Frequently Asked Questions – Onsite Wastewater Public Meetings If septics can no longer go to the ditch does that mean sump pumps cannot go to the ditch also? Health Department regulates onsite wastewater so as long as no wastewater (examples: washing machine, water softeners, sinks, or toilets) is discharging into the sump pit the Health Department does not regulate these discharges. The issue of concern that can come from sump pump discharges is the creation of nuisance conditions. The Health Department does have regulatory authority over that if they are creating a breeding location for mosquitoes. Don’t banks require septic inspections when a property is sold? Not all banks require a septic inspection before a property transfer. Who does soil tests and who pays? In Illinois an individual has to be a Licensed Soil Classifier to do soil classification work for purposes of sizing an onsite wastewater disposal system. There are a number of individuals in the area who are licensed to do the work. The responsibility for paying for the soil classification will be between the Licensed Private Sewage Disposal Contractor and the Homeowner. A list of soil classifiers can be found at the following website: http://www.illinoissoils.org/soilconsult.htm Who certifies Soil Classifiers? The Illinois Soil Classifiers Association certifies soil Classifiers in Illinois. For more information on the process you can go to their website at www.illinoissoils.org. What if a Home owner wants to install his own system? Homeowners will still be allowed to install their own system. Homeowners must comply with the same requirements as any licensed contractor, including obtaining a permit. The Health Department will work with the homeowner to ensure that the design meets code, but by law the Health Department cannot design the system. Will a homeowner be required to have a Soil Test if he is installing his own system? Yes, without the soil analysis it would be impossible to determine if a non-discharging treatment system could be installed. What is Soil test/report? Soil analysis is a process where a soil classifier comes out to a property and takes a minimum of three soil core samples in the area where the proposed onsite wastewater treatment system is to be installed. The Classifier then takes those samples and uses a chart to determine the permeability (ability of soil to absorb water) of the soils and if and where any limiting layers (water tables, non-permeable layers) may be to a depth of 60 inches. This information is then put into a report and given to the contractor to determine the type, size, and depth of any limiting layers. Does a homeowner still need to get a permit if they are installing their own system? Yes. If a homeowner chooses to install their own system they must comply with the same rules as a Licensed Private Sewage Disposal Installation Contractor, including obtaining a permit and having a soil analysis completed. What does a permit include? A permit grants the applicant and his/her contractor permission to install a system as approved by the Health Department. The Health Department will advise property owners on the types of systems available, ensure that what is proposed complies with code, inspects at the time of installation completion for compliance, and sends copies of all paperwork including the final inspection to the homeowner. However, by law the Health Department cannot design the system.

Can buried sand filters still be installed? Yes, but only when they will be followed by an appropriately sized subsurface treatment system or when it is shown that a subsurface treatment is not feasible on the property. What is the cost for an onsite wastewater installation permit? The current application fee for an onsite wastewater installation permit is $200.00 and is set by the County Board in the Ordinance. What is the cost for an onsite wastewater installation variance? The current fee for an onsite wastewater installation variance is $75.00 and is set by the County Board in the Ordinance. Does requiring an inspection mean that a 40-50 year old system will have to be replaced before the owner can sell a property? No, not necessarily. As long as the inspection does not indicate there are any violations of the code present which require a repair (create a potential public health hazard) no changes would have to be made. However an onsite wastewater treatment system is repaired and an onsite wastewater installation permit is needed the entire system must be brought up to code. Will you hire more inspectors to do this program? At this time there are no plans to hire additional staff for the onsite wastewater disposal program. In the proposed ordinance licensed Private Sewage Disposal Installation Contractors will be the ones conducting inspections for the purpose of real estate transactions not the Health Department. Does Illinois distinguish between grey and black water? No, Illinois does not separate the two they both are considered wastewater. What does mandatory maintenance mean? It means that property owners would have to have an approved individual regularly review and service your onsite wastewater treatment system to ensure that it is working properly. This is already done for free for the first two years after an aerobic treatment plant is installed. Now you would have to keep the contract for the life of the system. If a homeowner installs a new system, will he have to pay someone else to maintain it? Yes if it is an aerobic treatment plant the first two years are covered as part of the purchase price after that it would be the responsibility of the homeowner to pay for the continuation of the service contract. Who will service if homeowner installs their own what? The homeowner would have to hire an approved individual to provide the service, unless they can prove they can provide the needed service and obtain permission from the Health Department to do their own service. Many subdivisions such as Lake Camelot have very small lots will they be able to comply? There will be significant challenges for some areas of the County to comply with Code. Lake Camelot is one of those areas and it is more involved than just small lots. As long as my onsite wastewater treatment system is working properly, do I need to do anything? No, based on the proposed Ordinance the only time that changes will have to made to an existing system is if the system fails or is in such a state of disrepair that a permit is needed to make the corrections. This may happen if a system is found to be in failure at the time of a real estate transaction, zoning review, or complaint basis.

