New home sewage rules go beyond state's

The new rules should not be much of a shock in the county.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- The Mahoning County Board of Health has adopted home sewage treatment rules that not only mirror, but are more stringent in some areas than the new state regulations that go into effect Monday.
The new rules passed Thursday, however, should not be as much of a shock in Mahoning County as in other areas of the state where enforcement has not been as strict as it has been here, said Health Commissioner Matthew Stefanak.
The reason, Stefanak said, is because the health board here has adjusted rules and enforcement over the years. As a result, there is little substantive change because of the new rules.
There is a common belief the new rules will, because of generally poor soil conditions for home sewage treatment systems in the Mahoning Valley, force homeowners to install above-ground sand mound systems in lieu of the conventional leach-line system.
Stefanak agreed that there will probably be more mound systems installed, but he said the conventional system will still be appropriate in some areas.
In Trumbull County, home sewage treatment system installers have said the new regulations will possibly double the average cost of a conventional underground leach-line system, which they said was 12,000 this year.
Stefanak and Wes Vins, director of wastewater programs for the Mahoning County health district, agree the mound systems will, on average, be more expensive than the conventional system here. But they said they do not think the difference will be excessive.
Comparisons
Here are some differences between conventional and mound systems.
In a conventional leach-line system, waste leaves the home and goes into a holding tank where the solids and liquid separate. Then, the liquid passes through filtration or aeration devices and is piped to an underground leach field, which disperses it into the soil.
In a mound system, the liquid from the septic tank travels to the mound, where it leaches through gravel and sand before going into the soil.
Stefanak said the mound system is new to some parts of Ohio but is considered "best practice" in some other parts of the country. Also, mound systems have been installed in Mahoning for several years, he said.
The point of the new rules, Stefanak said, is not to curtail home construction, but to allow more innovative practices to make it possible to build where traditional septic systems won't work.
One advantage here, Vins said, is that Mahoning has system designers, soil evaluators and installers who have worked with and understand mound systems.
More stringent rules
Vins said major areas in which Mahoning is more stringent than the state include:
Registration of contractors: The state requires installers and tank pumpers be registered. Mahoning added system designers and soil evaluators to the list.
Inspections: The county requires well and septic system assessments before a house is sold. Also, the health board requires that effluent be monitored annually and requires homeowners to enroll in its operation and maintenance program.
In a related matter, the county board's isolation distance for land application of septage is greater than what the state requires.
alcorn@vindy.com