Apr 14

Written by: Mike Bussiere
Thursday, April 14, 2011 

Here is an article from The Forester published on April 13, 2011.  This talks about proposed changes to the building code. 
  
Whether you are a current home/cottage owner, a seller or a buyer, septic re-inspections may require you incur cost to upgrade existing septic systems.  As a Seller, be sure your documentation is in order when it comes time to sell because Buyers are becoming more informed and will often request supporting documentation to back up what you are selling. As a Buyer or an existing home/cottage owner, you need to understand that when the time comes for the septic re-inspection you may be required implement some upgrades or even install a new septic system.
  
Here are the articles.
  
Source: http://www.cottagecountrynow.ca/news/local/article/973459--new-septic-rules-drive-up-costs-for-homeowners  
or find the article HERE  
  
New septic rules drive up costs for homeowners 
  
A series of proposed changes to septic tank regulations in the Building Code could make renovating or building a home or cottage in Muskoka more expensive.
  
If approved, a list of 28 proposed changes to the Building Code by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing will affect anyone in Ontario trying to get a permit to build a new home with a septic system. Existing homeowners doing renovation projects on buildings with septic systems could also potentially have to replace them if they don’t meet the proposed standards.
  
Up for deliberation with ministry representatives at the Ontario Onsite Wastewater Association conference in Huntsville this weekend, the proposals could take effect as early as 2012.
  
“Your sewage system must meet current Building Code requirements if you are planning an addition of 15 per cent or greater (of the building’s current size), or if you’re adding plumbing fixtures or bedrooms,” said Sandy Bos, a Muskoka Lakes building inspector who is also an Ontario Onsite Wastewater Association board member.
  
Under the new proposals, the addition of an effluent pump to the septic system will be required to distribute treated wastewater from a septic tank evenly though the pipes in the filter bed – the area where the water seeps back into the soil. A requirement to use higher-grade sand in the filter bed is intended to further improve filtration.
  
Requiring the filter bed’s pipes to be wrapped in copper wire will allow inspectors, contractors and homeowners to easily find them in a yard without digging up the ground. 
  
Quoting a 2005 poll by the University of Guelph, Bos says there are over 35,000 homes in the district which use an on-site septic system. But despite the promise of better sewage treatment, Bos fears the changes will mean added costs for homeowners during already hard times.
  
He says the cost of replacing a septic system with one that meets the proposed standards can cost as much as a new car or boat – running between $10,000 to $25,000. For new homeowners, it means paying $5,000 or more than they would under current regulations if the proposals are passed. 
  
“Some of these changes are obviously good for the environment and public health and safety,” he said. “However, some of the changes will only increase the cost of installing sewage systems, and will make recently-installed systems obsolete for anyone wanting to make renovations in the future.”
  
In Muskoka Lakes, he says a properly-installed system under current regulations is already doing a good job of preventing septic runoff from damaging local lakes, streams and wildlife.
  
Ignoring the proposed septic regulations during construction or renovation can bring a fine of $50,000 for a first offence and up to $100,000 for subsequent offence, says Bos.
  
According to James Ross, a policy co-ordinator with the ministry, the proposals are being brought forth because the province is looking to bring Ontario’s septic tank regulations in line with those recently established by the Bureau de Normalisation du Québec (BNQ) – an accredited standards development council.
  
“It’s a made-in-Canada standard, so it’s able to measure how septic systems perform in our climate,” he said of the BNQ standard.
  
Currently, the province uses an American system.
  
“You’ve got to take into account snowfall, the effects of spring runoff – not many other countries have to deal with three feet of snow disappearing in a couple of weeks,” said Bos. “We have unique climactic factors that affect the operation of a sewage system that must be taken into account.” 
   

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Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Source:  http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page9297.aspx 

I have cut-and-paste the preliminary article below should the above link be changed on their website.  I do not have control over the links within the article and as a result some of the links may change over time.

 

Current Provisions

Since 1998, the Building Code has set requirements for the construction, operation and maintenance of small on-site sewage systems. Such systems have a design capacity of 10,000 litres per day or less, and serve a single lot.  Larger systems are regulated by the Ministry of the Environment.
  

The Building Code requirements are intended to minimize pathogens released into the environment, thereby supporting the Code objectives of “environmental integrity” and “health” and “safety”. The Building Code currently does not contain  requirements for nutrient abatement (phosphorous and nitrates). 
  

The Building Code regulates a number of different classes of on-site sewage systems.  Class 4 systems typically consist of a septic tank and a leaching bed that provides treatment of effluent.
  

