It’s not often that decentralized wastewater comes up as a topic of conversation around my family’s dinner table. But it could right now as a new septic system fee will have an impact on my brother, who lives in Washington state. My older brother, Gary, lives in a beautiful part of the world on the Olympic Peninsula near Port Angeles, Washington. His acre of property sits near the entrance of the Olympic National Park, and in the unincorporated area he enjoys the use of an onsite system and probably always will.

Recently announced, septic system owners in Clallam County, Washington, will be assessed a new $13 per year annual tax to cover the cost of reporting state-required operations and maintenance on onsite systems. It will also cover the cost of homeowner education and outreach related to this recordkeeping. This is among the first such local tax I’m aware of assessed only to septic system users.

What is the response to this new tax from a local property owner? I asked my brother, who is retired and living on — how do they say it? — a fixed income. He is supportive of the measure and I’ll share his response. I’m sure this is the first and only time he’ll be quoted in a wastewater trade publication.

First, he pointed out the county is home to the national park, the Pacific Ocean, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, several wild rivers and close to three major cities with direct water access to the county. And the large, lightly developed area would make any centralized sewage system impractical. Then there are other environmental concerns.

“Much of the county has soils created by glacial runoff, and my yard — in particular — is extremely rocky, adjacent to the Elwah River. These factors mean that our environment is extremely sensitive to any septic system failures,” he told me. “A system of regular septic inspections and remediation is a prudent step, and the $13 annual fee to administer the plan seems reasonable.”

But the former accountant added, “If this fee is shown to be excessive, it should be reduced to recognize the actual cost of the program.”

GOOD STEWARDSHIP

He noted that the beautiful area has no major industrial polluters, so the burden for clean wastewater falls mainly on residential homeowners and small businesses to bear.

“The new rules seem to be a practical way to ensure better practices for our environment,” he said. “It seems to me that any other local government might take our program as a good example for local regulation, but time will tell.”

I think he’s right about that. Time will tell if this type of O&M reporting and the addition to the property tax bill will be shown as valuable and accepted, and therefore spread to counties across the country. This is a tool that can be used like time-of-sale inspections and required periodic inspections and pumpouts as a way to monitor and shore up our aging onsite infrastructure.

Septic systems have proven over time to be a practical alternative to municipal sewer in Clallam County, Washington, and across the country. But as we know, a good percentage of septic systems have performed well beyond their expiration date and should be inspected on a routine basis. And when they fail, these systems should be repaired and replaced using the best available technology to ensure long service life.

Pardon my indulgence including my sibling in this column. But I think his insights are spot-on, and like many septic systems users, he has an appreciation for how a decentralized wastewater treatment allows him to live in a beautiful rural area and keep the environment clean.

Please welcome Sara Heger to Onsite Installer

We’re excited to welcome our new columnist, Sara Heger, as she begins as the Onsite Installer septic system expert. I’m sure most of you know Sara, either through her research and writings from the University of Minnesota, in-person training with her as she travels the country, or interaction with her as the past president of the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association. Heger is a Ph.D, researcher and instructor with the Onsite Sewage Treatment Program at the university’s Water Resources Center, as well as a certified designer and service provider.

Heger’s column, Onsite Insights, replaces our longstanding Basic Training feature produced for many years by the team of Jim Anderson and Dave Gustafson. She worked with both Anderson and Gustafson in the Minnesota program, and both men are familiar to the installer community as top trainers for many years. Anderson has retired and Gustafson remains as a valuable industry trainer and expert.

The topic of Heger’s first column is rather timely, as she explains the term environmental justice as it pertains to onsite community and the need for public support for substandard or failing septic systems. She points out the historic disparity between government aid for public sewer systems — the big pipe — and private onsite systems.

As Heger explains and we’ve discussed many times, roughly 25% of Americans utilize private septic systems, but historically the infrastructure for these systems receive only 2% of wastewater funding. That leaves homeowners — your customer base — bearing the brunt of the costs to ensure functioning systems and a cleaner environment. It doesn’t seem fair, but thankfully things are changing on that front.

HELPING YOUR CUSTOMERS

As Heger notes, the federal government is making strides, recently announcing a plan to devote $100 million in grants to upgrade septic systems in disadvantaged or underserved communities. Further, I’m seeing many emerging programs nationwide offering grants and financial aid for homeowners who choose to upgrade or replace failing systems.

A small example that just crossed my desk is generous federal funding earmarked to replace septic systems lost in the devastating 2020 Holiday Farm Fire in Oregon. It was recently announced that grants from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, will be available up to $35,000 to property owners rebuilding onsite systems after the fire. The amount will be based on a number of factors: type of septic system, landowner income and number living in the household, documented cost of system repair or replacement, and funding coming from other sources.

The same program is also awarding $250 maintenance grants to encourage homeowners near the McKenzie River to regularly inspect their septic systems through a Department of Environmental Quality licensed professional.  

This is one of many assistance programs coming on line that will be great news for your customers who will otherwise struggle to upgrade aging septic systems.