Replacing failing septic tanks is one part of a broad bill to improve water quality in Florida. The $380 million cleanup plan proposed by five lawmakers is expected to receive attention this year in the legislature. A septic tank inspection law passed three years ago was later repealed after public opposition.

As drafted, the new bill would require the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and local governments to identify leaking septic systems and replace them – with the state paying the entire bill. The proposal would also require wastewater treatment plants to cut nitrogen from their effluent, require slow-release fertilizers for lawns, require best management practices for agriculture that are now encouraged but not mandated, and ban new water withdrawal permits if they would have a negative effect on water flow in springs, rivers and aquifers.

Ohio

State health officials will try again to enact new septic standards, six years after their last attempt was rescinded when homebuilders and Ohio lawmakers complained they were too expensive. The new proposal would offer homeowners more and lower-cost options, according to the state’s Department of Health.

The rules would require adequate amounts of soil in different regions of the state to treat home sewage. If soil is deemed inadequate for a new or replacement septic system, homeowners would have to install more-expensive treatment equipment or additional soil. The state feels it is necessary because Ohio’s septic-tank law, enacted in 1977, did not set a clear standard for how much soil is needed. The new rules would not force homeowners to replace working systems, but would apply to new houses and replacements for failed septic systems.

State data reveals 4,031 new septic systems were installed statewide in 2012; more than half were standard septic systems with an average cost of less than $8,000.

Idaho

The state Department of Environmental Quality is working on changes to its regulations on the design, construction and operation of septic systems. The revisions will address the installation and use of in-trench sand filters and the development, recording and surveying of septic system easements for local health districts in Idaho.