February 2016

MOWA convention keynote speaker says SSTS can help recharge nation's declining groundwater aquifers

According to Tom Fritts, a board member and past president of NOWRA (National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Associaion), it isn’t difficult to see the nation is experiencing a crisis in declining levels of fresh groundwater. You can see it if you visit Hoover Dam and look at the water level in Lake Mead. Or the sinkholes in Florida. Minnesota Public Radio has produced a series of stories (What Lies Beneath) that address a host of groundwater issues in Minnesota. Fritts says the onsite or subsurface sewage treatment system (SSTS) industry can play a role in helping to replenish falling aquifers since wastewater from homes and businesses that use SSTS return that water directly back into the ground, eventually recharging local aquifers. Each day in the United States, 22.5 billion gallons of fresh water is pumped from underground aquifers for personal use. If all 86.5 million homes in the U.S. used SSTS, this would recharge the aquifers at a rate of 22.2 billion gallons per day. But the fact is, only 25 percent of homes in the country are using SSTS, recharging aquifers at a rate of only 5.6 billion gallons per day. Said another way, 75 percent of homes are connected to centralized wastewater treatment facilities that discharge to surface waters that ultimately send 16.7 billion gallons of treated wastewater to the oceans every day. Fritts said the SSTS industry is currently growing at a rate of about 5 to 7 percent a year. In order to have a real impact on the rate of aquifer recharge, SSTS professionals need to increase that rate by building confidence  and credibility in the industry among not only citizens but also local, state and federal officials. Lack of credible leadership can lead to disaster, he said. As an example he talked about the Mann Gulch forest fire in central Montana in 1949. A crew of firefighters was sent in to fight the fire under the command of a new leader, Wag Dodge, whom they had not yet had time to get to know and have confidence in. Dodge quickly realized the fire was out of control and they needed to escape it. He ordered a retreat and at the same time began burning a ring of fire in front of their path and ordered his men to join him inside the escape fire he had created. Many of the men ignored his command and continued to run. “To hell with that, I’m getting out of here,” one crew member reportedly shouted. Dodge and only two others survived out of a crew of 16. “Our ‘ring of fire’ idea is distributed wastewater systems can be a solution to massive groundwater depletion,” Fritts said. He said getting others to accept that idea requires developing credibility and teaching others that SSTS recharges groundwater and that it is safe and cost-effective. “Only credible leaders can ignite an incredible revolution,” Fritts says. Fritts spoke as a keynote presenter during the 2016 MOWA (Minnesota Onsite Wastewater Association) conference held in St. Cloud in late January.

Tank reporting clarificaiton: count ALL installed tanks

At one point during training held for septic system installers in St. Cloud in December,  participants were told that when reporting annual SSTS Tank Fee information, only two tanks need to be counted when reporting the number of tanks installed for an advanced treatment system. This was incorrect. 

In accordance with Minn. Stat. 115.551(a) the correct way to report your annual SSTS Tank Fee is to count ALL SSTS tanks that were installed.. The only exception is for performance-based SSTS as outlined in Minn. Stat. 115.551(b). Here is the actual statute language:

115.551 TANK FEE.

• (a) An installer shall pay a fee of $25 for each septic system tank installed in the previous calendar year. By January 30 each year, the installer shall submit to the commissioner a form showing the number of  tanks installed in each jurisdiction in the previous calendar year. The commissioner shall invoice the installers with the final fee due. Tank fee payment is due within 30 days of receiving the invoice. The revenue derived from the fee imposed under this section shall be deposited in the environmental fund and is exempt from section 16A.1285
• (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), for the purposes of performance-based subsurface sewage treatment systems, the tank fee is limited to $25 per household system installation.

If you have any questions in regards to reporting your SSTS tank fees please contact Carol Decker at 218-316-33928 or Kristi Kalk at 507-344-5261.

Don't land apply business holding tank, trap, oil-water separator waste

The MPCA gets many calls and e-mails asking which, where, and when liquid and solid wastes can be land-applied without a permit from the state. While most haulers are familiar with the requirements, some may not realize that waste from drains, traps, holding tanks, and oil-water separators at businesses are not considered septage and may not be land applied in Minnesota without being first tested and meeting certain conditions, even if the hauler owns the application land. For example, car wash and vehicle maintenance shop trap waste fall into the category of hazardous wastes and cannot go with septage to land application  unless properly tested with test results showing they meet standards for land application.

These conditions apply to any volume of waste. The MPCA has published an explanation of the testing and land application conditions for trap and holding tank wastes in an MPCA fact sheet (or Google MPCA trap fact sheet). 

Wastes that do not meet the conditions discussed in the fact sheet would be subject to a land application State Disposal System (SDS) Permit from the MPCA. Contact your local MPCA staff if you have questions about land application of liquid or solid wastes by calling 651-296-6300 or 800-657-3864.

Using hydrated lime? Always use chart to correct for temp when reading pH prior to land application

When using hydrated lime in your septic tanker truck, remember the process you need to follow for taking temperature and pH readings prior to land applying the septage.

After adding lime into the truck tank, obtain a small sample of septage for your initial pH reading. This pH reading is required to be at 12.0 or higher. In addition, you need to account for temperature correction for both initial and final pH because the actual pH can vary greatly from the given pH depending on the temperature of the septage.

For example, if the pH meter reads 57 degrees Fahrenheit, the pH needs to read 12.3 for it to actually be 12.0. 

Use MPCA chart to correct for temperature

The pH meters that state they are temperature corrected are only corrected to the temperature that is shown on the meter, they do not correct according to the chart provided by the MPCA. You can request a temperature correction chart from your regional MPCA staff if you do not already have one. The chart is also available online. Search online using the phrase "umn temperature/ph correction table."

