How will the Single Family Homeowner Comply with the new Virginia Emergency Alternative Septic Regulations

The Emergency Alternative Onsite Sewage System (AOSS) Regulations were published September 28, 2009 by the Virginia Department of Health and the comment period is open until October 28, 2009.

The single family homeowner who has an AOSS will not have and easy time complying with the requirements of the regulations. The Virginia code and the Emergency regulations require the owner of an AOSS, have that system operated by a licensed operator, as defined in § 32.1-163, and visited by the operator as specified in the operation permit. Very few homeowners have seen the operating permit for their septic system and most are unaware of its requirements. In addition, it is possible to have an AOSS and not know it.

Effective July 1, 2009, oversight of soil scientists and septic construction and repair companies was transferred from the Department of Health to the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR). Virginia law now requires that soil evaluators, installers, and operators of onsite sewage systems to be licensed by the Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Works Operators and Onsite Sewage System Professionals at the DPOR. Any individual who was previously certified by the Department of Health for construction and/or repair of septic systems can get an interim license.

Prior to July 1, 2009, Virginia law did not require a license to practice as an onsite sewage system installer or operator. To make the transition smoother, any individual that was practicing as installers or operators could obtain an interim license from DPOR. As I understand it, anyone operating in any aspect of septic can obtain a license to perform any of the tasks, qualified or not. It appears as if the license is merely evidence of currently involvement in the septic business, not ability to operate an AOSS. Because the program is new, DPOR does not have any complaint history or even a list of licensed contractors available in your area.

Previously, county Department of Health qualified individuals to perform these tasks and to a limited extent could remove their permit if their work was unsatisfactory. Single family homeowners have any easily accessible tools at their disposal to determine who should be the operator of their AOSS, merely having a license is not evidence of competence. Supposedly, Virginia is requiring licensed operators to operate and maintain all AOSSs to protect public health and the environment, because homeowners cannot operate these systems themselves.
This is very much an example of let the homeowner beware. Verifying a license is not a substitute for checking references with both other homeowners and the Department of Health and local engineers. Many county offices of the Department of Health used to maintain a list of qualified contractors to install AOSSs. Some of these lists are still on line or can be obtained from the county office. That is the basic list to start with or start with the contractor who installed your system. That information is available from the Department of Health. Next call each contractor and ask if they operate and maintain your type of system. If you do not know what type of system you have, go outside and write down the name from the power boxes and lids you can piece the information together from the component names.

Find two or three contractors who state that they are familiar with and licensed to operate and maintain your system. Get copies of their maintenance contracts and read them. Are the required visits included? How many emergency calls are included under the contract? What about minor adjustments and repairs, pumping the tanks every few years, etc. Understand what is included. Ask for references and call them and find out if customers are happy with the contractor. Ask about the training and experience of the person who will actually make the site visit. Next, call the local Department of Health office to determine how many and what type of complaints are listed against the contractor in the files still available. Additional information you might ask about is the contractor familiar with regulations, are they proactive and easy for the Department of Health to work with. Talk to them, they are your best source of information. Finally, it is important to verify that the contractor is familiar with your specific system, knows how to determine that the system is actually operating properly and knows how to repair the system if there are problems. Call the manufacturer of the system and ask about certification and training that an operator should have. Then make sure that your operator is properly trained.

As you are faced with the work to find a qualified operator, the possibility of a Department of Health managed option looks attractive. The local county Departments could engage a qualified and licensed individual or firm to operate and maintain various types of AOSSs. Any single family homeowner could choose to have the contract managed by the Department of Health and pay the monthly fee of $25-$40 to the Department of Health to operate their system. For those home owners who felt unsure at how to select a “good” contractor, the Department could manage the process. The benefits of this approach would be that the Department of Health could serve as quality control for the process. The Department by being the customer could ensure that public health and the environment were protected, but would not be on site to observe systems alarms and ensure they were responded to in a timely fashion or even responded to at all. The downside is that the Department of Health has only dealt with contractors in a limited environment during the approval process for installation and really has no experience with contractors as operators. Nor does the Department have any demonstrated expertise in contract negation and management. Finally, the contractor would first serve the department of health not the customer, and this approach would hinder the development of a healthy marketplace and could be influenced by criteria not in the homeowners best interests. So I am afraid that the best course is to get to work in finding a qualified operator for your system.

A final note. I have negotiated a 25% discount on the annual contract for a group within my HOA. You might band together with your neighbors if there are a number of AOSSs in your neighborhood. Also, you could divide up the work of checking references, reviewing contracts, and verifying training and license.

Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Regulations for Alternative Septic Systems Part 4

On Thursday, August 20th, 2009 the fourth and final meeting of the Virginia Department of Health “Alternative On site Sewage Systems Emergency Regulations Ad Hoc Committee” took place. I have participated in the process representing the homeowner’s point of view. Legislation approved in 2009 (HB 2551, Acts of Assembly, 2009, Ch 220) requires the Board of Health to promulgate emergency regulations to establish performance requirements and horizontal setbacks necessary to protect public health and the environment for alternative on site sewage systems. The regulations must go into effect no later than April 6, 2010 and must also contain Operation and Maintenance requirements for alternative on site sewage systems. It is the goal of the Virginia Department of Health to promulgate the regulations in the third quarter and have them go into effect before the end of the year.

