WHAT IS THAT SMELL?

03/29/2011

Now that Florida has enacted SB 550 and every septic system in the state is required to be inspected, I would like to share my personal experience with septic tanks so you might know what to expect.

Except for a year in Texas in the late 1970's, I have lived in south Brevard since 1960. Thirty-plus of these years have been in homes with septic tanks. The one and only problem I ever had was having a black water tank pumped out. That is, until I moved into my current home. My house is equipped with a new ‘advanced’ Aerobic Treatment Unit (ATU) system. This system combines the old 1,000-gallon black water and the 1,000-gallon gray water tanks into one 500-gallon tank with an aerated mixing chamber. In this chamber, the septage is oxygenated so it breaks down faster and supposedly discharges a cleaner (less polluted) effluent into the drain field. It comes equipped with an external “blower” (air pump), which pumps 80 liters of air per minute into the mixing chamber. These systems are now referred to as Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems (OSTDS).

Pursuant section 381.0065(4) (u) Florida Statutes, I literally have to have a biannual "operating permit" to flush the toilet in my house. This cost $150 every two years. However, as the homeowner, I am not allowed to obtain this permit myself. I am required to hire a licensed septic contractor to pull this permit. Before this contractor can pull the mandated permit, I am forced by the same law to enter into a two-year "maintenance contract" with this contractor. These maintenance contracts are actually nothing more than "inspection" agreements. The contractor must also be specifically registered with the county health department to maintain the specific type of system installed before a permit can be pulled. Since there are no septic contractors registered to maintain my "Alliance 500" ATU system within Brevard County, I have to hire a contractor from outside of Brevard to "maintain" my system. The first maintenance agreement cost me $300 for two years. I have already been informed by the Brevard County Health Department to expect the next renewal to double to $600, resulting in my next agreement and permit costing $750.

No one disclosed the above requirements to me when I purchased this house.  When I thought the first letter I received demanding $450 for a permit to flush my toilet was some type of a scam, I ignored it. After the second notice, it was apparent that the contractor was nice enough to let the county know I had not renewed in his required quarterly report. The county then did their annual inspection and informed me I was "not in compliance" (even though my system was operating normally) and that I had 14 days to buy a maintenance contract and get a permit, or face a $550 code enforcement "hearing" charge plus the $500 per day fine.

Facing theabove extortion, I paid for the maintenance agreement and permit. Not long after that, I received a letter informing me the filter in my blower unit needed replacement and the mechanical alarm panel needed to be reset. The quoted price for this repair was a mere $395!  I was so happy with this news I ran outside, got down on my hands and knees and copied all the information from the stamped plates on the blower unit. With this, I logged onto the Internet to contact Alliance. I was told I could make a perfectly good filter by using the "green scotch-brite pads available in the sponge isle at Wal-Mart", but bought the designed OME filters instead (two for less than $16). The technician from Alliance also told me how to replace the filter and that upon restoration of full air pressure that would occur by filter replacement, the alarm panel would automatically reset. Upon receiving the filters in the mail, I went outside, turned the "on-off switch" on the side of the blower unit to the "off" position, unplugged the blower from the wall, removed the one screw holding the cover plate down, took the old filter out, cleaned the filter housing with a small broom, installed the new filter, screwed the housing cover on, plugged the unit in, and turned it back "on". The system worked fine and the alarm panel reset, all just like the tech said.

When Icalled the Brevard County Health Department to complain about price gouging and the fact that I never saw the contractor do an "inspection" (even though his repair quote stated he was there on July 5th, 2009 - the Sunday after the first tea party at Space Coast Stadium - when I know I was home all day), I was again warned by county staff that I was not authorized to work on my own system. The air pump for my system has a designed life span of five years and new units are about $550. I wonder if I'll get fined when I need a new one if I plug it in myself.

But don't all of you homeowners out there with septic tanks worry. The new law that covers your systems has the same consumer protection laws that mine has. Oh wait. That would be none! Not one, nada, zilch. You will all be at the mercy of these contractors that have not installed a new system since the housing market crashed. Wow! The prayers ($$$$$) of the Florida Onsite Wastewater Association could not have been answered at better time! I sure hope the contractor you hire to inspect your system isn't tempted to find something to repair or replace (of course, at your expense) just because they have the full force of the states police powers behind them.

Scott Cuthbert