Clean Water Action is supporting critical legislation (HB318/SB479 - sponsored by Delegate Stein and Senator Hester) to establish a regulatory board for the on-site wastewater industry.
This will help ensure that septic systems are well-designed, installed correctly, serviced properly, and inspected appropriately. It's time to have a regulatory board for this industry to make sure that our sewage is handled correctly. Here's why:
- Regulatory Boards are Common! So many industries have regulatory boards to establish licenses and certifications for their members. Locksmiths. Barbers. Pawnbrokers. But not the people who make sure that raw sewage is handled safely.
- Septic Systems are complicated! It's more than just the olden days of digging a hole in the ground and plopping in a system. An industry dealing with soil types, hydrologic flows, viruses and bacteria, and construction should have a regulatory board to ensure work quality, consumer protection, and continuing education as technology and our understanding of how soils impact waste treatment changes.
- Consumers rely on the industry. A septic system sits unseen in a yard and relies on a balance of soil drainage and water flow to work – the homeowner needs the assurance and confidence that the correct system is being installed properly. Our surface water and groundwater – the water we drink – needs the protection of well designed and properly installed septic systems.
Take Action! Write a message to your representatives to support the HB318/SB479 to establish an On-Site Wastewater Regulatory Board!