For more than a year, NAWT has been writing a policies and procedures manual, describing our policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill them. It’s important for every professional organization to have one. When issues arose previously, I’d consult the minutes from the Board of Directors meetings, then repeat the procedure to remain consistent. We’re too big to operate like that anymore.
Our six-member Policies and Procedures Committee held long telephone conferences every two or three weeks. A part-time staff person researched what other organizations were doing, gathered information and gave us samples from which we determined what did and didn’t apply. The membership approved the draft at the 2009 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International in Louisville, Ky.
Most of the manual doesn’t affect pumpers, but the ethics and complaints sections do. In 2008, we received two complaints about NAWT-certified inspectors who found the onsite system in failure and cost the homeowner the sale. These people never followed up by putting the facts in writing. Now, persons witnessing behavior or conflict of interest issues can send a letter with their contact information and account of the situation to the Ethics Committee. The committee will explore allegations and report findings to the Board of Directors for resolution.
Since members began comprehensive inspections, NAWT has dealt with upset sellers. They often yell conflict of interest because the inspector who failed the system then offers to install a new one. “The system works,” claims the homeowner in a phone call. “I pump it twice a year.” When I ask why he pumps it that often, he says they know it’s time because the drains run slowly or gurgle. Explaining that pumping twice a year is abnormal will sometimes comfort them, and the persuasion works better because I am a third party with no interest in making money on their problems.
The second call came from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Arizona requires time-of-sale inspections. A homeowner contacted the agency about an inspector and ADEQ asked our procedure for handling the claim. As the number of states requiring pre-sale inspections increase, so will the number of complaints. Having a policies and procedures manual in place will protect our members and maintain our integrity.
A standard inspection procedure, such as NAWT’s, has had credibility with Realtors since inspection programs began. Granted, some regarded me as “Kill the deal Ferrero” in the early days, but most wanted inspections done properly to protect their buyers. Real estate agents bought into the inspection program and have stayed loyal. When we talk to them about conflict of interest, they say, “Your inspectors are trustworthy. If they tell us the system is bad, it’s bad. If they tell us it needs to be fixed, it’s fixed.” Today, everybody in southeastern Pennsylvania does inspections by industry standards. If a company is called to give a second opinion, homeowners can’t assert conflict of interest because the well-defined standards enable the second inspector to arrive at the same conclusion.
Endorsements are another section in the manual. We encourage members to put the NAWT logo in their Yellow Pages ad or on their business stationery and vehicles. The problem arises when member service providers or nonmember companies and organizations put our logo on their products, implying that NAWT endorses them. Not true. From now on, the use of our logo on all products, programs, or services must be approved by the Board of Directors. The applicant must sign a license agreement and possibly pay a royalty. The contract, however, does not create a partnership, and requires review and approval of all marketing materials in advance to protect NAWT’s name and reputation.
Think of the Ethics Committee as the peer review system professionals use to police themselves. Peers have the power to banish those who don’t perform to the standard. Likewise, the Ethics Committee will review substantiated complaints about members falling short of NAWT’s Code of Ethics policy.
Workshop Update
NAWT was invited to bring the pumpers’ perspective to a water softeners and onsite systems workshop. While we all have anecdotal experiences regarding the pros and cons of this relationship, little is known of the impact softened water and water softener regeneration water has on septic tank operation, or on filter and soil absorption area clogging. The workshop task force included the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Water Quality Association (the water softener people), Water Environment Research Foundation, National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association, Consortium of Institutes for Decentralized Wastewater Treatment, and other stakeholders.
With financial assistance from EPA, the workshop’s goal was to create a list of issues that need to be studied, then prioritize the list so work can begin. NAWT presented a survey that defined the pumpers’ concerns and observations, which were consistent with those of other stakeholders. The survey and workshop conclusions are at www.nawt.org.
