Septic bill is put on hold by State Water Resources Control Board; Public flush with comments about septic tank rules

Good news for you, if you’re a rural property owner with a septic tank. From the Paradise Post:

It appears the Town of Paradise wasn’t the only one with concerns over the State Water Resources Control Board’s planned septic law. The State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality placed planned septic regulations, AB 885, on hold this week, according to North State Assemblyman Dan Logue.

AB 885, authored by then-Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson in 2000, regulates onsite wastewater treatment systems. The lprocess is currently in the Draft Environmental Impact Report stage. According to the EIR, there are an estimated 1.2 million households statewide that would have to comply, Logue stated.

The new regulations are supposed to be in place by Jan. 1, 2010, but AB 885 included an automatic six-month delay, making the regulations official by July 2010.

The bill’s implementation was put on hold as a result of a public’s outcry that it would cause a significant threat to rural communities, Logue said. The Town of Paradise addressed concerns over the bill at Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting and planned to bring their issues to the state water board. Items of particular concern to the town were regulations like the bill’s requirement for all dispersal systems not be placed under traffic areas. The town has a long standing success rate for placing dispersal fields under pavement in high traffic areas of commercial developments. If the bill was passed, this would have an adverse affect on the town’s commercial development, Onsite Official Doug Danz said at the meeting.

Logue said the bill would significantly affect more than a million California homes, with more stringent requirements that could require many homeowners and businesses to replace their septic systems. The water board supposedly crafted the bill to protect ground and surface water quality from wastewater discharge, he said. But to Logue, and other citizens and local officials, AB 885 over regulates California citizen’s septic systems.

Read more from the Paradise Post by clicking here.

The public had voiced its opposition to the new rules at several meetings around the state, reports the Capital Press:

A Jan. 22 workshop held in Fresno by the State Water Resources Control Board drew a large crowd – as have previous hearings in other parts of the state – and protests over a proposal to require septic system inspections. The board was also criticized for the lack of advance notice about the proposed rules.

Most of the comments questioned the cost estimates for the inspections and the need for a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Real estate industry representatives argued that the 600-foot setbacks asked in the proposal would further cut property values.

“Those setbacks are going to make a lot of property unbuildable,” said plumbing contractor Rick Marklee. “They don’t need to be 600 feet, 100 is plenty.”

Many questioned the estimated costs of the septic tank inspections – $325 plus the requirement that domestic wells on the property be tested every five years.

Currently, tests or inspections on systems are not required unless the property is sold.

Many people at the meeting said the inspection costs would be a burden to many low-income rural property owners. They also questioned the value of an inspection if pumping the system isn’t required.

“Is there a problem with wells being contaminated? How do you justify these costs?” asked Ron Taylor an Auberry property owner.

Read more from the Capital Press by clicking here.

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