More time is needed to deal with new state rules governing onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) serving an estimated 45,000 residential and commercial properties in Sonoma County, county supervisors have agreed.
“We’re trying to get there. The question is how to do it,” said James Gore, chair of the Board of Supervisors and the north county representative, at a May 22 hearing to chart the county’s efforts to comply with stricter rules now being phased in across California.
The challenge for non-compliant septic systems, particularly near the Russian River or its tributaries, is how to bring the old systems up to code without inadvertently creating a disastrous “poo-nami” of red tape ensnaring property owners whose antiquated septic systems don’t meet modern health and building regulations, said Gore.
Supervisors agreed to ask for a six-month extension of a May 13 state deadline to submit the county’s Local Area Management Plan (LAMP) to the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. The LAMP describes how Sonoma County will administer the new OWTS regulations that may require costly upgrades or total replacement of substandard OWTS—especially for old septic systems near the Russian River.
“I do feel like we need to have a little bit of a pause,” said Fifth District Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, who supported a six-month extension of the deadline to submit a LAMP to the state water board. The county needs to “really think about the long-term ramifications with respect to housing stock availability in rural Sonoma County,” said Hopkins. “That’s my biggest concern.”
With thousands of people served by septics in the west county, Hopkins said “it’s one of the last bastions of affordable housing in the county. It’s becoming less and less affordable. We’re already seeing gentrification. I don’t want you to have to be wealthy in order to flush your toilet.”
“I just want to make sure that we are preserving that housing stock while of course also meeting the state mandated requirements,” Hopkins continued. “I’m just concerned that the noose is sort of getting too tight, and that it’s going to be very difficult for property owners to comply.”
Without a state-approved LAMP, the state’s Water Quality Control Board would step in to enforce the new state OWTS regulations that ban cesspools and require inspection and possible upgrade or replacement of disposal systems that don’t meet modern health and safety codes.
Two dozen speakers at the May 22 supervisors hearing said the proposed county LAMP needs greater flexibility for problem parcels and that financial help in the form of grants or low-interest loans need to be available to make upgrades affordable for low-income property owners.
As written, the county’s proposed OWTS regulations are “needlessly draconian,” said Healdsburg resident Dave Henderson of Fitch Mountain where 340 residences dispose of their sewage in septic systems near the river.
Sonoma County officials agreed it will be a challenge to bring property owners along the Russian River into compliance with the state regulations.
“Prior to the state’s policies we had more flexibility than we do today,” said Nathan Quarles of the county Permit and Resource Management Department.
For property owners who can’t afford the capital expense of repairing or replacing an old septic system, Quarles said “the funding is not in place yet, but we’re looking towards obtaining some level of funding for the community.”
Some septic systems serving small parcels developed before Sonoma County even had a building department wouldn’t be able to comply with modern building and health code requirements.
The Russian River in Sonoma County is now officially designated as an “impaired” water body owing to high levels of pathogenic bacteria associated with human and animal waste. Substandard septic systems, dairy runoff, recreational users, homeless camps and pet waste have all been shown identified as contributing to the pollution.
