SACRAMENTO — A representative from the Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC) Wednesday spoke before the State Water Resources Control Board during a public hearing regarding a proposed onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) policy.
The OWTS policy is part of a regulation that implements Assembly Bill 885, which was passed in 2000, to address statewide standards for all new and existing onsite water treatment systems.
Nate Beason, RCRC Second Vice-Chair and a Nevada County Supervisor, spoke on behalf of all California counties before the Water Board on its final draft of a proposed quality control policy to be used in siting, design, operation and maintenance of OWTS.
“RCRC appreciates that the Water Board addressed many of our prior concerns with the proposed AB 885 regulations by recognizing local government control as the most effective way to regulate onsite wastewater systems in California,” Beason said. “However, counties remain very concerned about the proposed process they and homeowners would have to go through to get approval of their projects and programs.”
The OWTS policy outlines a multi-tiered regulatory structure to implement the statutory requirements of AB 885. Among other things, AB 885 requires the Water Board to develop statewide standards for all new and existing OWTS, including septic tank systems, with particular attention to failing systems and those located adjacent to nitrogen and pathogen impaired surface water bodies.
The Water Board”s current proposal provides procedural and technical details explaining how the policy would be implemented statewide. While there are no new requirements for existing residential OWTS, provided these systems are functioning properly and are not near one of the impaired water bodies identified in the policy, the proposed policy does not impose some new prescriptive standards on all new and replacement OWTS.
Local agencies would be given permitting authority for these systems only if a local agency managing plan for OWTS is formally approved by a regional or state water board within five years following the effective date of the policy.
In counties without an approved local agency management plan, property owners would be subject to new highly restrictive OWTS siting and design criteria that effectively preclude installing OWTS on many existing and new lots throughout the state.
“Some of the proposed process requirements are of particular concern to our smaller counties because they may not have the necessary resources to comply,” Beacon said.
In 2008, RCRC opposed proposed regulations issued by the Water Board. At the time, the proposed standards were a one-size-fits-all approach and were unreasonably costly, with a projected 10-year price tag of $1.4 billion. In response to outcry from homeowners and RCRC member counties, the Water Board abandoned that proposal and developed a revised approach with RCRC input.
RCRC is an association of 31 rural counties that advocated before the Legislature, Congress and other government agencies on behalf of rural issues. Headquartered in Sacramento, county supervisors comprise RCRC”s governing board. Visit www.rcrcnet.org for more information.
