Clarity needed on new septic tank assessment and inspection scheme
Posted by Bronwen Maher on September 06, 2011 at 10:41 AM
I welcome the news that householders with private waste systems will only have to pay a once off licence fee of €50, rather than the €300 originally suggested by his department, there are a number of outstanding issues. How will the risk assessments be carried out so that the same rules and opinions are reached by all local authorities? How will low income families afford to upgrade their systems if they are found to be faulty? The inspections may give rise to householders being advised to improve the maintenance of their systems or, in more serious situations, may require the upgrading or remediation of the treatment system. If the scheme is to be a success and ground water protected from pollution, low income families will require grant aid to install septic tank replacements.
The Government has to introduce legislation to comply with an important EU Waste Directive legislation to ensure waste disposal does not pose a threat to human health, or face substantial EU fines. We are facing these fines due to a complete lack of action by previous Governments. However it is not enough for the Minister to state that anyone found to have a faulty tank will be required to upgrade it. The Minister has to acknowledge that many households will simply not be able to find the money to change their sewage systems. There are approximately 400,000 septic tanks in the country and it is estimated that a third of these will be faulty and need to be replaced.
We are dealing with a serious public health issue here, as no one wishes to drink water contaminated with faecal e.coli. Therefore the remedy and upgrades should be at the very least co-financed through the public purse. Furthermore all houses for sale with septic tanks should be licensed in order to protect buyers from unnecessary costs in the future. In the meantime, the Government should embark on a public information campaign to ensure that people are aware of the problems associated with faecal e.coli contamination and the need for septic tank upgrading.”
To comply with EU legislation originally agreed by the Irish Government in 1975, the Minister faces the following challenges:
i) to finance the inspection of each house with a septic tank
ii) to devise a licencing scheme to bring all septic tanks up to standard
iii) enforcing the new legislation
In 2009 the Commission announced that Ireland would be subject to substantial fines, commencing in 2015, if legislation had not been introduced to licence and enforce standards in order to protect public health. These fines will involve €2.7m, and daily penalties of more than €26,000.
The Minister for Environment Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan TD announced yesterday that registration will start in 2012 and the legislation will be published this year. Inspections will be concentrated on sensitive areas with higher risk to the environment and public health. The likelihood is that inspections under the new system will commence in 2013.
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