MY buried sand filter does not ever have water that discharges from it, is it still considered a surface discharge? Yes, all systems that have a discharge pipe that and were designed and installed so as to be able to surface discharge including buried sand filters are considered surface discharging systems. Who will certify the inspectors that conduct real estate transaction inspections? The proposed Ordinance requires that the inspection be conducted by a Licensed Private Sewage Disposal Installation Contractor registered by with the Peoria City/County Health Department. The Illinois Department of Public Health issues the License to Private Sewage Disposal Installation Contractor. How often will Aerobic treatment units or mechanical systems have to be inspected? In the proposed Ordinance it is required that they are inspected every six months. Aerobic treatment units are certified by ANSI standard 40 and an inspection every 6 months is a part of that certification process. What about mandatory/required maintenance; who can do it and what will be required? The proposed Ordinance requires maintenance on all new or repaired surface discharging systems. This would mean Aerobic Treatment Units(ATU) Sand filters, Lagoons, or any other system designed to surface discharge. The current proposal allows for service to be done by a Licensed Private Sewage Disposal Contractor and pumping by a Licensed Private Sewage Disposal Pumping Contractor. The current vision is that the follow up/tracking of maintenance will be complaint driven. A property owner is required to have a maintenance contract, have the system serviced, and keep copies of those records. If the Health Department receives a complaint on the system the property owner would be expected to provide proof of the maintenance. Can a homeowner provide his own maintenance on a system? That is not currently an option in the proposed draft, but is something that a homeowner could do if they knew what to do. Occasionally there is an unforeseeable flood and my system fails, what do I have to look forward to with the new Ordinance? No system will function during a flood if it is submerged underwater; currently the proposed Ordinance does not specifically address floods other than not allowing new construction in a designated floodplain. This is an issue of concern and something that the Health Department is looking at, but it is a complicated matter especially on existing properties. Wasn’t there a House Bill that was passed that makes it illegal for a surface discharge to be installed in Illinois after January 1, 2013, if the system was not covered by a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit? Yes, however during the last legislative session a new bill was introduced and passed that amended that date to six (6) after the adoption of a General Coverage NPDES permit by the USEPA. You stated Aerobic Treatment Units (ATU) were not allowed in Peoria County however, I had one installed when my system was replaced. The current Peoria County Ordinance does not allow ATUs. If a home owner had a reason that one had to be installed on the property they have to apply for a variance, seek special approval and pay an additional fee for the variance. With the proposed code ATUs will be adopted as an approved system, however they will not be allowed to surface discharge unless there is no other option for onsite wastewater disposal on the property.

When my aerobic treatment unit was installed the contractor told me it was the “The Thing of The Future” is this not true? Some Contractors do try to sell ATUs by stating “you will never have to replace your system again.” The problem with that is that often they forget to mention that the system does need routine maintenance even after the initial two (2) year contract that comes with the system. They also forget to mention that there are mechanical parts that need to be replaced when they break, or that there will be a surface discharge that every gallon of water that is put down a drain in your home will discharge to the ground’s surface. Does the Health Department or the contractors have the right to dig up a yard to do an inspection? This would depend on the site conditions on the property and would have to be worked out between all parties prior to the inspection. Is there a mandatory pumping requirement in the Ordinance? No, because the frequency of pumping depends on usage. The Ordinance states the Health Department have 10 days for action on permits. Could this be shortened for emergency repairs or installations? Yes, the Health Department works with contractors and home owners as much as possible if an emergency repair is needed. Currently the turnaround time on most permits is faster than ten (10) days. If sanitary sewer is within 300 feet of a property and the owner want to do repair would he/she be required to connect to the sanitary sewer. Yes if it is feasible. Sanitary sewer is better public health practice and the option that a property owner should be looking at whenever possible. This is required in the current Ordinance and State Code already. What is a common tile? In the proposed Ordinance Common drains (also sometimes referred to as common tiles) are defined as: An underground, enclosed conduit designed to carry liquids in addition to effluent. Examples of common drains include storm tiles, field tiles, and village common collectors. If the Ordinance is passed will changes to systems or surface discharge points have to be made immediately? The proposed Ordinance would require that if a permit was needed to repair or replace the system then the entire system would have to be brought up to comply with the new Ordinance. This means a property owner would not have to make changes to an onsite wastewater treatment system just because there was a new Ordinance. What is the cost difference of soil classification versus percolation test? From the information that has been presented to the Health Department through conversations with private sewage installation contractors, it is about the same price, but will vary depending on the contractor and the location of the property. Why is Peoria County rushing to be ahead of the State or Feds in adopting a new Ordinance? Peoria County is not rushing a new Onsite Wastewater Ordinance has been being worked on since January of 2012. Meeting with Stakeholders and the general public is another step in that process. Peoria County has been waiting years for the State of Illinois to update the Private Sewage Disposal Code. There has seen very little progress in the process of the State Code getting adopted. It is time for Peoria County to stop waiting and make changes to the County Ordinance that promotes good public health practices.

When the State finally passes an updated Private Sewage Disposal Code what if it is less restrictive than Peoria County? Will Peoria have to make additional changes? No, the Peoria County Onsite Wastewater Ordinance can be more restrictive than the State Code, but cannot be less restrictive. Do you have plans to do homeowner education at the time of new construction? Yes, the Health Department will be doing additional education with homeowners. The first step in the homeowner education process is making sure that homeowner’s are aware of the type of system going in on their property. One way of helping to facilitate this is requiring the owner sign the onsite wastewater treatment permit application form. How do you educate the new buyers when a property is sold? The mandatory real estate inspections will provide opportunity for the Health Department to find out who is buying a property and educate them on the system on that property. What does traditional or tank and field system mean? A traditional tank and field system is an onsite wastewater treatment system that is comprised of a septic tank followed by a subsurface treatment system. Examples of subsurface treatment systems include: gravel field, gravel trench, gravelless pipe, and chambers. Each of these systems uses the soil for absorption and has individual design requirements. None of these systems have a surface discharge. Does the Health Department plan to require water conservation such as low flow toilets and shower heads? Those types of items are construction items and are addressed in building codes not the Peoria County Onsite Wastewater Treatment Ordinance. This Ordinance will require that rural lots to be larger? Yes, in many instances it will. It will ultimately depend on the soils on the property. On newly developed lots we are saying that the developers need to plan for the future. The property needs to be designed to have adequate space for not only the onsite wastewater disposal system they need today, but the replacement system they will need in the future.