Connecticut Town Promotes Onsite Systems Over Replacement Sewers

The Department of Envi-ronmental Protection concluded that sewers in Old Saybrook, Conn., were polluting the groundwater.

The Department of Envi-ronmental Protection concluded that sewers in Old Saybrook, Conn., were polluting the groundwater. Town officials and members of the Water Pollution Control Authority objected to the idea of replacing the system, calling sewers old technology and an economic burden.

After targeting 15 beach communities where most of the pollution occurs, and inspecting each lot separately, officials turned to individual onsite systems with nitrogen reduction technology to fix specific problems. One selectman called the individual solution tremendously cheaper than sewers, by as much as 50 percent.

The state passed special legislation to create a Wastewater Management District for Old Saybrook, but the town must pass the referendum before any upgrades can be completed.

Arizona

The Department of Environ-mental Quality is recommending that any new developments in the Luna Lake area connect to the Alpine Domestic Water Improvement District to limit the negative effects of total nitrogen.

The agency’s long-term goal is to connect as many residential and commercial facilities to the sewer as possible. The Alpine district is developing a sewer master plan that will tie many areas with onsite systems to its collection system. New onsite systems with voluntary nitrogen reduction technologies are permitted only if connecting to the sewer is impossible.

Florida

A bill to establish grants for low-income property owners to offset the expense of installing nitrogen reduction systems died in the state senate because of cost. However, the 2008 Legislature appropriated $1 million to further develop cost-effective nitrogen reduction strategies.

Part of the appropriation directs the Department of Health to submit a report identifying the costs to implement a mandatory statewide 5-year septic tank inspection program to be phased in over 10 years. The department received an additional $150,000 to inventory all onsite systems, ensuring that it can enforce an inspection program if one is created. The governor may still veto the appropriation.

New York

Effective earlier this year, the state’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems general permit mandates that 20 municipalities and three counties develop management plans for onsite systems as part of the illicit discharge detection and elimination plan. The 2-year permit requires licensed professional engineers or architects to design the drainfields for failing systems, then file a written certificate of compliance, thereby accepting the liability for the installer.

Permittees within New York City east of the Hudson Watershed must develop, implement, and enforce a program that requires property owners to inspect, repair, or replace failing systems by the end of 2009. To comply, stormwater officials will have to ask local governments to enact ordinances that authorize them to carry out the orders.

New York is not the only state where onsite systems are becoming part of stormwater programs. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, also has a general permit covering discharging onsite systems. The link to the New York permit and supporting documentation is at www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8468.html.



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