Class 4 systems may also include a secondary or tertiary treatment unit located “downstream” from the septic tank.  Because such treatment units provide effluent treatment prior to discharge into the leaching bed, the size of the bed can be reduced.

Treatment units must meet performance criteria set out in the Building Code.  Treatment units listed in Supplementary Standard SB-5 to the Building Code are deemed to meet these requirements.  Treatment unit technologies are evaluated by MMAH for inclusion in SB-5 based on a number of criteria, including:

• testing and certification by the NSF International (U.S.-based) standard
• consideration of Ontario’s environmental/climatic conditions
• evidence of in-field performance.

Under the Building Code, tertiary treatment units may discharge into traditional leaching beds or shallow buried trench systems.  However, another soil absorption system, known as an area bed, is currently permitted as an innovative technology under authorizations issued by the Building Materials Evaluation Commission. A total of nine area bed authorizations have been issued since 1999.

  
Recent amendments to the 2006 Code, made in July 2010, support the effective regulation of on-site sewage systems by requiring and governing the inspection of existing systems.  These regulations are consistent with the implementation of the Clean Water Act, 2006, and the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan.
  

Potential Changes

Potential changes to the Building Code included in the second round of consultation would reference the new national standard for testing wastewater residential treatment technologies established by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ).  This reference would replace the current performance criteria for treatment units set out in the Code, and the list of treatment units set out in Supplementary Standard SB-5 which are deemed to meet these Code requirements. Specifically, criteria for secondary treatment units would be replaced with Levels 2 and 3 of the BNQ standard, while criteria for tertiary treatment units will be replaced with Level 4 of the BNQ standard. In addition, these units would be required to meet a given effluent disinfection standard in the BNQ with a given level being determined by the design of the dispersal bed.
  

A “sunset” date of December 31, 2016 would be established for Supplementary Standard SB-5, so that treatment unit manufacturers would need to certify their units under the BNQ standard by that date.  Administratively, new treatment units would no longer be considered by MMAH for inclusion in Supplementary Standard SB-5 as of December 31, 2014. 
  

The BNQ standard for treatment units includes protocols for testing these units over the course of the one-year certification period. The testing protocol allows for testing the unit under different effluent temperatures. The potential changes to the Building Code set out in this consultation paper would recognize effluent testing conducted either at uncontrolled temperatures, or temperature-controlled at 11C ±1 degrees Celsius.  
  

In addition to assessing the efficacy of treatment units in removing pathogens, the BNQ standard can also test for the abatement of nutrients (i.e., phosphorous and nitrates).  Potential changes to the Building Code include a requirement that on-site sewage systems in certain at-risk areas be required to be equipped with a tertiary treatment unit certified under the BNQ to abate nutrients.  These requirements would come into force on December 31, 2016. 
  

At-risk areas would initially include those areas which are subject to mandatory on-site sewage re-inspection on that date, and potentially other lakes considered to be “at capacity” from the perspective of nutrient loading.  These lakes would be identified in conjunction with the ministries of the Environment and Natural Resources, and would be subject to further public consultations.

  
Other potential changes to the on-site sewage system provisions of the Building Code in the second round of consultation include an amendment to clarify the sampling requirements for Tertiary Treatment Units following installation to more accurately gauge their performance. 
  

In addition, potential changes to the Building Code would establish standards for “dispersal beds” in the Code.  Such beds would be downstream from a treatment unit certified to tertiary quality or the new BNQ criteria.  The second round of consultation would set out two different compliance paths:

• requirements similar to those consulted on in winter 2008 
• requirements based on a review of on-site sewage standards in other jurisdictions.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing would undertake field testing of dispersal beds constructed to the new Building Code requirements along with dispersal beds that meet other design parameters. Dispersal beds would be evaluated using effluent equivalent to that discharging from a treatment unit that meets BNQ Level 4 criteria. Results of testing would inform the development of future dispersal bed requirements in the Building Code.
  

Rationale

Building Code regulation of on-site sewage systems contributes to public health and safety and environmental protection by reducing the release of pathogens into ground water and water bodies.  
  

Developing requirements for nutrient abatement in selected areas would further support these Code objectives as well as the Clean Water Act, 2006 and the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan.  Under the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan, the government has committed to exploring the potential use of on-site sewage systems regulation to achieve nutrient reduction.  Under the Clean Water Act, 2006 nutrient reduction tools are key to meeting the objectives of the Clean Water Act in protecting sources of drinking water.   
  