Once you have reached an initial (temperature adjusted) pH value of 12.0 you can begin your required 30 minute holding time between your initial and final pH reading. The final pH should take into account temperature correction to ensure that the pH of the septage is 12.0 or higher for 30 minutes prior to land application.

If an incident occurs where the final (temperature adjusted) pH is less than 12.0 you need to add more lime to the septage and reset the 30 minute holding time. When you have satisfied the 30 minute holding time and your pH is 12.0 or higher you can properly land apply.

When changing SSTS designs, proceed with caution

Local Government Units (LGUs) need to carefuly review all SSTS design plans they receive to ensure they are complete, correct, and include local ordinance requirements. Once a design is verified as acceptable, the construction permit for the SSTS can be issued.  The design that is permitted is the design that must be installed, unless something unpredictable happens. When something unexpected does happen, the designer needs to be contacted and made aware of the issues. After the issues have been discussed between the designer, installer and LGU, and the designer makes changes to the design, then the LGU can confirm the change and the installation can follow the new design.   All changes should follow the state code and local ordinance.  All design changes need to be signed off or changed by the original designer, whether it is a change in the number of tanks, where the SSTS is going to be placed, or anything in-between.   The installation can proceed once the designer has confirmed any changes.  A new design is not required to be on site, but the designer must submit the new design changes for the LGU file. All changes must be signed by the designer next to the areas that were altered. Design changes should be submitted within a reasonable time.    If an LGU makes design changes without confirmation from the designer, the LGU could be held liable as the designer and/or face litigation if the system were to fail.   Talk with designers about issues as they arise.  Problems that make a design report unacceptable can happen for a variety of reasons.  Sometimes there are specific local requirements that a designer may not be aware of. Other times there may be miscalculations or errors in the design report that need to be corrected.   The most important thing to remember as an LGU is that corrections to designs are changes to designs, and whoever makes the changes then becomes the designer of the system. Also make sure inspectors don’t make changes to designs, but only approve changes made by the designer.

Department of Labor/Industry plumbing code changes take effect

Just a reminder from the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) that the 2015 Minnesota Plumbing Code changes took effect Jan. 23, 2016.  Of particular interest to SSTS professionals are the changes relating to work associated with building sewers, the pipe that runs from a home to the septic tank. Information about these changes were covered in the August 2015 edition of the SSTS Bulletin. For future updates about the 2015 Minnesota Plumbing Code, the DLI recommends signing up to receive their CCLD Review newsletter.

These sound bites just might save you from the real thing

Most of the time, working in the subsurface sewage treatment industry isn’t very exciting. But it can get really exciting really quickly if your work happens to bring you to a home with an aggressive dog. The time to learn about what to do in that situation is now, not then, and not all the training/information available is created equal.

“Most training and speakers give you advice that sounds good in theory, but will subject you to injury in practice,” says Hector Hernandez, a dog bite prevention specialist from Flint, Mich. (shown above at the MOWA conference with his dog and a MOWA volunteer). His keynote address focused on methods he has used during real encounters to escape from aggressive dogs without being bitten. Here are tips to keep in mind before and during an encounter with an aggressive dog to avoid being bitten.

Before an encounter

• As you approach an unfamiliar home, scan the yard and be ready to meet a dog that might live there. Look for evidence of a dog; i.e. a chain tied to a tree, dog toys, dog poop (note the size), yellow dead spots in the grass from dog urine, a beaten path along a fence, etc.
• Plan in your head an escape route.
• Be watchful and not distracted as you approach the house (no looking at your phone, paperwork, etc.) Have your hands free or holding something you can use to keep between you and an aggressive dog.
• Having a hat is a good idea. You can use it to distract an aggressive dog.
  
• Bring with you a can of pepper spray or small air horn.
  
• Look for other items in the yard that you could potentially pick and hold between you and an approaching dog.

During an encounter

• If you DO encounter a dog, stay calm. Do not react with emotion. Do not attempt to pet any dog you may encounter. Evaluate the dog's body language to determine how aggressive it may be.
• A wagging tail does NOT mean a dog is friendly.
• Don’t run!
• Face the dog and continue to look at the dog and be ready for a charge.
• Using your outside voice, order the dog to stop, sit or stay.
• Look, feel and sound confident. This relaxes you and makes the dog unsure.
• If the dog’s owner is present tell them, “I need you to put your dog away! I need you to control your dog now!”
• If you brought a hat, take it off and wave it in front of the dog if it is charging you or threatening to bite you.
• If there is a charge, use your hat to wave in front of the dog and break his charge, or some other item that is readily available.
• If there is no immediate charge, begin to walk backward along your escape route out of the yard while continuing to face the dog. Make sure you don’t trip on anything.
• If you have an air horn, use it while you back out of the situation. An air horn can be as effective as pepper spray in giving you enough time to escape.

Using pepper spray

• Spray dogs that are behaving aggressively but have not yet bitten you. That is, they are circling you or standing still and barking/growling/threatening.
• Start spraying as soon as the dog starts coming at you.
• Continue to walk backward and give verbal commands to the dog. Down, sit, stay.

Striking to stop an active attack

• You can strike a dog that is actively attacking you
• Strike the dog anywhere along the spine, from the back of the neck to the hind quarters. This can break down the dog’s will and confidence
• Deliver an uppercut with your fist or knee to the dog’s throat if he is biting you or an object you are holding.
• Deliver a kick to the chest or under the jaw. The danger here is if you miss or lose your footing the dog can gain an advantage.

If there is more than one dog, focus only on the leader, which is typically the dog being the most aggressive.

Note: no MOWA members were harmed during Hector's presentation.