The troubled Grand Traverse County septage plant will lose about $3.4 million by 2014, according to an independent accounting and engineering study released last November.

Just a month after the $8 million plant opened in 2005, a concrete holding tank collapsed, resulting in $2 million in repairs. Besides design and construction flaws that led to the collapse, the study says the plant is too large for the amount of septage available. It currently accepts 4.5 million gallons a year but requires a flow of 19 million gallons to be financially solvent. The analysts’ report says use of the plant will double by 2030, but it will still be at only 43 percent capacity.

Analysts recommended an annual fee for septic users to help offset the losses. A special property tax assessment may also be needed, according to the Traverse City Record-Eagle newspaper. The fee for septic pumping would also have to increase from $344 today to $895 by 2014.

Taxpayers in several townships are responsible for the plant’s finances, but the county also sold bonds to help finance the project, prompting concerns about the county’s bond rating.

In other news from the state, the Michigan Septic Tank Association formed a political action committee to support politicians who oppose laws that went into effect in October 2004. The laws grant local governments power to ban land application and dictate where to dispose of septage.

ARIZONA

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is developing a long-term mitigation strategy to reduce the impact of septic systems on water quality in a popular recreational area. The goal of the program is to reduce the amount of nitrogen discharged into the San Francisco River and the manmade Luna Lake, located in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.

According to a 2000 study, 36 percent of the total nitrogen entering the waters comes from septic systems. According to the department’s Web site, “Con-ventional septic systems do not adequately treat wastewater or otherwise remove contaminants such as total nitrogen. In contrast, there exist several alternative nitrogen-reducing onsite wastewater treatment systems that effectively reduce the nitrogen and bacteria, thus limiting adverse water quality impacts.”

ADEQ recommends as many new and existing residential and commercial buildings as possible be connected to the area’s wastewater treatment plant, which is developing a master plan to extend sewer service. Alter-natively, it recommends nitrogen-reducing technologies for remaining septic systems.

CALIFORNIA

It appears proposed state onsite regulations will be finalized by December 2009. The rules determine groundwater levels for new onsite systems, requirements for supplemental treatment and dispersal systems, and requirements for protecting impaired surface waters. New and existing system requirements differ.

A proposed waiver allows onsite owners to avoid filing waste discharge reports to regional water boards, provided the discharge doesn’t impair or threaten to impair state waters. Regional water boards would retain the authority to issue individual waste discharge requirements or region-wide waivers if they are no less stringent than the proposed waiver.

Owners with existing systems must have their tanks inspected every five years by a qualified service provider and keep the documentation. Owners of systems within 600 feet of impaired surface water bodies must have a qualified professional determine if their system is contributing to the impairment and, if so, retrofit it with supplemental treatment.

DELAWARE

New septic tank rules are part of a larger effort to protect water quality in the state’s inland bays. “The Pollution Control Strategy is designed to reduce the amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the inland bays and their tributaries to levels required to meet water quality standards,” said the Department of Natural Resources in a news release.

The new rules require pump-out and inspection of septic systems during real estate transfers. Advanced treatment for nitrogen reduction is required for all new and replacement systems on properties located within 1,000 feet of tidal waters and wetlands. All new and replacement systems are required to meet the nitrogen reduction standard by 2015. The agency says groundwater accounts for about 80 percent of the freshwater entering the bays.

HAWAII

Need a permit for a septic system in Hawaii? You can now apply and pay for septic system permits over the Internet, the first electronic permitting system for the Department of Health and part of the state’s effort to expand online permitting and government services.

The DOH is promoting the service for professional engineers as being faster and environmentally friendly. Licensed engineers can sign up for the service at http://wastewater.ehawaii.gov.

MAINE

Last November, state voters approved the authorization of a $3.4 million bond issue for drinking water programs and construction of wastewater treatment facilities. The Maine Subsurface Wastewater Program is beginning the process to update septic system regulations.

The proposals came after study by an outside task force made up of site evaluators, local plumbing inspectors, system installers, system inspectors and equipment suppliers and manufacturers, and changes recommended by the department. A summary and details of the proposals are available at www. maine.gov/dhhs/eng/plumb/index.htm.

MARYLAND

The Maryland Board of Public Works voted last November to approve more than $6.6 million in Bay Restoration Funds to upgrade septic systems to prevent excess nitrogen from getting into the state’s waterways. Seven counties will receive $277,000 to $1.9 million to upgrade septic systems with nutrient removing technology. According to a board news release, the 400 upgrades will prevent 6,000 pounds of nitrogen from reaching the environment.

At the same meeting, the board approved several other actions to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay, including $1.5 million for further upgrades to a wastewater treatment plant and a sewer extension program to a community with failing septic systems.

OHIO

New statewide onsite regulations appear to be on the horizon. A task force is rewriting the law overseeing septic rules and making recommendations for new septic system policy. State Sen. Capri Cafaro (D-Hubbard) says the recommendations would be released soon, then given to the legislature. A moratorium on imposing new rules, approved two years ago, expires in 2009.

PENNSYLVANIA

Last November, voters overwhelmingly adopted a measure allowing the state to borrow $400 million for water and sewer improvements. Some 2,200 drinking water systems and 1,060 wastewater systems must spend an estimated $20 billion to meet federal and state clean water standards.