Onsite Waste Water Solutions Will Require Cooperation and Compromise

The Missouri General Assembly passed House Bill 89 which had as its original purpose to extend the authority of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to charge fees for permits related to water pollution controls. As the bill proceeded through the legislative process, many additional provisions were added, one of which was:

701.058. The Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Health and Senior Services shall jointly hold stakeholder meetings for the purpose of gathering data and information regarding permits and inspections for on-site sewage disposal systems. The departments shall evaluate the data and information obtained and present their findings and recommendations in a report to be submitted to the general assembly by December 31, 2011.

The first joint stakeholder meeting is being held today, August 1st, in Jefferson City. Ozarks Water Watch along with a group of organizations and individuals that deal either with onsite waste water or water quality is attending this stakeholders meeting. A group (listed below) also developed a list of onsite waste water topics that we felt should be addressed by the stakeholders and at a minimum be included in the Legislative Report to the General Assembly. But our greater hope is that these topics be expounded upon and endorsed by both the regulatory agencies and the legislature. Below are the topics being presented:

• Inspection of Onsite Wastewater Systems at time of property transfer: Although the ideal solution would be to inspect every onsite system, the reality is funding and support are not there. A good long-term solution would be to mandate onsite inspections at the time of property transfer. Systems would not be required to conform to current code if no malfunction was found. Systems which are deemed as malfunctioning would then be required to be either repaired or replaced. Presently the results of the inspection may be used in price negotiations between the buyer and seller without repair or replacement of the system. The Stone County Health Department is an example of implementing a successful ordinance and inspection program.

• Required maintenance of Advanced Systems: While all onsite systems require some level of maintenance, advanced onsite systems (defined as a system with any mechanical device) require a high level of skilled maintenance on a set schedule. We suggest requiring statewide ongoing maintenance of advanced onsite systems by a state registered maintenance provider. The registered maintenance provider should be required to attend classes and pass a test to receive his/her license and should also then be required to have continuing education to renew the license in the same fashion as onsite installers, advanced onsite installers, inspectors and soil evaluators. The private industry service provider should be required to report to the permitting authority monthly all services done and all service contracts expired without renewal. A large part of the financial burden of tracking these service contracts should fall on private industry.

Control Panel for Advanced Onsite Wastewater System

• Regulation and tracking of onsite pumpers: There needs to be increased regulation of the onsite pumping industry. Pumpers need to be trained and registered the same as other onsite professionals. There needs to be an audit trail of every load pumped that includes how the septage was disposed. Land application of septage needs to be documented via a nutrient plan much like CAFO wastes with appropriate soil nutrient tests and the area inspected regularly by a regulator.

In addition, our group strongly recommends that a permanent stakeholders committee be instated to better serve the decentralized and onsite wastewater needs and issues of Missouri at various scales. Since the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MDHSS) typically serves wastewater flows of less than 3,000 gallons per day while the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) serves flows greater than 3,000 gallons per day plus most commercial decentralized flows, a structured flow of communications between the two agencies as well as a permanent decentralized wastewater stakeholders group will foster greater understanding, education, and standardization across the various scales of the decentralized wastewater profession. This inception could be instrumental in providing greater accessibility of land-based treatment technologies and systems as standards for discharge based systems, especially for small rural communities, become more stringent, technical, and costly. We recommend that the stakeholders committee be comprised of representatives of the appropriate agencies, professional decentralized wastewater organizations, water quality organizations, academic professionals involved in research and teaching within the wastewater professional as well as at least one representative from each of the following decentralized wastewater areas: treatment technology, dispersal technology, inspection personnel, and an operations and maintenance provider.

The above was respectfully submitted at today's meeting by:

Upper White River Basin Foundation, d/b/a Ozarks Water Watch

Ozarks Clean Water Company

Missouri Smallflows Organization

National Onsite Wastewater and Recycling Association (NOWRA)

White River Valley Environmental Services

Table Rock Lake Water Quality

Elk River Watershed Improvement Association

Shoal Creek Watershed Improvement Group

Watershed Committee of the Ozarks

James River Basin Partnership

Ozarks Water Watch will continue to participate in these Onsite Stakeholder meetings and will make available the report to the Missouri General Assembly when it is published.

Quote of the Week

~ We think of our land and water and human resources not as static and sterile possessions but as life giving assets to be directed by wise provisions for future days. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt 

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