The 2009 Connecticut Public Health Code proposes changes to septic tank and leaching system regulations. If it is passed, concrete septic tanks would need to include documentation that they reached minimum strength when shipped within 14 days of manufacture. Approved manufacturers of non-concrete tanks would have to keep updated specifications and dated installation instructions on file with the Department of Public Health (DPH).
Riser retrofits would be required only over cleanouts and outlet baffles if effluent filters were provided. Risers on tanks in paved areas would have to extend to grade. Riser and manhole extensions to grade would have to be built to prevent stormwater infiltration. The code would change single-family septic tank size requirements to 1,000 gallons for the first three bedrooms, and 125 gallons per additional bedroom.
Subsurface disposal system plans that include retaining walls would need to provide wall information and specifications, including the type of structure, groundwater control mechanisms (drains, weep holes), footings, and cross-sections showing existing and proposed grades. Walls within 50 feet down-gradient of drainfields would not be allowed to act as hydraulic barriers, and the inner wall edges would have to be at least 10 feet from the drainfield.
New language about manufacturer-authorized leaching systems under driveways and roads would require a 1-foot minimum cover over stone trenches and H-20 load-rated precast concrete structures. Manufacturers would have to keep DPH-dated documentation on file.
Proprietary systems would need to be labeled by July 1 with identification information such as company name and model number. When the code is released, the Connecti-cut Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association will post it at www.cowra-online.org.
In other news, the state Department of Public Health revised its technical standards for septic systems effective Jan. 1, 2009. The updated standards can be downloaded from www.ct.gov/dph. Local health departments conducted seminars around the state to review the changes. In response to legislative action in 2008, the department also revised the notification requirements for proposed septic systems requiring an exception to rules on separation from wells. The owners of such systems must notify nearby property owners by certified mail.
California
Years after they were due, proposed changes to California’s onsite wastewater treatment regulations were released for public comment in November. The regulations are the result of bill AB-885, passed in 2000 to establish a process for developing standard, statewide performance standards for onsite systems. The original deadline for the regulations was Jan. 1, 2004. They are now expected to be effective in 2010.
The text is at www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/septic_tanks. The state water board held a series of workshops and a public hearing for oral and written comments. Many stakeholders, who believe the rules lack legislative oversight, state that current regulations are adequate for certain areas.
Areas of concern include mandatory domestic water well testing and reporting, protocol for groundwater level determinations, soil suitability criteria and prohibitions, manda-tory use of bottom-area-only for dispersal system design, supplemental treatment system effluent standards and monitoring, and requirements for systems near impaired water bodies.
South Carolina
Two revisions affecting South Carolina setback requirements for onsite systems from wells or bodies of water went into effect on Jan. 1. One rule increases the distance between the onsite system and private well or surface water from 50 to 75 feet. The other increases the setback to 100 feet between public wells, surface water, or estuaries and systems with flows of more than 1,500 gpd. The regulations are at www.scdhec.net/administration/regs/docs/61-56.pdf.
Ohio
A bill in the House of Representatives may require rural homeowners to install onsite systems costing as much as $50,000. Based on recommendations from the state’s Household Sewage Treatment System Study Commission, the bill would rescind the 2007 Public Health Council’s rules that provided greater leniency to rural onsite owners.
The new version states that if the cost of the onsite system exceeds the cost of a conventional septic tank and gravel drainfield and exceeds 50 percent of the home’s total cost, the owner is entitled to a variance.
The legislation would require the council to adopt rules prohibiting property owners from using onsite systems when central sewers are accessible. Before granting onsite systems for housing developments with more than 25 lots, local boards of health would have to submit written documentation stating that sewers are not accessible.
Florida
With $1 million appropriated by the state legislature in 2008, the state Department of Health is in the midst of a three-year project to “develop passive strategies for nitrogen reduction that complement use of conventional onsite wastewater treatment systems,” according to its Web site. Preparation of testing sites for field sampling will be done in the next fiscal year. A vendor is completing an inventory of all onsite sewage systems in the state. Visit www.doh.state.fl.us/environ ment/ostds.
The state legislature last year also required a report on the cost of implementing a program to require septic tank inspections every five years. The report said less than 1 percent of Florida’s 2.3 million onsite sewage systems are managed by operating permits and maintenance agreements. The rest are generally serviced only when they fail.
The report says more than half of systems are at least 30 years old and were installed under standards less stringent than current regulations. Repairs to such systems were not regulated until 1987 and many have been modified illegally. The report estimates a total government cost of just over $25 million to institute mandatory inspection. The costs would be recovered by user fees. The cost to home and business owners was estimated at $99 million for permit fees and inspections.
Using a failure rate of 9.5 percent found in three counties with mandatory inspection, the report estimates the total cost of repairs for the private sector to be about $164 million over the five-year program phase-in period. The study also estimated cost to homeowners over the five years just for inspections. For those with systems in good operating condition, the cost would be $612. For those needing repairs, the average cost would be $3,845. The report notes that those costs are “significantly less” than the cost of connecting to a central sewer system.
Visit www.doh.state.fl.us/environ ment/ostds/pdfiles/forms/MSIP.pdf.
