The rules 



So what's being done about regulating all those 

 septic tanks? 



David Stick, vice chairman of the Coastal Re- 

 sources Commission, says "There's no govern- 

 mental entity which seems to have the jurisdiction 

 for an overview . . . authority and responsibility 

 are fragmented." And worse, "nobody can really 

 tell us what the situation is." 



But a couple of problems are evident: 



— many observers, Stick among them, are quick 

 to suggest that local sanitarians do an uneven job 

 of handing out septic tank permits; 



— in addition, observers often fault the North 

 Carolina Commission for Health Services for fail- 

 ing to adopt for homes the newer, more stringent 

 regulations which are already being used for larger 

 construction. 



The "Rules and Regulations Governing the Dis- 

 posal of Sewage from Any Residence, Place of Busi- 

 ness, or Place of Public Assembly in North Caro- 

 lina," were worked out jointly by the staffs of the 

 Commission for Health Services and the Environ- 

 mental Management Commission. Health Services 

 will consider adoption of the joint resolution once 

 again at a May 8 meeting in Pinehurst. (The public 

 is invited. For details, write the commission at P.O. 

 Box 2091, Raleigh, N.C. 27602.) 



Septic tank oversight is spread between two 

 state agencies and the local health departments. 

 The health departments, under the Commission for 

 Health Services, are responsible for overseeing 

 most residential development. That is, those offices 

 have jurisdiction over all construction that would 

 generate no more than 3,000 gallons of sewage a 

 day. 



Over 3,000 gallons a day or in a case of discharge 

 into surface waters, the Environmental Manage- 

 ment Commission oversees waste disposal and 

 treatment. The commission manages such develop- 

 ment as motels, condominiums, trailer parks, and 

 commercial structures. 



The Environmental Management Commission 

 issued only about 40 permits last year for the larger 

 projects under the joint resolution's stringent 

 guidelines. But county health departments across 

 the state allowed over 40,000 of the residential 

 septic tanks to be installed. 



Each county adopts its own guidelines. Until 

 and if the Commission for Health Services adopts 

 the tougher guidelines, the one common denomina- 

 tor in county enforcement is the state's minimum 

 standard set forth in the Ground Absorption and 

 Sewage Disposal Act of 1973. 



The Act requires two permits be issued by local 

 sanitarians. One is required before construction 



An open septic tank drainage field 



begins and the other upon completion of construc- 

 tion. Septic tank drainage fields — large beds of 

 gravel — are left open for the sanitarian to inspect. 

 Such factors as character and porosity of the soil, 

 percolation rate, topography, depth of the water 

 table, and location of water-supply wells are con- 

 sidered. 



The hitch is that enforcement of the Act is left 

 up to local sanitarians and boards of health, which, 

 according to Stick, "vary tremendously." 



Some sanitarians, he says, enforce the law to the 

 letter, but others might "let 'em get by with every- 

 thing." And Mike Bell, coastal regional engineer 

 for the Commission for Health Services, admits 

 "we do have this problem in some areas." But, he 

 adds, the real problem is often in the politicking of 

 local health departments, county commissioners 

 and such. 



"Politics plays a very big role in this ... I feel 

 it was politics that helped withstand the implemen- 

 tation of the joint resolution regulations." When 

 tough cases arise, Bell says the sanitarians don't 

 always get the backing they need from higher ups. 



Had the Commission for Health Services adopted 

 tougher regulations, Bell says, there would have 

 been a lot more turn downs on septic tank permits 

 than are already occurring. 



In Dare County, A. C. Turnage, regional engi- 

 neer for the Environmental Management Commis- 

 sion says "the potential for pollution of that water 

 supply is dangerous." But county sanitarian Joe 

 Stokes insists that his county has one of the 

 strongest septic tank regulations in the state. "The 

 criticism we're getting is not justified," he says. 



Finally, stricter dredge and fill regulations 

 should help avoid creating bad septic tank situa- 

 tions for the future. 



