Recently, the Massachusetts DEP announced a $17,500 penalty assessment against a licensed septic system designer/inspector. The State bought these charges after a homeowner complained that his newly installed system was backing up towards his house. DEP authorities learned that the system had been improperly located, which explained why it was not working. After the installation, the inspector allegedly conducted a faulty inspection, which erroneously suggested the system was functioning.

In 1997, Massachusetts had also revoked the certification of another septic system inspector and fined him four thousand dollars for submitting falsified inspection reports. In that case, the State also alleged that there had been an improper inspection.

And Massachusetts is not the only State with septic system problems. In a Kentucky case, a Court was asked to discipline an installer for allegedly installing a system without first obtaining a required permit. In that case, the installer was cleared by the Court.

But, why is there so much concern over septic systems? The answer is that improperly installed or maintained septic systems can lead to very real public health problems. Since septic systems need to be properly installed and properly maintained, homeowners must devote some attention to this issue.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR SEPTIC SYSTEM
A septic system is a holding tank that relies upon natural bacterial action to break down human waste into environmentally friendly components. Not every house and building is located near a public sewage treatment facility. In cases where public sewers are not located nearby, septic systems are often the only available choice.

A properly functioning septic system can be trouble free for many years and perform quite adequately. And people who depend on septic systems do not have to pay sewer use fees. On the other hand, a failing septic system can be costly to repair or replace. And, when they are not functioning, a family needs to be on good terms with the local gasoline station owner.

A septic system consists of three parts. There is the septic holding tank; the distribution unit; and the leach field. Most of the bacterial action occurs in the septic tank. Here, bacteria breaks human waste into liquid and solids. For the most part, the solids fall to the bottom of the tank. They must be removed on occasion by a licensed septic service provider.

What remains is liquid. The liquid floats to the distribution box and leaves the system through perforated pipes. From there, the fluid is discharged to a large, subsurface area called a leach field. This consists of dirt and stone. Additional natural treatment occurs once the liquid is deposited into the earth.

This might seem very basic, but to work a system must be properly designed. If this is not done, a system will likely not function. The net result is that untreated waste is released, which can threaten nearby residents, contaminated well water, and create foul odor problems. Untreated waste contains many viruses and bacteria that can cause illness.

In "the old days," people used to connect their plumbing to underground tanks, which were nothing more than holes in the ground. Today, these are called cesspools and are usually illegal. So septic systems are a tremendous step up from the kind of "on-site" treatement in use years ago.

BUYING A HOME ??
If you are purchasing a new home, you should have an inspector evaluate the house. Once you buy the house, you will also buy the problems, so you want learn about problems before, not after, you buy.

An inspector will, or at least should, evaluate the septic system to determine if it is in good order. If it is not, this can signal a potentially very costly problem. In such case, you may wish to put off the purchase until the problem is cured, or make sure that enough money is escrowed, or the purchase price is sufficiently lowered, so that this matter can be corrected.

The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.

Stuart Lieberman, Esq., and IRED.Com, Inc., will not accept any responsibilty for any reliance on the information in this column or any damages whatsoever resulting from reading this column.