Other potential Building Code changes would recognize industry-based standards for treatment units and acknowledge that dispersal bed technology has been used widely across Ontario for 12 years and should be incorporated into the Code.

The proposed changes also reflect recommendations made by the Building Materials Evaluation Commission regarding standards for on-site sewage systems.
  

List of Potential Changes

CHANGE #	CODE REFERENCE	SUBJECT
S-A-01-04-01	Div. A 1.4.1.2.	Add new definition of “Type A dispersal bed”.
S-A-01-04-02	Div. A 1.4.1.2.	Add new definition of “Type B dispersal bed”.
S-B-08-01-01	Div. B 8.1.3.1.	Require grease interceptors to conform to CSA B481.1 or B481.2.
S-B-08-02-01	Div. B 8.2.1.2.(2)	Add an alternate method of determining percolation time.
S-B-08-02-02	Div. B 8.2.3.1. & 8.2.3.2.	Require subsurface detection of leaching bed components.
S-B-08-06-01	Div. B 8.6.2.1.	Specify particle size and area for effluent filters.
S-B-08-06-02	Div. B 8.6.2.2.(1)	Reference the BNQ 3680-600 treatment classifications.
S-B-08-06-03	Div. B 8.6.2.2.(2)	Set minimum treatment levels for treatment units used with shallow buried trench and dispersal bed systems.
S-B-08-06-04	Div. B 8.6.2.2.(5)	Recognize the classification of treatment units by the BNQ 3680-600 standard.
S-B-08-06-05	Div. B 8.6.2.2.(6)	Recognize the classification of treatment units by the BNQ 3680-600 standard in at-risk areas.
S-B-08-06-06	Div. B Table 8.6.2.2.A.	Revise the effluent quality table to make it consistent with the BNQ 3680-600 standard’s classifications of treatment units.
S-B-08-07-01	Div. B 8.7.3.1.	Clarify the sizing of absorption trenches for revised classification of treatment units.
S-B-08-07-02	Div. B 8.7.3.3.	Clarify the construction of distribution piping within a leaching bed.
S-B-08-07-03	Div. B 8.7.3.3.	Modify the graduation parameters for septic stone.
S-B-08-07-04	Div. B 8.7.3.3.(1)(d)	Require pressure dosing of certain leaching beds.
S-B-08-07-05	Div. B 8.7.4.2.(1)	Clarify that shallow buried trench construction is permitted in fill.
S-B-08-07-06	Div. B 8.7.5.1.	Adopt the BNQ 3680-600 standard’s classes for filter beds.
S-B-08-07-07	Div. B 8.7.5.3.	Modify filter bed construction to provide better aeration to ensure better fecal removal.
S-B-08-07-08	Div. B 8.7.5.3.(8)	Modify filter bed construction to ensure better fecal removals through uniform distribution of effluent.
S-B-08-07-09	Div. B 8.7.5.3.(9) & (10)	Provide for dosing rates for both pump and siphon applications.
S-B-08-07-10	Div. B 8.7.6.2.	Utilize the BNQ 3680-600 standard’s levels of treatment for shallow buried trenches.
S-B-08-07-11	Div. B 8.7.7.	Add design and construction requirements related to “type A dispersal beds”.
S-B-08-07-12	Div. B 8.7.8.	Add design and construction requirements related to “type B dispersal beds”. 2 options are proposed. See proposed Change Number S-B-08-07-13 for the other option.
S-B-08-07-13	Div. B 8.7.8.	Add design and construction requirements related to “type B dispersal beds”. 2 options are proposed. See proposed Change Number S-B-08-07-12 for the other option.
S-B-08-09-01	Div. B 8.9.2.4.	Revise the sampling requirements to allow for variances when a grab sample is taken.
S-B-08-09-02	Div. B 8.9.2.4.(1)(2)	Clarify the obligations of manufacturers where a treatment unit is not in compliance.
S-B-08-09-03	Div. B 8.9.3.3.	Require interceptors to be maintained in accordance with the CSA B481.4 “Maintenance of Grease Interceptors” standard.
S-B-11-03-01	Div. B 11.3.1.1.(2)	Require vertical separation to the water table to be in accordance with Part 8.

  

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Here are a couple of other links that provide some additional information on Septic Systems
  
   1) Septic System Re-Inspections:  http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Asset8304.aspx?method=1   
       or click HERE    
  
   2) Septic Systems: Muskoka Water Web   
       This is discusses some general information on septic systems.  
      It does not discuss the specifics regarding the proposed changes.

  

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