Ohio Updates Septic Design & Installation Standards for First Time in 35 Years

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Proposed rule changes for the design and installation of septic systems represent the first update to the standards in 35 years in many areas of rural Ohio. It is estimated that one-fourth of Ohio’s 88 counties have not made any significant updates since the rules were first adopted. About 31 percent of systems statewide need to be repaired or replaced, according to a survey conducted by the Ohio Department of Health.

The state department asked all local health districts and departments to identify the number of household sewage treatment systems – septic tanks and pretreatment systems – and determine how many of those were failing. Failure rates were much higher in the northern and central counties than those reported from the southern portion of the state. The new rules would not apply to existing systems in good working order. The proposal is available for review at www.odh.ohio.gov/HomeSewageRules.

Maryland

A coalition of rural counties in Maryland claims the state’s septic systems regulations have more to do with controlling development in rural counties than with improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The seven counties agree about the importance of improving water quality, but don’t like the way the state is trying to accomplish that goal. The coalition says septic system improvements expected to cost $3.7 billion will reduce nitrogen in the Bay by only 620 tons per year, while the stormwater management pond at the Conowingo Dam dumped an estimated 115,910 tons when it overflowed in a tropical storm in 2011. A spokesman says the most money being spent on nitrogen reduction is for septic systems that contribute the least nitrogen to the Chesapeake Bay compared with stormwater, wastewater treatment plants and agriculture. The state has estimated septic systems contribute about 8 percent of the Chesapeake Bay’s total nitrogen.

Alaska

The owner of a Fairbanks pumping company has been ordered to eliminate odor coming from lagoons filled with septage. Robert Riddle, of Fairbanks Pumping and Thawing, began storing the septage in 2005 with intentions to use it as farm fertilizer. Since 2010, he has accepted another 2.5 million gallons of septage from another company, according to court documents.

The developer of a nearby property filed suit claiming the smell drove neighbors indoors. Riddle claimed he was covered by the state’s Right-To-Farm Act, but the court disagreed, saying he doesn’t qualify as a commercial farm because he doesn’t sell any farm products.

Oregon

It’s been 10 years since new septic tanks were allowed in the city of Medford in southwest Oregon. The city council has now lifted that ban, allowing septic tanks if the property is located more than 300 feet from a sewer line. In 2003, the council voted to prohibit septic systems in the city, turning down a Public Works recommendation to include the distance exception.



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