12VAC5-613 Alternative On-site Sewage Systems Regulations
Comments:
12VAC5-613-20.A.4
·Be consistent with terminology (e.g. “treatment works” appears in this section but a definition is given only for “Treatment unit” or “Treatment system”
12VAC5-613-30.J
·Dispersal of effluents into wetlands is excluded from this chapter, therefore…
In order to identify those sites which may be excluded there should be a specific requirement for wetlands delineation. Suggested language: “In any case in which an AOSS is proposed on a site with soils having seasonal, perched or permanent groundwater indicators at less than 12 inches depth or which otherwise can be identified as hydric soils per the Field Indicators of Hydric Soils document used by the Army Corps of Engineers, a wetlands delineation report and field delineation will be required to verify that the proposed site is not a wetland. Hydric soils are one of three requisites for identifying wetlands along with wetlands vegetation and hydrology as described per the Army Corps of Engineers 1987 Wetland Delineation Manual.
·Also, it must be clear that additionally, county Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area ordinances must be followed where applicable.
12VAC5-613-40.D
·Recommend replace “This chapter” with “Section 12VAC5-613.80-11 and Table 1 of the chapter” supercedes Table 5.4 of the Sewage Handling and Disposal Regulations…
12VAC5-613-40
·Recommend the addition of the following:
oH. “In accordance with Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia, construction of all AOSS must be carried out by a someone licensed by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation as an Alternative On-site Systems Installer.”
oI. “In accordance with Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia, all operation and maintenance of an AOSS as required in Part III of this chapter must be carried out by a someone licensed by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation as an Alternative On-site Systems operator.”
12VAC5-613-60.C
·Recommended language change:
o“The department shall not issue an operation permit for a large AOSS when all or part of the project area is to be used in the management of nitrogen until the owner shall have recorded legal documentation in the land records of the circuit court having jurisdiction over the site of the large AOSS. Said documentation shall protect and preserve the land area in accordance with the management methods established by the division and be in a form approved by the division.”
12VAC5-613-60.D
·Spell out the circumstances under which a renewable operation permit will or will not be renewed.
12VAC5-613-70.4
·A licensed professional engineer experienced in the field of environmental engineering, while having the necessary credentials, is not defacto an independent third party with no stake in the outcome of an approval process for treatment units.
12VAC5-613-80.11.d
·This performance requirement is nonsensical.
oIf the treatment unit is not producing TL-2 or TL-3, the designer should be using Table 5.4 of the Sewage Handling and Disposal Regulations and not Table 1 of the AOSS Regulations.
o“Septic tank effluent” is defined in the Sewage Handling and Disposal Regulations and should be referenced in its entirety (i.e. TSS and FOG levels as well as BOD).
oIf the proposed regulations are to address treatment units that do not reduce BOD and TSS constituents to at least 30mg/l (as for TL-2) and yet reduce those constituents further than primary treatment septic tanks, then those treatment units should be addressed via maximum loading rates that are significantly lower than those for TL-2 and stated specifically in by Regulation, AND be placed under a testing protocol, OR be required to have absorption areas sized under Table 5.4 of the SHDR.
12VAC5-613-80.13.a & b
·Should an AOSS not be operating properly such that sewage is not being treated to the required level and there is indeed an hydraulic gradient sufficient to move the effluent off the site, then untreated or partially treated effluent is being moved through or into groundwater and/or surface waters. Proliferation of such systems failing to meet required treatment levels may collectively cause pollution as defined in Virginia.
·Define “wet season”. Presumably the use here is that period of the year when evapotranspiration is less than precipitation and in combination with other factors such as elevation, landscape position, etc. results in ponding of water on the ground surface. There seems to be confusion in the public that wet season may mean the same as rainy season to some people, which is not the intended meaning.
·See also the need for wetland delineation as discussed for 12VAC5-613-30.J
12VAC4-613-90
·“Direct discharge to groundwater” should not be an option.
·If allowed, all AOSS with direct discharge to groundwater should be required to provide independent redundancies for all treatment components, backup power generating capacity, and additional operation and monitoring visits to avoid periods of malfunction.
12VAC4-613-90.A
·Should an AOSS not be operating properly such that sewage is not being treated to the required level and there is indeed an hydraulic gradient sufficient to move the effluent off the site, then untreated or partially treated effluent is being moved through or into groundwater and/or surface waters. Proliferation of such systems failing to meet required treatment levels may collectively cause pollution as defined in Virginia.
12VAC5-613-90.C.1
·It can not be known whether the concentrations of constituents will exceed limits set forth, or not set forth, in 9VAC25-280 since there is no requirement shown for testing these constituents.
