Digging up the truth about septic tank debacle
EVER since the planned septic tank legislation was announced at the end of last year, it has raised more vexed questions than provided clear answers.
Would the €50 charge have to be paid every year? Would the fee increase over time? Would the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on septic tanks govern the scheme? How much would it cost on average to upgrade your tank if it’s found deficient? Would retrofit grants be available as are for green energy?
Instead of coming to the table with a comprehensive set of legislative proposals around the registration and inspection schemes, the minister chose to rush forward the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012 through the legislative stages and it was signed in without the crucial guidelines being in place. All of this has just fed into a public frenzy in rural Ireland that was fanned by the likes of Mattie McGrath along with Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin, all eager to ensnare the rural vote.
It never should have been this way. If clear guidelines had been circulated by Phil Hogan, the environment minister, from the outset, the likes of Fianna Fáil’s Éamon Ó Cuív would never have been able to throw out the ‘telephone number’ figures that he claimed septic tank upgrades would cost. But, the minister appeared to only have himself to blame for the hysteria borne from his obfuscation.
Politically, the minister now looks to have egg on his face following his decision to slash the cost of the registration fee from €50 to €5. He appears to have caved in to pressure from rural voters — and at the expense of the wider taxpayers who, theoretically, will be left footing the bill for this inspection scheme.
But will taxpayers really end up feeling the pinch from all of this? Even a few weeks ago it was becoming clear the inspection scheme would never have the firepower that the likes of Mr McGrath was choosing to bestow upon it. Why? Because there was never going to be enough money generated to fund a massive inspection scheme.
Cork-based chartered engineer Kevin Murray has extensive professional experience of septic tanks and he firmly believes what Hogan was proposing was “a crippled system”.
Even before the €50 was slashed to €5, he was adamant Mr Hogan never had any intention of introducing a rigorous system — as the maths never added up.
Even if 75% of the country’s 475,000 septic tank holders paid the supposed €50 every five years as was originally touted, that would only generate €17.8m towards the scheme and after the administration costs of establishing the register are extracted, an inspection plan devised, inspectors trained and paid payments (it’s estimated it will cost about €500 to inspect one tank), this would only ever allow up to 1% of the country’s tanks to be inspected every year. Now, we have a situation where 70% of the septic tanks holders will be contributing a mere €5. It’s unworkable without a major injection of exchequer cash from an ailing economy.
An analysis of Mr Hogan’s comments during the committee debate on the legislation also strengthens the argument the inspection regime will be far from rigorous. Just look at the way he quietly rebuffed opposition TDs who scaremongered about 1970s-installed tanks being subjected to the EPA’s 2009 code of practice. Look at the way he talked down angry Fine Gael TDs, and county councillors like Dermot Sheehan in West Cork by assuring him once the older system “was working as it was supposed to, you’d be fine”. Even yesterday on Morning Ireland, his language was becoming more and more transparent.
It would be a “risk-based system” meaning only the code red septic tanks would be targeted, such as those near rivers and streams where the EPA has already found contaminated water.
It would be more “benign than expected”, he said, and “not every septic tank would be inspected” meaning that far from demanding best practice new septic tanks, he wanted, at best, the rural dweller to discover the art of regular de-sludging or cleaning existing tanks.
Kevin Murray has no doubt that the seemingly politically haphazard way this scheme was approached is far from accidental.
“[Mr Hogan] had to get Brussels off our back. He had to be convincing. Brussels will now go away seeing as inspection legislation is in place but we will be left with a crippled inspection system that can do very little,” he said.
Yesterday, Mr Hogan said on radio he had found “a practical solution to a difficult problem”. Does that mean he orchestrated one of the greatest political fudges ever? In years to come, we may very well look back at the septic tank debacle with wry grins as ultimately, the bogeyman was only ever a spectre.
And most importantly don’t forget that Phil Hogan, Fine Gael’s political mastermind, is a rural TD himself.
* Kevin Murray will speak at an information seminar on the Water Services Amendment Bill at Oriel House, Ballincollig, Co Cork on Friday. The seminar will run from 9am until 1pm.
Q. What is all this hullabaloo about septic tanks?
A. The Government has introduced a system of registering and inspecting septic tanks to ensure they comply with EU environment regulations. It is a kind of NCT test for septic tanks.
Q. Why?
A. Under the EU Waste Framework Directive, domestic waste water involving septic tanks or other individual waste water treatment must be recovered or disposed of without endangering human health or the environment.
Q. Did Irish local authorities ensure this was done?
A. No. In October 2009, the European Court of Justice ruled that Ireland had not adopted adequate measures to comply with this requirement.
Q. Are there problems withexisting septic tanks?
A. Numerous; public health issues in particular. Ground water is often contaminated by poor waste treatment. Poor percolation can contaminate streams and lakes. Contaminated water can be particularly deadly to infants and elderly people.
Q. Who does the new treatment regime affect?
A. Any household or business that uses a septic tank to dispose of sewage and waste liquids.
Q. Are all owners of septic tanks obliged to register them?
A. Yes. Failure to do so could result in criminal prosecution.
Q. What is the deadline for registration?
A. March 2013.
Q. Must all septic tank owners pay a registration fee?
A. Yes. It is now reduced to €5 if registered before the end of July. Thereafter, it will cost €50.
Q. Will all tanks be inspected?
A. No. Only those that could potentially pose an environment or water pollution problem. At present, the criteria for choosing which ones will be inspected have not been worked out.
Q. Who will make the inspections?
A. Inspections will be carried out by local authority engineers and if they need to employ assessors from outside, they may do so.
Q. What criteria will the inspectors use to assess each septic tank?
A. It was intended that they would use strict criteria recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency. However, these have now been modified to the extent that the Department of the Environment envisage that the majority of tanks will pass the tests.
Q. What if a tank fails the test? How much will it cost to fix it?
A. Depends. If de-sludging is all that is required, probably no more than €100 to €150.
Q. Are grants available?
A. Maybe. Environment Minister Phil Hogan has said financial help will be available to people whose septic tanks need significant upgrading.
Q. Will biocycle units be subject to inspection?
A. Yes, according to Brian McGonagle, MD of Biocycle Ltd: “Any waste treatment system is bound by this, whether it is a traditional septic tank or a proprietary system.”
Q. How much will it cost to repair a badly damaged system?
A. That depends. If there is poor or no percolation, it will cost in the region of €5,000 to make right. A new, modern, biocycle system for a three bedroom house will cost between €7,000 and €12,000, depending on access and drainage. A high quality, new installation will cost around €9,000.
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