First septic inspection date passes

Roger Docken (on the trachoe) installs a new drain field on Camano Island last week. Around the July 1 deadline, inspection reports for pressure-involved septic systems have been flowing into Island County.

The county is not using heavy-handed means to enforce the new requirement, said Aaron Henderson, county environmental health director. Instead, they will reach out to those who haven't turned in septic inspections yet.

Under state regulations, all septic systems that use pressure, including conventional and alternative systems, must be inspected annually. The first deadline for those inspections was July 1. Conventional gravity systems, which are in deep, permeable soil, with the drain field downhill from the home, are required to be inspected once every three years, with the first deadline set on July 1, 2010.

Duane Simshauser, of Camano Island, said he was already having his pressurized septic system maintained to the new requirement.

The recent inspection of his septic system by Docken Backhoe Services, Inc., of Camano Island, found that the tanks needed to be pumped, Simshauser said. He hired Camano Septic to do the job.

Simshauser said the requirement for inspections is a positive thing.

Septic systems are high tech and need to be maintained properly, he said. If there are problems, refuse can leech into the groundwater.

With the issues his system had in the past, he wonders what shape other residents' systems might be in.

Recently, the county received a state Department of Health grant for $100,000 for its Operations and Maintenance program, which deals with septic inspections and complaints.

Some of the grant will help fund the new Web portal the department is creating for septic information. The site will give homeowners access to as-builts and maintenance information of systems without having to go into the county's office, Henderson said. Potential buyers and real estate agents can use it to check out homes' septic systems.

The state requires some of the funds be used for mapping, and some will be used for public outreach, he said.

In addition, a chunk of the grant will be used to set up an incentive program for septic inspections, Henderson said.

The incentive program isn't currently in place, he said. There are a number of possible options.

Skagit County had a rebate program for four years, where after an inspection or upgrade was done, residents could submit their receipts and records and apply for a rebate.

If the $62 recording fee for septic inspections can't be lowered, the incentive program could be designed to offset that cost, Henderson said.

The percentage of people who submit the results of their septic inspections now will help the county determine what the recording fee would need to be next year to fund the Operations and Maintenance program.

Realistically, the incentive program won't be in place until January at the earliest, he said.

Once the grant ends June 30, 2011, the incentive program is something he will work to continue through other funding, Henderson said.

Staff Reporter Kristi Pihl: 629-8066 ext. 125 or kpihl@scnews.com.