RI DEM explains cesspool phaseout

The RI Dept. of Environmental Management (DEM) is in the process of finalizing rules related to the state's cesspool phaseout law, and they held an information session for the East Bay at the Portsmouth Town Hall last night. About 50 people — many from areas of town likely to be affected — showed up to ask hear details and ask questions.

I pretty much knew what to expect when a member of the RI Tea Party handed me a flier outside the front door. While the topic was not sewers, there was a lot of anger in many of the questions from those in attendance. And one can hardly blame them. For those with cesspools who live near the shore, the news is not good, and if you live in the northeast end of town, it's even worse.

The DEM presenters included Russ Chateauneuf, chief of groundwater and wetlands protection, Jon Zwarg, a senior planner, and Brian Moore, a permitting supervisor. Also on hand from the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) was senior policy analyst Jim Boyd.

Zwarg laid out some of the basic facts. Cesspools are simple buried chambers from which wastewater seeps, untreated, into the surrounding soil, and have not been permitted in Rhode Island since 1968. The general assembly, in 2007, passed the Cesspool Phaseout Act requiring replacement of all cesspools withing 200 feet of "coastal shoreline features," public drinking water wells, and surface drinking water reservoirs.

The Act does not constitute a state-wide ban, Zwarg noted, and does not affect all of the state's 25,000 estimated cesspools. Only those in specified areas need to be inspected by Jan 1, 2012 and replaced by Jan 1, 2013 with a system that meets code. Inspections, which DEM expects to cost between $75-$250, can be done by anyone on DEM's list of approved "system inspectors" who have had appropriate training or who hold an ISDS designer's license.

Failed cesspools, however, need to be replaced earlier, and Zwarg ticked off what constitutes failure: not accepting wastewater, liquid level less than 6 inches from inlet, requiring pumpout more than twice a year, shown to contaminate any body of water, or a bottom below the groundwater level at any time of the year.

DEM could not predict if, or when, such a ban might extend beyond shoreline areas to the rest of the state, nor which part of the state might be targeted for enforcement first. "Enforcement" in this case being a letter to a suspected cesspool owner requiring a response within 6 months.

And it turns out that identifying cesspools is a non-trivial task, as the CRMC's Boyd explained. Because there are no detailed records of all properties that upgraded, the task required mapping and inference. The CRMC used aerial photos of "coastal shoreline features" (clearly, their term of art) combined with latitude and longitude information from the state's E911 database of street addresses to create overlay maps, and ultimately determined that there are approximately 4,000 cesspools in RI's coastal zone.

The cost to replace a cesspool, Chateauneuf said, depended entirely on the site. While some lots might be suitable for a conventional tank and leach field in the $10-$15K range, those with smaller properties or unsuitable drainage might require Advanced/Experimental (A/E) systems, like the "bottomless sand filter" which cost substantially more. There are loans available through the state's Septic System Loan Program (SSLP) to assist homeowners, however, to qualify for these 2%, 10-year loans, the town must have an approved wastewater management plan.

Which, uh, Portsmouth does not. And which folks in Island Park, Portsmouth Park, and Common Fence Point may not be able to qualify for.

"In areas where the facilities plans have indicated that sewering is the option, I can't tell you whether SSLP loan money would be available," said Chateauneuf.

One Portsmouth resident asked point-blank. "Has DEM communicated to the town what needs to be done for the town to get these loans? We have people who need to do upgrades and are spending money right now."

"I am not familiar with all the dialog between town and DEM about sewering and onsite management planning," said Chateauneuf. "There's an issue with the department funding and approving loan money in areas that a facilities plan indicate needs to be sewered; that may be a stumbling block. This is not a final decision of agency tonight," he said, but added, "Some areas of town will be available, some areas will not be."

That's when the questioning began to turn nasty. "Some areas are going to be punished because they didn't go along with DEM plan?" asked one resident.

"I wouldn't say punished," said Chateauneuf.

"They're going to pay through the nose," a resident replied. "There are a lot of the people in Island Park and Common Fence Point who are retired, and they don't have the money."

"The facilities planning process has concluded that parts of town require sewers," said Chateauneuf. "It's fair to say that the department feels it inconsistent as a general rule to be funding state monies for onsite improvements when, in fact, sewers are required. That would be an inconsistent use of state money."

Well, it's not good news, that's for sure. I did a quick worksheet, and the difference between an SSLP loan at 2% and a typical home equity at around 6% is going to be roughly $4,000 over the life of the loan assuming a mid-priced system, and would push a homeowner's monthly payment from $184 to $222. That's assuming, of course, you can get a loan on those terms, or get a loan at all, these days.

If DEM decides to send out notices, which they can presumably do as soon as they finalize this rule in June, people within 200 feet of one of those "coastal shoreline features" who fail an inspection could be looking at a $20K nut within six months. The Council has already asked town administration to come back with a wastewater management plan by July, but given the position DEM took last night, that may not make much difference for folks in so-called "need to sewer" areas.

Okay, the Council stood up to DEM, but it looks like my neighbors may end up paying for it.

Resources:
RI DEM
DEM public notice on Cesspool Phaseout regulations
CRMC

Full disclosure: I live in Island Park, but fortunately not within 200 feet of any "coastal shoreline feature."