New septic rules called 'Draconian'

<p>After eight relatively quiet years in the making, newly unveiled statewide regulations drafted for septic systems are raising a big stink.</p><p>"This is definitely Draconian," said Lee Howard, a Ukiah-area contractor and board member on the North Coast Builders Exchange, which represents building interests in Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties.</p><p>Opposition to the proposal has been gaining steam since it was unveiled late last year. State Water Quality Control Board officials are expecting a large turnout for a hearing on the draft impact statement for the proposed rules, scheduled at 7 p.m. Jan. 27 at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa.</p><p>"It will be lively," said John Short, a senior engineer with the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.</p><p>The rules are intended to protect ground and surface water from leaky septic systems.</p><p>"The point is extra protection for our ground water so our drinking water is protected," Short said.</p><p>He said it's easy for people to ignore septic system problems because they're usually underground and out of sight. "People tend to forget their septic systems, but the water goes somewhere," Short said.</p><p>He noted there have been cases in which septic tanks have caused problems, leaking onto beaches or into ground water.</p><p>But the new rules come at a cost -- estimated at $350 million a year or more, said John Morley, Mendocino County environmental health director.</p><p>The regulations would increase costs for anyone with a septic system -- most of the rural residents in Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties -- whether or not they're having problems, said Keith Woods, chief executive officer of the North Coast Builders Exchange.</p><p>They require septic system inspections every five years at an estimated cost of $325 each, he said. That cost will double for those who have water wells because they also would require testing, Woods said.</p><p>Systems that do not meet the new standards would need to be upgraded or replaced.</p><p>People who own property where conventional septic systems with leach fields are not deemed appropriate would have to install alternative, higher-tech systems that cost up to $40,000, compared with a standard leach-field system that costs about $8,700, Howard said.</p><p>The costs could prevent some landowners from building on their property or being able to sell it, he said.</p><p>"This takes your property," Howard said.</p><p>Mendocino County supervisors last week opposed the draft regulations, and Howard said he's been contacted by at least 24 supervisors from other counties.</p><p>Some regulators are less than thrilled with the planned rules, which are described as "one-size fits all."</p><p>"It looks like they're drafting regulations to address very specific, localized problems that don't really warrant new statewide regulations," Morley said.</p><p>Short, the water quality official, said it would be preferable to have different regulations for different areas, similar to the current arrangement, but that also would be costly. In addition, the agency was mandated by legislators in 2000 to create statewide regulations, he said.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@</p><p>pressdemocrat.com.</p>