Proposed Septic Rules Facing Less Opposition
Post on: 2011-11-02 By: admin
The state Water Resources Control Board is set to take public comment on the revised rules Wednesday in a meeting at the Wells Fargo Center in Santa Rosa.Initial public feedback and light turnout at two hearings last week on the issue in other parts of the state suggest that critics may be less alarmed by the new proposal.That's in stark contrast to the response in 2009, when critics packed hearings and helped beat back rules they saw as heavy-handed. The scrapped rules would have affected nearly all 45,000 septic tank owners in Sonoma County, requiring regular system tests and retrofits of up to $45,000 for a wide range of residential properties. The new proposal would more narrowly focus the strongest regulations on landowners with systems that are failing or are near polluted waterways, lakes, bays or ponds. They still could be on the hook for mandated testing and upgrades costing tens of thousands of dollars. Those requirements remain a concern of critics.But overall, the new proposal “is not causing the level of heartburn that it did last time,” said Lex McCorvey, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau.“The rewrite has greatly improved the regulation,” he said, adding, “There are still a lot of details that we think need to be worked out.”Other interest groups involved in the previous standoff echoed those comments.“We have some concerns that we'd like to have addressed, but overall we're happy with the direction of the policy,” said Ezrah Chaaban, governmental affairs director for the North Bay Association of Realtors. Of greatest concern, critics said, are the tighter rules for landowners near streams and other water bodies with excessive bacteria and nitrate levels.In the North Bay, that includes landowners who have septic systems within 600 feet of “impaired” stretches of the Russian River, Petaluma River, Laguna de Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa Creek and Sonoma Creek.Those landowners would be required to test for groundwater pollution and make retrofits if problems were discovered. Total costs, including $5,000 for testing, could add up to $27,000 or more for a three-bedroom home needing a new system, state estimates showed.The testing requirement irks Knights Valley resident and land- rights activist Gloria Ball, who argues that landowners should not be forced to spend money to prove they are not a source of pollution.“It should be the state's responsibility to go up and target the point of pollution,” said Ball, an organizer of the Sonoma County Land Rights Coalition.Under the new rules, landowners with failing septic systems would be required to fix or replace them. Those installing new or replacement systems outside creekside areas would face progressively tighter oversight, depending on their location.In areas with low risk of water pollution, standard siting and design requirements would kick in, with extra costs of up to $6,800 on a combined tank and leach field.Tighter local government oversight would be required on sites with problematic soil, slope and geographic conditions.State water board hearings on the issue last week in Redding and San Luis Obispo had low turnout compared to the crowds of 2009, George Kostyrko, a water board spokesman said.Santa Rosa represented ground zero for protestors two years ago, drawing more than 1,600 people to a pair of same-day hearings at the Wells Fargo Center.Kostyrko wouldn't rule out the same thing happening on Wednesday.“We're expecting a high level of interest,” he said.Public meeting on proposed state septic system rulesWednesday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Wells Fargo Center, Ruth Finley Person Theater, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa RosaProposed policy can be found at:www.waterboards.ca.gov/septictanksFor landowners near select streams and water bodies, click on map tool to see if you'll be affected by the rules.Public comment period ends Nov. 14.
Proposed Septic Rules Facing Less OppositionBy BRETT WILKISONPressDemocrat.comOctober 31, 2011 8:51 AMpRevised septic tank regulations may be facing less outright opposition from rural landowners and property rights activists, whose protests two years ago sent a previous proposal back to the drawing board./ppThe state Water Resources Control Board is set to take public comment on the revised rules Wednesday in a meeting at the Wells Fargo Center in Santa Rosa./ppInitial public feedback and light turnout at two hearings last week on the issue in other parts of the state suggest that critics may be less alarmed by the new proposal./ppThat's in stark contrast to the response in 2009, when critics packed hearings and helped beat back rules they saw as heavy-handed. /ppThe scrapped rules would have affected nearly all 45,000 septic tank owners in Sonoma County, requiring regular system tests and retrofits of up to $45,000 for a wide range of residential properties. /ppThe new proposal would more narrowly focus the strongest regulations on landowners with systems that are failing or are near polluted waterways, lakes, bays or ponds. /ppThey still could be on the hook for mandated testing and upgrades costing tens of thousands of dollars. Those requirements remain a concern of critics./ppBut overall, the new proposal “is not causing the level of heartburn that it did last time,” said Lex McCorvey, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau./pp“The rewrite has greatly improved the regulation,” he said, adding, “There are still a lot of details that we think need to be worked out.”/ppOther interest groups involved in the previous standoff echoed those comments./pp“We have some concerns that we'd like to have addressed, but overall we're happy with the direction of the policy,” said Ezrah Chaaban, governmental affairs director for the North Bay Association of Realtors. /ppOf greatest concern, critics said, are the tighter rules for landowners near streams and other water bodies with excessive bacteria and nitrate levels./ppIn the North Bay, that includes landowners who have septic systems within 600 feet of “impaired” stretches of the Russian River, Petaluma River, Laguna de Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa Creek and Sonoma Creek./ppThose landowners would be required to test for groundwater pollution and make retrofits if problems were discovered. Total costs, including $5,000 for testing, could add up to $27,000 or more for a three-bedroom home needing a new system, state estimates showed./ppThe testing requirement irks Knights Valley resident and land- rights activist Gloria Ball, who argues that landowners should not be forced to spend money to prove they are not a source of pollution./pp“It should be the state's responsibility to go up and target the point of pollution,” said Ball, an organizer of the Sonoma County Land Rights Coalition./ppUnder the new rules, landowners with failing septic systems would be required to fix or replace them. Those installing new or replacement systems outside creekside areas would face progressively tighter oversight, depending on their location./ppIn areas with low risk of water pollution, standard siting and design requirements would kick in, with extra costs of up to $6,800 on a combined tank and leach field./ppTighter local government oversight would be required on sites with problematic soil, slope and geographic conditions./ppState water board hearings on the issue last week in Redding and San Luis Obispo had low turnout compared to the crowds of 2009, George Kostyrko, a water board spokesman said./ppSanta Rosa represented ground zero for protestors two years ago, drawing more than 1,600 people to a pair of same-day hearings at the Wells Fargo Center./ppKostyrko wouldn't rule out the same thing happening on Wednesday./pp“We're expecting a high level of interest,” he said./pphr/ppPublic meeting on proposed state septic system rules/ppWednesday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Wells Fargo Center, Ruth Finley Person Theater, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa/ppProposed policy can be found at:/ppa href=http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/septictanks target=_blankwww.waterboards.ca.gov/septictanks/a/ppFor landowners near select streams and water bodies, click on map tool to see if you'll be affected by the rules./ppPublic comment period ends Nov. 14./pCopyright 2011 PressDemocrat.com - All rights reserved. Restricted use only.
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Article original from: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20111031/articles/111039974&tc=yahoo