For the final meeting, members of the Ad Hoc Committee and the Department of Health made a full court press to pull together and wrap up the process. I for one found the meeting and the materials provided both thought provoking and satisfying. The Committee was able to come to a consensus thanks in a large part to the able facilitation by Bruce Dotson of CSR of the University of Virginia. All the loosely controlled discussions of various people’s point of views allowed the Committee members to develop an appreciation of other perspectives to enrich our understanding of the difficulty of the problem. This broadening of our viewpoints allowed us to be accepting of the majority opinion for the scope of the performance requirements and horizontal setbacks necessary achieve our goal. Hopefully, the suggestions of the Committee will be incorporated into the emergency regulations.

To a large extent the final vote of the Committee was impacted by the materials provided by other Committee members. Colin Bishop of Bord Na Mona Environmental Products provided some research articles that clarified, for me, the issues on horizontal setbacks despite the reasonable arguments for a narrower limit for engineer designed systems. Most influential in my thinking was some of the older, but still valid research from the RS Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory in Ada, Oklahoma. When I worked for the US EPA this was the laboratory providing the groundwater research that was used in the development of groundwater models and regulations. The study by Marylynn V. Yates points out that septic tanks contribute 800 billion gallons of waste water per year to the subsurface. The study found that the most important factor influencing groundwater contamination by septic tanks is the density of systems in an area and the distance to the contamination point. It is as simple as that. The fewer systems per square mile the less chance of contamination. Distance from a septic system, the so called horizontal set backs are the final protection from harm especially for those of us who obtain our drinking water from private water supplies.

In a memo, Merle Fallon and a co-author who are very familiar with Department of Environmental Quality regulations pointed out that the Virginia Department of Health regulations for clustered system should be compatible with the current DEQ regulations for operators of alternative on site sewage systems. The rules for the operators should be substantially the same. In addition they point out that a single set of horizontal set backs will provide consistency. Though secondary treatment levels provided by alternative on site systems might allow the reduction in setback in some circumstances, using the standard setbacks allows for simplicity and provides a secondary degree of protection. When the Committee voted (thought it was in reference to engineered designs horizontal setbacks) it was in overwhelming support that the horizontal setbacks from drinking water, property lines and surface water were to be maintained for single family alternative septic systems. The balance of providing a reasonable secondary level of protection, especially in environmentally sensitive areas, defined as proximity to surface and drinking water supplies while allowing development and use of property was achieved. At least for me the logic of the argument presented by Marcia and Merle and information provided by Colin was most convincing. Virginia’s water supply is one of its great assets and should be carefully protected to ensure that the Commonwealth can continue to grow and prosper in years ahead.

Loudoun County Health Department Leading the Way in Virginia

Starting next month (July 1, 2009) Loudoun County, Virginia will be requiring all non- traditional septic systems, which were permitted before November 2, 2008 to be inspected annually. Non-traditional systems approved after November 2, 2008 will require annual inspection and an annual maintenance contract. This regulation should ensure that non-traditional septic systems are appropriately maintained and operated in their county. These non-traditional septic systems include: aerobic tank or ATU’s, peat filter systems, single and re-circulation sand filters, mound, drip dispersal, spray and low pressure dispersal. Manufacturers of these systems include but are not limited to: Advantex, Aquarobic, Puraflo, Eco-Flo, Whitewater, FAST, BEST, American Drip, and Geoflo.

Though the three chamber system also known as aerobic tank or ATU system is becoming the most popular alternative type system, it is also the most sensitive to improper use and maintenance. They are great when they work, but you need to baby them. These systems were discussed in a previous post. The other non-traditional systems are essentially other methods of replacing a traditional leach field with other filtering methods.

The peat media filter system is a traditional septic tank with peat filtration system instead of a leach field. The filtration system is the aerobic portion of the treatment and is located in tanks which are filled with peat moss. The water is evenly spread over the peat moss then seeps through the media and has a place to collect at the bottom. The peat is an excellent media for allowing the natural secondary treatment of the sewage waste to take place: Absorption and filtration of any impurities chemical adsorption, and microbial assimilation. As a result, these systems are typically capable of removing 90% or more of the polluted mater (characterized as BOD, SS, Coli forms and E. Coli). The life of these systems are 15 years or less until the media is exhausted and needs to be replaced.

Sand filters are a type of aerobic treatment system these are less effective treatments than a peat medium system removing only around 70% of the polluted matter, but that is usually enough in the instances where they are used. These systems date back to the last century and were generally installed above ground to solve a problem with a failing septic. There are single pass sand filters and multi pass re-circulating sand filters. Both types of sand filter are built in a watertight container. Though these systems could be excavated and buried, but they are usually visible and above ground. In addition to physically filtering the water, they perform as a biological filter. A Mound is another form of above ground filtration system. The mound is used as an intermittent sand filter to treat waste water and to disperse effluent through the natural soil. These kind of filtration systems are usually very visible and can be very unsightly.

The basic principles for drip distribution are the same as for other soil-based treatment systems: filtering and bacterial decomposition of waste. The difference is that a drip distribution system distributes the effluent evenly over a large area. A drip distribution system has four main parts: a pretreatment device, a pump tank, a filtering/flushing device, and the distribution system.

I will watch with interest as the Loudoun County program is rolled out. The one area where the county did not think out the implications of their program was requiring all existing system inspections to take place between May 1 and June 30th annually. They need to spread these inspections throughout the year. Their program could serve as a model and test for the new Commonwealth of Virginia regulations required under § 32.1-164 of the Code of Virginia. Loudoun County’s proactive stance could serve the rest of the state in working out all the roadblocks and hurdles for the proper functioning of the regulatory scheme.