Stiffer Regulation Aids Onsite Industry Professionalism

The Onsite Wastewater Professionals of Illinois favors continuing education, licensing measures to improve systems and protect the environment.
Stiffer Regulation Aids Onsite Industry Professionalism
Rick Maguire

You used to be able to get an installer license in Illinois by simply writing a check. Requiring an exam and continuing education has improved the qualifications of installers and pumpers, and regulatory changes over the years have improved the quality of systems going into the ground.

The Onsite Wastewater Professionals of Illinois was formed in 1997 in response to proposed septic code changes, according to Rick Maguire, past president of the group and former member of the Illinois Department of Public Health Onsite Wastewater Advisory Commission, and Steve Johnson, a founding OWPI member and current board member, who also chairs the group’s annual conference committee. The organization now has about 300 members.

There’s a complex history in Illinois. Can you take us back to the beginning?

Johnson: We were chartered in 1997. At the time, Illinois allowed surface discharge anywhere and environmental groups had threatened to sue. Our goal was to speak for contractors, regulatory agencies, designers, engineers, service personnel, portable restroom people, pumpers, anyone who has a stake in the game.

Eventually, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in 2006 proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits on all surface discharge systems. The Department of Health tried to write a regulation but it wasn’t acceptable to some legislators, so the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency got involved and regulations took effect in 2014. (See sidebar.)

Were you happy with the outcome?

Maguire: I’d say we agree with most of the changes. Overall, we came up with a good compromise.

Johnson: Compared to what it could have been, it’s manageable. Change is a scary thing; it made things much more difficult and expensive. Some installers were doing mainly surface discharge systems and that came to a halt. Right now, we’re in a “let’s take a breath” mode to see how things shake out. DPH is talking about reactivating its Advisory Commission to start addressing some of the issues in our state code. As an organization, we don’t have a punch list of items, but we’ll be involved.

Are you happy with the status of the onsite wastewater industry in Illinois?

Maguire: We have the right amount of government, just enough to make sure everybody plays by the rules. Designs are more site specific, utilizing the soils instead of just putting in a tank and discharging to a ditch. It’s raised awareness of installers and they’re trying new things, which helps the industry.

Johnson: It varies from county to county. The farther north you go, the more restrictive they are because it’s more urban. Farther south is more rural, a different area, different population density. But there are minimum standards now that have raised the bar.

While the EPA surface discharge issue was being settled, were there other regulatory changes taking place?

Maguire: We did get mandatory maintenance into the state code and that will help. Septic tanks with a seepage field have to be evaluated every five years, sand filters and waste stabilization ponds every year, and aerobic treatment units every six months. All others have to be maintained according to manufacturer specifications. There are also requirements dealing with pumping frequency of various systems and recordkeeping.

Johnson: If you’re concerned with what’s going out, require mandatory service. It makes people responsible and holds them accountable for the treated effluent they’re producing.
Continuing education was one of the changes that threw a lot of contractors for a loop initially. To get a license, you now have to pass an exam and get continuing education. It became effective January 2014 and contractors needed training hours by January 2015; it’s only three hours per year.

Did you support that?

Johnson: Absolutely, but we wanted more than three hours. Any organization that wants to improve professionalism would support it. Having to take an exam cut the number of license holders roughly in half; people who didn’t really do it for a living or were just putting in a tank and piping it to the ditch. Those people are gone.

We offer 16 hours of training at our annual conference in February. For a state-level show, it’s a pretty decent show and all the major players are there. We partner with the Portable Sanitation Association International for their training and exam, and host a room for the Illinois Department of Public Health for licensing pumpers and installers, and we offer a refresher course prior to the test.

We also partner with local health departments. We have a program that will provide seed money to help them do outreach and training for contractors.

How is the relationship between the industry and the regulators?

Maguire: It’s going extremely well. When we were in the heat of the battle I wouldn’t have said that. After the last two or three years, we have a good rapport with not only the Department of Health but with both Illinois and U.S EPA. The relationships improved drastically.

What’s the key to improving such relationships?

Johnson: Communication. We have to realize that we’re all in the same field, whether you’re sitting behind a desk as a regulator or sitting on a backhoe. Changes are coming. Technology improves, populations change, the economy changes, and all of that comes into play. You have to keep an open line of communication and not make it adversarial. In our situation, nobody came away with everything they wanted but everybody got enough of what they wanted.



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