State to set new septic hearing

Stunned that several hundred homeowners turned out for a public hearing that had to be canceled because of overcrowding, state water officials said Wednesday they will reschedule the session and probably extend the deadline for comments.

Sonoma County fire inspectors told hearing officers for the State Water Resources Control Board to call off Tuesday night’s meeting when the 400-seat Harry Merlo theater at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts swelled beyond capacity. People filled the aisles, crowded the lobby and backed up traffic on Highway 101 and Old Redwood Highway.

“We are disappointed that the authorities shut us down, but they were watching out for our safety,” said William L. Rukeyser, the board’s communications director. “Those who showed up were disappointed, too.”

The hearing in Sonoma County on septic system regulations was supposed to be the next to last meeting in advance of a Feb. 9 deadline for public comment. The new rules could affect the estimated 45,000 property owners in the county who use septic tanks, instead of municipal sewer systems, to treat human waste.

“There is a comment deadline, which will likely be extended, depending upon how it works out with the meeting being rescheduled,” Rukeyser said.

The time and place for the new hearing has not been determined.

Cancellation of the session infuriated many of those who showed up to express their concerns about the cost to homeowners of the proposed regulations.

“Boy, they really blew their public relations on Tuesday night. There were rabidly angry people there,” said Gloria Ball, an organizer of the Sonoma County Land Rights Coalition. “Anything that has to do with our land rights is a big thing.”

The regulations would require anyone with a septic tank to have the system inspected every five years at a cost of $325. Anyone with a well would incur an additional $325 cost for the five-year inspection.

The major impact would be the required upgrade of any system that does not meet pollution standards. The average cost would be $45,000, according to the board.

The coalition was one of several organizations that called on members to appear at the hearing. Member alerts were also issued by the North Bay Realtors Association, the North Coast Builders Exchange and the Sonoma County Farm Bureau. Those same groups were instrumental in galvanizing opposition to proposals for water well monitoring and riparian setbacks during the county General Plan hearings in 2007.

The new septic rules are a major feature of legislation adopted in 2000 that aims to clean up leaky septic tanks by requiring property owners to fix their systems. Water officials said they are taking a proactive approach to septic contamination so they do not have to react to problems that already have caused environmental damage.

Over the past couple of months, the board has held hearings as part of the draft environmental review process at six venues, including Riverside, Susanville, Malibu and Fresno. Only the Fresno hearing attracted an over-capacity crowd and it lasted five hours, until midnight, Rukeyser said.

“All the rest went off without a hitch,” Rukeyser said. “Only Santa Rosa stands out.”

Ball said her organization and others were unaware of the proposed septic rules until reading about them in The Press Democrat last Wednesday.

“We were the ones that helped fan the fire with sending out e-mails and doing phone calling,