Point Reyes Light - September 26, 2002

Public hearing for septic set

By Ivan Gale

County officials will sponsor a public meeting at 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30 at the Dance Palace to discuss proposed changes to the county’s septic system policy.

Philip Smith, chief of county Environmental Health services, told The Light this week the meeting will introduce policy changes based on recommendations from the Septic Policy and Technical Advisory Committee (SepTAC), an advisory committee charged with revising the county’s septic system policies for West Marin.

County wants to streamline

Smith explained the county wants to streamline the permit process of home remodels and additions while also install a program that will allow the county to effectively take accurate inventories of the county’s estimated 7,000 private septic systems, most located in West Marin.

The board of supervisors created SepTAC after Environmental Health Services staff in June 2000 determined the county needed to update Marin’s expensive and sometimes counterproductive septic-system regulations. The move was motivated in large part by a June 2000 Grand Jury report that accused Environmental Health administrators and staff of ineffective and inconsistent monitoring of the county’s private septic systems.

Predating the formation of the group, the county singled-out Tomales Bay as early as 1998, listing it as having "impaired water quality," said Rebecca Tuden, a water-quality liaison to the county on loan from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Tuden explained poor water quality could be a result of septic systems. However, bad water could also be attributable to agricultural runoff, recreational users of Tomales Bay, even area runoff from dogs, birds, cats, as well as offshore wildlife like sealions.

Regardless of what specifically is to blame for contaminated water, Smith added the county is moving forward to implement septic changes.

"We need to respond to concerns about environmental and public health by proposing a county-wide inspection system, with priority ranking according to environmental risk factors such as proximity to water or houses located near high ground water."

Process lacks balance

Smith said the county feels the current review process for septic systems lacks balance. He noted the county reviews septic systems only when an owner applies for a building permit.

"There are no routine inspections," he explained. "The concern is that people don’t come in for building permits, for one reason or another. This is an attempt to put in place a more balanced program that makes it easier for home owners, especially, to do maintenance, repairs and minor remodels."

Currently county health officials also do not know where all of the private septic systems are located or how old they are. "We only have information on [about] one-third of the systems," said Smith.

Cost effective

Water-quality expert Tuden said new policies would allow for a more cost-effective way to do monitoring and maintenance.

"Typically the inspections were done by engineers or environmental health professionals," she said. "We’re going to open it up to contractors or licensed septic-tank pumpers and haulers. This should make it easier and less expensive for homeowners to maintain systems and actually meet county requirements."

The new guidelines would feature a more flexible approach to lower-risk areas officials said. Minor remodels that were far from water sources like creeks and tributaries would not require the same level of standards for approval, Smith explained.

Similarly, the proposed inspection system would be less frequent for systems situated more than 100 feet from water. Despite sweeping policy changes, county officials said new rules are not a function of governmental intrusion, rather a partnership with the community.

"We are not targeting any specific geographical area. We are interested in using ranking systems to see which systems are of more concern than others," Smith said. "We’re not interested in a crackdown in a ‘big brother’ kind of way."

Along these lines, two policies seek to win over scofflaws whose new systems violate codes. As part of its incentive program, some individuals who make repairs on their septic systems would receive free technical assistance for a year.

Under the proposed program, individuals who voluntarily apply from Jan. 1, 2003 to Dec. 31, 2004 could be waived of any building and planning penalties and would benefit from a streamlined process.

Success of pilot program

Smith described the success of a pilot program undertaken with the East Shore Planning Group, which spurred some septic owners to volunteer their systems for inspection.

"A number of people were able to improve their systems before, during or after the inspections. We hope to continue that type of partnership and expand it to other areas," said Smith.

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