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Coastal Voices: Guest Opinion
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The State Water Resources Control Board has been holding a series of workshop meetings throughout the state regarding its interpretation and implementation of Assembly Bill 885. At 7 p.m. on Jan. 28, board will hold a meeting at the Eureka High School Auditorium, 1915 J St., Eureka, to discuss its proposed new regulations for on-site septic systems. If you are an owner of one of the 7,700 homes in Del Norte County that use an on-site wastewater treatment system (OWTS) then you should be aware that these proposed regulations will cost you money. All systems, existing and future systems, will be required to have their septic tanks inspected for solids accumulation at least once every five years by a qualified service provider. If the landowner also uses an on-site well as a water source, the well water will have to be sampled and tested for a wide array of items by a state-certified laboratory at least once every five years unless the owner installs and tests a separate monitoring well or wells immediately down gradient from the septic system. All of these costs will be borne by the property owner. Enforcement of the proposed regulations will impact all existing and future on-site septic systems. There is no grandfather provision in these regulations. Repairs to existing systems and replacements of existing systems will be affected. The degree to which the regulations will restrict future development varies considerably depending upon specific on-site conditions; however, the most significant impact will be on owners of existing undeveloped residential parcels. There are other design and performance standards that will also negatively affect the use and placement of on-site sewage systems in Del Norte County. The Board of Supervisors believes that there is no demonstrated identification of a problem to justify the imposition of these proposed new regulations in Del Norte County. The county has required by ordinance all on-site systems built or installed since 1988 to be designed by a California registered civil engineer, geologist, or environmental health specialist based on specific field testing applicable to the site proposed for development. This process has served the residents of this county well. The state now wants to accumulate data for the sole purpose of data accumulation, but at your cost. The county through its Health Department and Building Inspection Division will continue to regulate on-site septic systems in a manner to protect local groundwater and other health considerations. However, this is best accomplished through local professionals knowledgeable of local conditions rather than through cumbersome state-wide regulations, which are attempting to cover the widely different conditions and climates of a vast state like California. You may review the proposed new regulation on the State Water Resources Control Board web site: www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/septic_tanks . The contact person is Todd Thompson at (916) 341-5518 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . If you are concerned about these regulations, you should consider writing the board to express your concerns. You may also attend the meeting in Eureka. In either case, we ask that your comments be concise and politely to the point. Comments on the proposed regulations may be submitted by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or mailed and postmarked on or before Feb. 9. The mailing address is: State Water Resources Control Board Division of Water Quality Attn: Todd Thompson, P.E. 1001 I St., 15th Floor P.O. Box 2231 Sacramento, CA 95812 David Finigan is chairman of the county Board of Supervisors. |
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