply with state and national laws by buying new septic systems for all 83 homes for less than it is spending on a new lagoon treatment plant.

The Department of Natural Resources has already fined the unincorporated town of Richmond for allowing sewage to be dumped into a ditch and has threatened further action if pollution violations are not addressed. The town offered residents $1 and free hookups in exchange for easements to use their land for the collection system. Those who did not grant easements would be charged $6,000 to connect, along with a $2,000 fee. The suit alleges that that fee is both illegal and unenforceable.

 

Maryland

Four western counties have formed an advocacy group to lobby for the interests of rural counties in the state. One key bill the group will oppose in 2012 would set restrictions on septic systems. Each county has contributed $5,000 in seed money for the Maryland Rural Counties Coalition, which has hired two lobbyists. The group is recruiting other rural counties in an effort to have a larger voice on the septic system issue and other matters of concern to rural areas.

 

Missouri

As many as 50 failing septic systems in the Ozarks of Missouri will be replaced this year by Ozarks Water Watch, the same number as 2011, under a $1 million grant from the state Department of Natural Resources. The program is targeted for homes in the Upper White River Basin. More information is available at 417/739-5001. An application package is available at www.ozarkswaterwatch.org.