Name and title or job description: Gene Bassett, owner
Business name and location: E.C. Bassett Construction Inc., Edgewood, New Mexico
Services we offer: We do septic installations, pumping and inspections.
Age: 67
Years in the industry: 42. Before I got into this, I owned a backhoe to dig waterlines on the ranch. People began moving into the area in the 1970s and started asking for our help when they needed digging for different projects, then it was digging waterlines, and eventually they were asking if we could install septic tanks. I started thinking I’d better get licensed so I did that, which took me from 1979 to 1982.
Association involvement: I’ve been a member of the Professional Onsite Wastewater Reuse Association of New Mexico since it started around 2000 and I’m currently on the board of directors. I’ve also served three terms on the board of the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association. And I’m currently on the board of the National Association of Wastewater Technicians, and served as president for two terms.
Benefits of belonging to the association: You meet interesting people and we put on a lot of classes. We work with the Environmental Improvement Board on regulatory issues. A big thing we did from 2005 to 2007 was change some regulations. A few of us met with the state and one day, when we got into an argument about what needed to be changed, the bureau chief of the Liquid Waste Division of the New Mexico Environment Department said, “If you don’t like what we’re proposing, why don’t you petition the EIB, and you bear the burden of changing the regulations?” So Link Summers, another board member, and I took that on from 2004 to 2005. We agreed with the state on a lot of the regulations but also wrote our own version, redlining the areas of disagreement. The EIB listened to arguments on those areas, and made decisions. We got a lot done including requirements for access risers at ground level, transfer inspections, low-pressure pipe for drainfields, effluent filters. We also worked on education requirements. We wanted a two-level system — a basic level 1 for installing conventional tanks, and a more advanced level 2 for alternative systems. The state fought us on everything. The EIB mostly ruled in our favor but it caused some animosity with the state for a long time. The education requirement was pulled out in 2007, which has come back to haunt the state because of poorly installed systems.
Biggest issue facing your association right now: We need to press forward and go for another rule rewrite on that two-tier education. But the issue for us is lack of time. We’re all working and can’t just take time off to work on it.
Our crew includes: It’s been tough since COVID, so right now it’s just Diego Yanez and me. He’s 18 and hasn’t missed a day.
Typical day on the job: I start around 6 in the morning doing book work, lining stuff up, checking out sites using the internet and getting things ready for Diego. Diego and I take off together between 7:30 and 8 and work seven or eight hours. Sometimes we’re pumping all day, sometimes doing maintenance on systems. Two or three days a week we’re repairing poorly installed systems.
The job I’ll never forget: I’m working on a system that was installed three or four years ago. We’re adding on to the drainfield and replacing the plastic tank that wasn’t installed correctly because the installer had no clue what he was doing and the inspectors did not do a good job. It’s one of the tightest jobs I’ve ever done and slow going because of overhead and underground power lines. I’m using a Caterpillar 305 excavator — but may have to get a smaller one — and a Caterpillar 259 skid loader. We’re putting in a plastic tank because a crane wouldn’t be able to get in there to set a concrete tank because of the power lines. But we’ll compact it and do it right. The other tank was never compacted correctly.
My favorite piece of equipment: Right now it’s either the Caterpillar 430 backhoe or the 305 excavator. I like running both of them and they do the most work. It’s getting so I do less with the backhoe because of tight spots but I enjoy running it. I had to go more to the excavator because of the 360-degree swing.
Most challenging site I’ve worked on: I replaced a system and put in some new tanks in a postage stamp-sized area. I had to break the rock out, then move it to the other side of the lot, then haul it off. It was a challenge getting in there.
Oops, this didn’t work out as planned: I did a project for a guy who had a limiting layer (bedrock). I put a bunch of new trenches in. They were shallow and met code. The amount of water he and his wife used was more than the system could handle. I put valves in, which I had to do because I had the valves out of the old drainfield. They had been in there for 10 years. I put in new drainfields, curved them around all these fine trees and everything. But they never worked out right. What I wish I had done instead of putting in valves is put in a dropbox setup so when one trench fills up it goes to another trench, then another. I think the three trenches working together would have been the correct way to do it with the dropbox instead of the valves. The homeowner can open all the valves but they’re different elevations based on the slope. What I proposed initially was putting a pump tank behind the septic tank and pump to an area that had the best soil. But people were telling him, no, pumps aren’t any good, so he wanted to stay away from pumps. I’ve had good luck with them so I didn’t think I’d have a problem with it.
The craziest question or comment from a customer: I was pumping out a system for a guy. We’d had some rain, the weeds were tall, and I was backing up into the sun to get to the tank. I hit one side of the gate post and knocked it over just a little bit. I told the guy we’d come back and fix it, no problem. And I told him that if the gate had been wider I could have backed up closer, and he said okay, he’d enlarge it for the next time. A few days later he called and said, “Did you look at your internet?” His wife had written a bad review.
If I could change one industry regulation, it would be: There are several I would change. One, to get rid of the requirement that a homeowner with an onsite system has to hook up to city sewer if it’s in the area. Two, to require more education. And, three, give struggling homeowners with onsite systems the same access to federal funds for repairs and upgrades as the municipalities have with the EPA’s Clean Water Revolving Fund. The EPA says money that comes from the federal government can be used for both, but the big pipe guys with a big lobby fight that.
Best piece of small business advice I’ve heard or came up with: If I had it to start all over again, the best advice I can give is take good care of your equipment. And don’t worry what the competition is charging, charge what you have to to take care of yourself.
If I wasn’t working in the wastewater industry, I would like to: I started out running equipment on interstate highways and road jobs. Young me liked running equipment, but he’s not around any more. And I’m not into golfing or fishing but I enjoy watching baseball and football.
Crystal ball time – This is my outlook for the wastewater industry: You can’t sewer the whole world, so I see nothing but a bright outlook for a young septic professional. Onsite systems are not going away. If you want to start out young, and you keep your equipment in good condition and don’t worry about what others are charging, you’ve got a bright future — but you have to show up, which some people are having trouble with these days.
