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Sewage back-up
A state law concerning the treatment and disposal of septage tank effluent went into effect last month, apparently catching the county government by surprise. The practical consequences of the law are not exactly clear.
Passed in 1986, the law requires counties to obtain approval from the Department of Health before allowing septage to be spread on, or drilled into, fields. That was until last month, when the practice was apparently outlawed altogther.
The bill has wide ranging implications for Rappahannock, which has one (relatively small) sewage treatment plant, in Sperryville. Most of the county’s home are on septic fields, and their tanks require regular pumping. With the new regulations the costs per pumping could approach $200 very soon.
Many of the haulers who formerly worked in the county say they have been put out of business or have had to severely cut back on their business because of the new law.
Most sewage treatment plants will only accept septage from their immediate areas. Plant operators say the plants are not designed to accept the concentrated contaminants in septage.
Some are planning to expand the plants to accept septage, but the costs of such changes range from $250,000 to $750,000.
There are three msgor questions about the new regulations:
• How will they effect Rappahannock homeowners in the near future, both in terms of cost and convenience?
• How will contractors adjust their businesses?
• What should the county government do, from a planning standpoint, to adjust for the new regulations?
We will be looking into those issues in this paper in the coming weeks.
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