An Oregon homeowner received a letter from his township saying he needed to hire a certified inspector to inspect his onsite system. He called for the names of NAWT-certified inspectors in his town. This is not an isolated occurrence.
Pumpers must become aware that maintenance and buy-sell inspections with pump-outs are coming. For example, Iowa’s time-of-sale inspection bill took effect in July. Missouri, Massachusetts, Arizona and New Mexico (there probably are more) require inspections for the transfer of property. As of January 2006, Oregon required time-of-transfer inspections for all alternative treatment technologies. As of last April, onsite systems within the Delaware watershed must be inspected before property transfers.
Delaware’s Class H Inspection Program requires mandatory pumping during inspections. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources suggests an onsite system inspection every three years and a pump-out every three to five years. California is battling over regulations requiring onsite inspections every five years and tank pump-outs when they are one-quarter full. If passed, the rule takes effect next July. Some states are building buy-sell inspections into their septic codes as they amend them.
Counties with watersheds often mandate onsite maintenance and point-of-sale inspections. Wisconsin’s Wood and Vilas counties and the Land O’ Lakes area require an inspection every three years. It’s also common in Minnesota. States write the rules, then let the counties implement the requirements, often without any input from the onsite industry. That’s disappointing.
No one has ever controlled his destiny by sitting on his hands. Pumpers must be aware of what is happening at the state level and become involved in policymaking decisions. Many state onsite wastewater associations are working in these areas, and those that are not, should be. People forget that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t regulate onsite systems. It offers management guidance, funds installer and operation/maintenance credentialing, encourages NAWT, and encourages states to do management programs. The states have the authority to write rules.
As states update their septic codes, many require certification in all areas of the onsite industry, not just inspections. NAWT’s training programs prepare pumpers to become competent inspectors. However, if we hold a training session in a state that doesn’t require certification, nobody comes. That’s sad, because pumpers who took our courses at the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International all said how rewarding they were, and looked forward to what came next.
Since we don’t have courses all over the country, NAWT will offer its one-day vacuum truck technician training, two-day inspector training, and two-day, 12-hour onsite operations/maintenance course at the 2010 Pumper Expo.
What’s the difference between the last two courses? Inspector training is geared toward inspecting systems for buy-sell agreements. The operations/maintenance sessions follow the Consortium of Institutes for Decentralized Wastewater Treatment syllabus, but are modified to fit the allotted time. This is a good course for people who took our inspection training and now need eight hours of continuing education for recertification. It covers onsite systems from head to toe with an amazing number of checklists.
Management of onsite systems is coming, and as inspections become more sophisticated, the question of who does them arises. My son and his partner own a septic company in the Philadelphia suburbs. At least 12 municipalities in his service area have management requirements — all different. The rule to pump tanks every three years, however, is wrong. The NAWT approach is to inspect and evaluate each system individually. Pumpers know how to measure sludge volume in tanks. States should set the pumping standard at a percentage of the tank’s capacity. Cleaning tanks unnecessarily doesn’t make systems operate better, and too frequently could harm them.
Some Pennsylvania townships require a maintenance inspection every three years. They provide the inspectors. My son’s company excavates and pumps some of the tanks. That’s a step in the right direction because NAWT-certified pumpers are doing the work. We’d like our industry to provide the inspectors, too. The more pumpers who certify in these areas, the more control we have over what happens to our industry.
Yes, some municipalities have never heard of NAWT or the National Environmental Health Association Certified Installer of Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems national credential. NAWT and NEHA are working with regulators to remedy that oversight through the Memorandum of Understanding partnership. Many agencies are members already. Last fall, the State Onsite Regulators Alliance joined the team. Sitting at the table with them provides the opportunity to demonstrate what NAWT and NEHA do, and the value of our training programs.
What good is certification if the paper means nothing to your local or state authorities? The time is coming when it will mean something. It’s a long time out for the whole country, but it’s happening now, every day, somewhere. Nationally recognized certification is coming, and it will be good for us.
DATES TO REMEMBER
The NAWT Waste Treatment Symposium is Oct. 9-10 at the Renaissance Orlando Resort SeaWorld (www.renaissanceseaworldorlando.com). To qualify for the hotel discount of $150 per night double occupancy plus 12.5 percent taxes, register for your room by calling NAWT at 800/236-6298. These rates apply only for Oct. 8-9, after which they return to $217 per night. The Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference, or WEFTEC, follows at the Orange County Convention Center on Oct. 12-14. You’ll want to stay for that event.
Registration to the Waste Treatment Symposium includes free admission to the WEFTEC exhibit hall on Monday (www.weftec.org), where you’ll find many vendors with information on waste treatment. The symposium’s registration fee is $275 for NAWT members and $375 for nonmembers. Sign up early, space is limited to 200 people. Download the registration form at www.nawt.org. Registrations must be received by Sept. 21. Don’t miss seeing equipment process genuine septage and grease trap waste, and learning from the most competent, knowledgeable people in the field.
