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Hello, and happy summer from the King County On-site Sewage System (OSS) Program! We're entering the last month of our code revision public engagement process. We're so grateful to everyone who has taken the time to attend a meeting, fill out our survey, or visit our website. If you haven't yet, there's still time! Read on to learn how you can make your voice heard.
In this month's newsletter, we're covering our two upcoming in-person meetings. We're also providing more information about the final two main code topic areas - certifications & oversight, and operations & maintenance.
As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Sincerely,
Lynn Schneider, RS | OSS Program Supervisor
206.477.2124 | lynn.schneider@kingcounty.gov
Lara Brezina, RS | Interim OSS Operation & Maintenance Program Supervisor
206.477.1764 | lbrezina@kingcounty.gov
Si tiene alguna pregunta, comuníquese con nosotros a la siguiente dirección de correo electrónico lbrezina@kingcounty.gov o llame al 206.477.1764.
Nếu quý vị có bất kỳ câu hỏi nào, vui lòng liên hệ với chúng tôi tại lbrezina@kingcounty.gov hoặc gọi 206.477.1764.
Hadii aad su’aalo qabto, fadlan nagala soo xiriir lbrezina@kingcounty.gov ama soo wac 206.477.1764.
如果您有任何疑问，请通过 lbrezina@kingcounty.gov 或致电 206.477.1764 与我们联系。
We appreciate everyone that has taken the time to share their thoughts on our code revision process so far. If you haven't yet, or have more to share, you still have time! Your participation is a valuable source of information, helping us move forward with more equitable and practical changes in the codes.
As usual, our survey is just a click away. It asks your feedback on specific proposed code revisions and should take about 10 minutes to complete. You can also learn more about the code revision process by visiting our website.
Our public meeting series continues with two in-person meeting opportunities this month. We encourage anyone interested to attend, and you can see below for more information. Also, we're offering stipends for families that need assistance with childcare in order to attend!
Join us at a public meeting in July
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In-person meeting for people in North & East King County
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Saturday, July 20, 3 p.m.
- Sammamish Plateau Water, 1510 228th Ave SE, Sammamish, WA 98075
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Who's invited? Families, neighbors, and anyone who lives or works in North & East King County.
- Need financial support for travel? Let us know when you register.
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Register online: North & East King County in-person meeting
- Need support for childcare? Let us know by filling out this form.
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In-person meeting for people in South King County
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Saturday, July 27, 3 p.m.
- Kent Commons Community Center, 525 4th Ave N, Kent, WA 98030
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Who's invited? Families, neighbors, and anyone who lives or works in South King County.
- Need financial support for travel? Let us know when you register.
- Register online: South King County in-person meeting
- Need support for childcare? Let us know by filling out this form.
We'll host one last virtual meeting in August - you can find more information on our community engagement webpage.
We look forward to having you join us and share your input!
The OSS (On-site sewage systems, also known as septic systems) code revision process covers 5 main topic areas:
- Land use & development
- Design specifications
- Repairs & remodeling
- Certifications & oversight
- Operations & maintenance
Over the last couple of months, we've been providing more context about each of these areas in our newsletter. This month, we're wrapping up by focusing on certifications & oversight and operations & maintenance.
Certifications & oversight
The goal of the certifications & oversight topic area is to help property owners by addressing gaps in the availability and quality of service of the local OSS industry. It's also an opportunity for the local code to be clearer, and for OSS professionals to provide consistent, quality service.
We've identified the following three proposed code revisions that we think are important. As we go through this code revision process, public input may lead to additional proposed changes.
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Create a new certification for liquid waste haulers and allow pumpers to inspect gravity OSS for routine inspections. Homeowners can’t always get an inspection when they need it. This change will increase the number of people certified to inspect gravity systems, increasing jobs and lowering costs for homeowners when the same professional can inspect and pump the tank(s).
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Evaluate reporting requirements for OSS failures. Communication is important for healthy OSS. This action will help us determine when failures should be reported and also balance safety with property owner privacy.
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Add clear expectations for level of service provided by OSS industry professionals and add regulatory outcomes (enforcement) for inadequate performance. It’s hard to know what service or help you will get when you hire an OSS professional. We know that it’s hard to trust people telling you what to do when you’ve had a bad experience. This change will help the County enforce a consistent standard of service between professionals and ensure better outcomes for everyone.
Operations & maintenance
The goal of the operations & maintenance topic area is to address maintenance costs, OSS safety, and the equity of requirements for property owners. This is also an opportunity for the local code to be clearer, provide a higher level of safety, and be implemented more equitably.
We've identified the following four proposed code revisions that we think are important. As we go through this code revision process, public input may lead to additional proposed changes.
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Reevaluate inspection requirements to determine whether the current requirements are justifiable. We’re looking for an inspection policy that gives residents more flexibility. This change is about balancing good monitoring (meeting our responsibilities to be good stewards) and not being overbearing on residents.
- Add on-going, equity-based regulation revisions. This would add an equity review to the update process for the local management plan. This will make sure the policy process is rooted in equitable best practices and prevent rules that inadvertently create hardship or barriers.
- Evaluate how to best manage holding tanks to prevent raw sewage discharge. Generally, holding tanks are only used on large commercial sites and in emergencies. Recently, more residential property owners are using them as repairs when no other options are available. As this type of system becomes more common, it’s important to track them adequately to prevent overflows and leaks. This change proposes better tracking of pumping and transportation of sewage from holding tank systems.
- Add protections against loose tank lids. Protecting community health and safety is our highest priority. A simple fix like making sure that tank lids are properly secured can save lives.
Each month, we'll define key terms to know about septic systems.
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OSS (On-site Sewage System, also known as a septic system)
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A system of components, located on or nearby the property it serves, that conveys, stores, treats, and/or provides underground treatment and dispersal of sewage. It consists of a collection system (pipes), a treatment component (septic tank), and a soil dispersal component (drainfield).
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An OSS inspection done before a property is sold or transferred. King County properties with an OSS must have their system inspected before the title is transferred. The property seller is responsible for having the OSS inspected by a certified On-site System Maintainer (OSM). The OSM must file the inspection report with Public Health and the seller must provide the inspection report to the buyer before the transfer of title.
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An OSS consisting of only a septic tank. A liquid waste hauler or pumper is required to remove and haul the sewage off-site for disposal at an approved wastewater treatment facility.
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An OSS that uses gravity to take the wastewater from the septic tank to a below-ground drainfield, where the wastewater is distributed.
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When an OSS doesn't sufficiently treat sewage or when there's a potential for contact between sewage and the public. An example of this is sewage on the surface of the ground. OSS failures are a threat to public health.
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Liquid Waste Hauler (also known as a Pumper)
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A person certified by Public Health to remove sewage from OSS and holding tanks and transport it to an approved wastewater treatment facility.
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Key steps in the code revision process (Note: the timing for this process is dynamic, and subject to change):
You can read previous OSS Code Revision newsletters by using the links below:
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January 2024: Newsletter introduction, OSS 101, and what to know about the OSS code revision process.
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February 2024: Lifecycle of an OSS, and local OSS codes
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March 2024: Summary of changes to state OSS codes
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April 2024: Process for updating local OSS codes
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May 2024: Public input opportunities, and details about the land use & development code topic area.
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June 2024: Upcoming public meetings, details about the design specifications and repairs & remodeling code topic areas, and financial assistance information.
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