Published September 2007

Maryland Onsite Association Lobbyist Fights Septic System Funding Cuts

By Scottie Dayton (page 26)

The association established the Onsite Political Action Group, which hired a lobbyist to represent the onsite industry.

The Maryland Onsite Wastewater Professional Association has temporarily stalled three bills cutting funding for septic upgrades within the Bay Restoration Fund by more than $3 million. The association established the Onsite Political Action Group, which hired a lobbyist to represent the onsite industry. Since then, the bills were withdrawn in committee by their sponsors.

The threat to eliminate funding returned as lawmakers began working on topics for the 2008 legislative session. One of the Maryland association’s key activities was at the August Maryland Association of County Officials annual conference, where members met with senators and delegates to voice their concerns.

The association also is organizing meetings with key legislators to draft an industry-sponsored bill, and with lobbyists for the industry.

“We learned that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Agriculture lobby are making a significant effort to compromise the Septic Replacement Program by convincing legislators to slowly eliminate the funding support,” says association president Robert Sheesley. “Because the onsite industry raised its voice in protest of these actions, it is now being heard by influential people, and they are listening.”

Pennsylvania

A draft of Pennsylvania’s Administration of Sewage Facilities Permitting Program contains at least two proposed regulations expanding the authority of the Department of Environmental Protection beyond what the General Assembly granted.

As proposed, the sewage enforcement officer certification renewal fee is six times greater than allowed by law. The existing statute states $50 for two years, while the new fee would be $300 for two years.

In another section, the law provides that in the absence of a violation, a landowner can remove an existing building, replace it with a new building of equal sewage flow, and connect it to the existing onsite system without a permit. The proposed regulation states that a permit isn’t required if a local agency determines that it issued the permit for the onsite system.