Usually I have not addressed business or ethical questions in this column, leaving them to others more knowledgeable than I in these areas. However, over the past year, a couple of people in the industry I have known and had a lot of respect for have been caught doing downright illegal activities, convicted, fined and jailed. Personally, this makes me sad, angry and upset. There is the feeling of being betrayed by people I thought — up until these events — were models for the industry and part of what is good about independent family businesses.

Beyond my personal feelings being hurt, the real damage by these actions is the damage they do to the industry. Many people still believe this industry consists of backward, less educated, dishonest service providers only looking out for themselves, flaunting rules and regulations. They use the bad examples to argue that independent portions of the industry do not serve their clients or society well and that the industry should be restructured in another more-easily regulated and controlled form.

In 2005, the Consortium of Institutes for Decentralized Wastewater Treatment published a manual to be used as part of a service provider operation and maintenance education program. One chapter in the manual discusses ethics and tries to make the case for recognizing that the day-to-day decisions we make affect not only the service providers’ credibility, respect and admiration from others, but the entire industry. 

SEEK RESPECT

You have heard this before: Service providers need to function as professionals. Being professional means that you (we) know the applicable state and local rules and regulations. When working with customers, the service provider honestly and consistently applies these rules and regulations to every situation. If two clients in different situations ask a question, it is answered the same way, not changing the answer because you think it is a way to get the job or a way to cut corners in terms of pricing.

Over time, your peers and customers will recognize you are a source of honest, credible information based on best practices and in accordance with current rules and regulations. When you have this level of credibility, people will believe and follow what you say because they have confidence it is the correct thing to do and they have confidence in the job you will do for them. At the same time, it builds the credibility of the industry because the customers know and believe the answers and recognize there is more behind the answers than just your opinion.

Competing honestly and lawfully while growing your business through your own skills gives you the respect of your peers in the industry and your customers. Competing honestly means you provide straightforward contracts without hidden clauses that increase customer costs or allow you to do work that was not ordered specifically.

This is a complaint I have heard about our industry from some people who work for property management firms: They order what they think is a straightforward job such as adding a manhole riser, only to be hit with a bill for unrelated work that was not specifically spelled out. While sometimes this work may be needed, it should not be completed without consulting the client and raising awareness of why the additional work is necessary. Not doing this is, in my view, unethical. Effective communication builds respect for you and your business from others, helps educate customers about the industry, and creates confidence that the work and your actions protect human health and the environment.

INDUSTRY BLACK EYE

Service providers should avoid any acts that promote their individual interests at the expense of the integrity of the industry. One of the people I mentioned at the start of this column was cited, fined and jailed for illegally dumping septage into a nearby stream. This dumping was apparently not a one-time thing, but continuous over years. All the while this individual passed himself off as a leader in the industry and in support of rules and laws to ensure land application was allowed and done properly.

His customers relied on his advice and believed he was doing the best possible work to protect them and the environment, only to find out he was not doing that at all and was profiting from his actions because the rules were not followed. This gives our entire industry a black eye; it reduces public confidence in the industry to do this important job and makes it harder to maintain the industry. The customers want and expect their service providers to protect human health and the environment, not dirty the waters or use unsafe practices. It makes them ready to accept other alternatives, such as sewers or other management entities that can impact your business.

In addition to operating ethically and honestly, being part of and actively involved in professional organizations at local, state and national levels can help foster and promote ethical behavior among your peers and help make the case for this industry being the long-term solution to our nation’s wastewater treatment needs.