PD Editorial: Septic debate

The feedback, in effect, was backed up all the way to Highway 101.

More than 400 people showed up for the hearing in a Wells Fargo Center meeting room, forcing officials to call off the session for fire safety reasons.

This left some fuming, but the hearing has now been rescheduled for Monday. This time, state Water Resources Control Board officials have scheduled back-to-back hearings in hope that those who want to testify will do so in shifts.

The first session will take place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. A second hearing will run from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Both will be in the 1,500-seat Ruth Finley Person Theater.

The more important thing that has changed — from the perspective of many rural residents — is the water board’s support for these draft regulations.

Given the overwhelmingly negative response during nine workshops held around the state — and indications of what was going to come from Sonoma County — the board is ready to rewrite the regulations. The board canceled a public hearing that was to be held in Sacramento next week, and staff members say work on new rules will begin as soon as the public comment period on the current proposal ends on Feb. 23.

“Without a doubt, the next iteration of these draft regulations will be different,” said board spokesman William Rukeyser. “How different, I don’t know.”

This puts those who plan to testify Monday in something of an awkward position. Do you testify to what the draft regulations say now or what you hope they will say later? Or do you pass altogether and wait to comment in the next round of workshops, after the draft rules are amended?

Confused? You’re not alone.

What’s clear is that this issue is not going to go away. Given that, Sonoma County residents shouldn’t pass up an opportunity to express themselves.

While something clearly needs to be done to address the hazards posed by thousands of leaking sceptic systems — particularly those near waterways and other environmentally sensitive areas — this proposal is not the answer.

The draft rules seek to set new standards for septic systems, such as their size and how far they must be from creeks and wells. But they also impose costs and monitoring burdens that have the potential to harm those who have been careful to monitor their systems along with those who willfully ignored the hazards of their systems.

Under the draft rules, for example, septic systems would need to inspected every five years at an estimated cost of $325. For those property owners with water wells, the cost would be twice that.

In addition, some properties that now would be allowed to install a standard leach-field system for about $8,000 might be required to install more complex systems costing as much as $40,000. Such cost increases, particularly given the current economy, could effectively prevent some people from using their property.

Establishing rules that protect ground water is important. But it needs to be done in a manner that is not so heavy-handed. Regulations need to crack down on the most problematic of sceptic systems. Harming everyone equally is no solution.