Problems with two of the 13 drip irrigation septic systems in Maryland have prompted a yearlong moratorium on new drip systems in the state. Ponding and other problems over the last several years at two developments in the southern part of the state led to calls for a three- to five-year moratorium from 16 environmental groups.
In a letter to Richard Klein of the Community & Environmental Defense Services, environment secretary Shari Wilson said her department would not process any new permit applications for drip systems until Aug. 1, 2011. “At that time, the department will evaluate the available information to determine the efficacy of the technology and how it should be employed in Maryland,” she wrote.
Wilson also said any systems that have been permitted but not yet built will be allowed to be installed, but all systems will be monitored and any complaints investigated promptly. The 13 permitted drip irrigation systems must install soil moisture sensors (tensiometers) in the drip irrigation field. If soil moisture reaches 90 percent saturation, drip irrigation must be terminated.
“With the above safety measures,” wrote Wilson, “the department anticipates drip irrigation systems can be properly operated to eliminate ponding and runoff.”
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Maryland’s “flush tax” could be used to fill a hole in the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund. Passed in 2004, the Bay Restoration Fee charges each household and septic system $30 a year to help improve water quality in the Bay. An increase to $54 is one option being considered by the advisory committee as a recommendation to the legislature. The fund has a shortfall of $660 million.
Other options under consideration are reducing the amount of state funding used to upgrade local wastewater treatment systems, doubling the length of terms of bonds to 30 years, eliminating operating grants for wastewater systems, or delaying or eliminating some projects. The program to upgrade septic systems to remove nitrogen has already been scaled back. After upgrading some 2,000 systems, the Department of the Environment is prioritizing funding requests to upgrade those that pose the biggest threat to clean water.
Massachusetts
Two environmental groups have filed suit against the EPA, claiming it has not done enough to regulate nitrogen discharges into Cape Cod waters. The Conservation Law Foundation and The Coalition for Buzzards Bay filed the actions in August.
One contention of the lawsuits is the definition of septic systems as non-point pollution sources. The groups claim they should be defined as point sources, which would open septic systems to more stringent regulations under the Clean Water Act.
California
The California Farm Bureau Federation says California’s long-awaited onsite wastewater regulations will include a three-tiered system based on risk to water quality. In a Sept. 15 Ag Alert, the federation reports that the new rules were still in development, but could be ready for passage late in the summer of 2011.
“In their preliminary form, the proposed regulations would divide septic tank installations into three tiers,” wrote federation president Danny Merkley. “The vast majority of currently operating septic systems would have no new requirements unless they are in a Tier 3 area where water quality problems exist,” he said in the online report.
Florida
At least four Florida counties are objecting to new septic system regulations requiring testing of all septics every five years. A petition of about 10,000 people in Holmes County was presented to State Representative Brad Drake in August in support of his efforts to overturn the legislation or exempt rural counties.
Illinois
The Department of Public Health in August proposed changes to the Private Sewage Disposal Code that would require the use of suitable soils for systems “when feasible” and develop licensing and certification for portable sanitation companies and technicians. The rules will also clarify construction and excavation rules dealing with chamber sizing, design and location of sample ports, alarm location, electrical connections, baffle filters, and disinfection devices, among others.
Indiana
New onsite rules go into effect on Jan. 1. The action updates the standards for construction, location and sizing of systems based on the number of bedrooms and the type of soil on the property.
Michigan
About $209,000 in state grant money will go to finding and fixing failed septic systems in the Huron Rivers watershed. It is part of $3.9 million in water quality grants issued in August by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
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Mediation is the next step for the troubled septage plant in Grand Traverse County, Michigan. A tank wall collapsed just a month after the $7.8 million plant opened in 2005 and it has been losing money ever since; about $400,000 in 2010 and an estimated $600,000 in 2011. Local officials say the plant costs more to run than projected and it is taking in half as much septage as expected.
Minnesota
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is considering several updates to its subsurface sewage treatment system regulations. Besides clarifying some terms and correcting minor errors, the proposal makes changes dealing with the requirements for the use of pressure distribution and design of tank maintenance openings, and adds standards dealing with high-strength waste.
Some existing requirements would be simplified, including consolidating and revising soil tables and eliminating some duplicated language. Recent legislative changes dealing with surety bonds and a five-year compliance grace period are also included.
Virginia
The Department of Health extended the deadline for interim regulations on alternative treatment systems from Dec. 31, 2010 to April 7, 2011. The regulations eliminate local governments’ ability to ban alternative technologies and require the systems to be operated according to manufacturer instructions.
They also mandate maintenance contracts and licensing of soil evaluators, installers, system operators and owner-operators. Effluent from systems larger than 1,000 gpd and installed after July 1, 2009, must be tested by a laboratory. If the agency does not adopt the final version based on manufacturer O&M requirements before next April, it can extend the interim rules an additional six months.
South Dakota
Pennington County residents appealed the county’s new onsite ordinance to the courts after they failed to collect enough signatures in time to refer the issue to a public vote. The ordinance, approved in July by the county commission, went into effect in August, subjecting onsite systems to a $20 permit and inspection every six years. It also tightened regulations for installing systems. The appeal, which seeks to overturn the ordinance, will be heard by a circuit court judge.
Oregon
The proposed Legislative Concept 848 would adopt rules for the state Department of Environmental Quality to make grants or loans available for repairing, replacing, or decommissioning onsite systems, and for developing land-applied septage solutions.
The concept also establishes the Subsurface Sewage Disposal System Improvement Fund to help commu-nities address septic system problems. Some of the money would have to be dedicated to courses on onsite installation and operation and maintenance. The DEQ estimates that more than 30 percent of residents use onsite systems and that 10 percent of them are failing.
