On June 6, the PA Septage Management Association, which represents firms which install and maintain onlot septic systems, applauded Gov. Wolf's signing of legislation-- Senate Bill 1030 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) that allows continued access to non-traditional/non-conventional, alternate on-lot septic systems by property owners during the sewage facility planning process.
Senate Bill 1030 (Act 34 of 2020) updates alternate system evaluations by the Department of Environmental Protection and DEP's Sewage Advisory Committee made up of stakeholders.
DEP sought to develop a new verification process that meant already approved alternate systems would have to undergo a cumbersome second approval process.
PSMA and the PA Association of Professional Soil Scientists, PA Association of Sewage Enforcement Officers, PA Builders Association, PA State Grange, the PA Society of Land Surveyors, and others argued that getting approved twice would be a disincentive for non-traditional septic systems to continue to be offered in the state.
Senate Bill 1030 advocates pointed to the fact that many of these alternate systems had been approved by DEP years or even decades ago. Each approved system was vetted by the agency to verify that it would meet government waste treatment standards.
Alternate systems are used when there is not enough space for a traditional system, where there is special soil which makes absorption of effluent waste difficult, or where the property owner prefers a newer or more compact system.
In Pennsylvania, one-fourth of households utilize septic systems. They provide an environmentally friendly alternative to waste water treated through municipal waste treatment plants in areas where there is no central sewer system.
For more information, visit the PA Septage Management Association website.
[Posted: June 6, 2020] PA Environment Digest
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