By Larry Pynn, Vancouver Sun March 4
The province's Sewerage System Regulation of 2005 is under fire from a coalition of health experts.
The province's Sewerage System Regulation of 2005 is under fire from a coalition of health experts.
The province’s deregulation of septic systems is a “classic case study in regulatory failure” and sets the stage for a Walkerton-style health disaster in B.C., a coalition of health experts warned in a report Wednesday.
The report is a critique of the province’s Sewerage System Regulation adopted in 2005 to replace government oversight with a new system that relied on self-regulation by associations of private-sector technicians and professional engineers.
It argues that the “self-regulatory system established for the technicians is profoundly deficient” and “there is no regular monitoring of systems after they are installed.”
The system lacks a government inspection or approval process, is open to conflict of interest, removes health officials’ powers to protect the public and allows for no public notice or right of appeal, says the report, prepared by the University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre on behalf of the Sewerage System Regulation Improvement Coalition.
Changes are needed before B.C. “experiences an environmental and public health disaster similar to those that occurred in Walkerton...” it says. Seven people died and more than 2,300 became sick from drinking water contaminated with E. coli in the municipal water system in Walkerton, Ont., in 2000.
The Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport responded in a written statement that it is “very interested” in the coalition's ideas and is “open to suggestions.”
The statement said the new sewerage regulation was intended to provide clear standards, reduce delays in construction, provide consumers with greater flexibility, and place responsibility for oversight with industry through the use of certified professionals.
The ministry said it continues to work with the Union of B.C. Municipalities “to evaluate and enhance sewerage regulation,” the statement said.
The report says changes are needed to help avoid major financial liabilities for homeowners, infrastructure costs for local governments, and remediation costs for both.
It cites two case examples from the Interior: one, a public health inspector who spotted irregularities with a septic design and was told by his supervisor to stamp it or risk being fired; the other, a pensioner who paid $25,000 for a “Cadillac system” that failed within months and leaked sewage over his driveway and property.
Calvin Sandborn, legal director of the University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre, said in an interview that the report “is not a partisan thing,”
“Everybody acknowledges this is a terrible piece of legislation.”
The Union of B.C. Municipalities is also on record as wanting changes to the septic legislation, pointing to “increased cost to homeowners, a lack of flexibility in system installations, an inadequate number of practitioners and professionals, a lack of communication, and liability concerns.”
Metro Vancouver reported 31,000 septic systems existed in the region in 2005.
Sandborn figures 5,000 to 8,000 new septic systems are installed annually in B.C. on properties not connected to municipal sewage systems.
The law centre report notes the regulations allow people with as little as 15 days training to become private sector technicians and file septic design plans to authorize installation of a septic system. B.C. is the only jurisdiction in North America to allow septics to be installed without government inspection or approval.
Conflict of interest arises from technicians also being involved in the installation of the septic systems.
The report said health officials have no power to stop technically flawed systems from being built, and can only act once a system causes pollution of surface or ground water, including drinking water.
Neighbours do not have the right of public notice of installation of a septic system nearby, and have no right to appeal potentially hazardous systems, the report adds.
The rules governing septic installation amount to “unenforceable, complex and vague guidelines” and allow for septic systems “to be constructed within 100 feet from drinking water sources....”
Those installing septic systems can “work without bonding or insurance — leaving homeowners and neighbours to bear the cost of practitioner malfeasance or incompetence,” the report states.
It calls for changes that ensure “public oversight and accountability” and urges a consultation process involving various stakeholders, including those in public health, environment, and communities.
The coalition includes the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (BC), BC Shellfish Growers Association, and the Public Health Association of B.C., the members of which include officials in universities and agencies such as the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.
lpynn@vancouversun.com;
The province's Sewerage System Regulation of 2005 is under fire from a coalition of health experts.
The province's Sewerage System Regulation of 2005 is under fire from a coalition of health experts.
The province’s deregulation of septic systems is a “classic case study in regulatory failure” and sets the stage for a Walkerton-style health disaster in B.C., a coalition of health experts warned in a report Wednesday.
The report is a critique of the province’s Sewerage System Regulation adopted in 2005 to replace government oversight with a new system that relied on self-regulation by associations of private-sector technicians and professional engineers.
It argues that the “self-regulatory system established for the technicians is profoundly deficient” and “there is no regular monitoring of systems after they are installed.”
The system lacks a government inspection or approval process, is open to conflict of interest, removes health officials’ powers to protect the public and allows for no public notice or right of appeal, says the report, prepared by the University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre on behalf of the Sewerage System Regulation Improvement Coalition.
Changes are needed before B.C. “experiences an environmental and public health disaster similar to those that occurred in Walkerton...” it says. Seven people died and more than 2,300 became sick from drinking water contaminated with E. coli in the municipal water system in Walkerton, Ont., in 2000.
The Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport responded in a written statement that it is “very interested” in the coalition's ideas and is “open to suggestions.”
The statement said the new sewerage regulation was intended to provide clear standards, reduce delays in construction, provide consumers with greater flexibility, and place responsibility for oversight with industry through the use of certified professionals.
The ministry said it continues to work with the Union of B.C. Municipalities “to evaluate and enhance sewerage regulation,” the statement said.
The report says changes are needed to help avoid major financial liabilities for homeowners, infrastructure costs for local governments, and remediation costs for both.
It cites two case examples from the Interior: one, a public health inspector who spotted irregularities with a septic design and was told by his supervisor to stamp it or risk being fired; the other, a pensioner who paid $25,000 for a “Cadillac system” that failed within months and leaked sewage over his driveway and property.
Calvin Sandborn, legal director of the University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre, said in an interview that the report “is not a partisan thing,”
“Everybody acknowledges this is a terrible piece of legislation.”
The Union of B.C. Municipalities is also on record as wanting changes to the septic legislation, pointing to “increased cost to homeowners, a lack of flexibility in system installations, an inadequate number of practitioners and professionals, a lack of communication, and liability concerns.”
Metro Vancouver reported 31,000 septic systems existed in the region in 2005.
Sandborn figures 5,000 to 8,000 new septic systems are installed annually in B.C. on properties not connected to municipal sewage systems.
The law centre report notes the regulations allow people with as little as 15 days training to become private sector technicians and file septic design plans to authorize installation of a septic system. B.C. is the only jurisdiction in North America to allow septics to be installed without government inspection or approval.
Conflict of interest arises from technicians also being involved in the installation of the septic systems.
The report said health officials have no power to stop technically flawed systems from being built, and can only act once a system causes pollution of surface or ground water, including drinking water.
Neighbours do not have the right of public notice of installation of a septic system nearby, and have no right to appeal potentially hazardous systems, the report adds.
The rules governing septic installation amount to “unenforceable, complex and vague guidelines” and allow for septic systems “to be constructed within 100 feet from drinking water sources....”
Those installing septic systems can “work without bonding or insurance — leaving homeowners and neighbours to bear the cost of practitioner malfeasance or incompetence,” the report states.
It calls for changes that ensure “public oversight and accountability” and urges a consultation process involving various stakeholders, including those in public health, environment, and communities.
The coalition includes the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (BC), BC Shellfish Growers Association, and the Public Health Association of B.C., the members of which include officials in universities and agencies such as the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.
lpynn@vancouversun.com;
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