Negotiated Rulemaking

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Negotiated Rulemaking

• Board of Health Meeting
• August 30, 2007

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Negotiated Rulemaking

• As agreed during the last legislative session,
  undertook negotiated rulemaking. Process of
  involving stake holders in decision making.
• The septic system must be properly sized to treat
  and dispose of the wastewater and thereby protect
  public health
• The basis for this negotiated rulemaking process
  is to evaluate the adequacy of the current
  bedroom model to reflect actual wastewater flows
  

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Why change the health code?

• It is the Health Districts responsibility to
  protect water resources from sources we can manage

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Priest Lake
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Pend Oreille Lake
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Spirit Lake
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Hayden Lake
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Hauser Lake
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Fernan Lake
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Coeur d Alene Lake
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Fishing
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Swimming
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Why?

• Protect our clean water
• Once septic systems are installed we live with
  them for decades
• Majority of septic permitted sites will not be
  connected to a sewer system
• Once a public health problem exists, it is very
  difficult to correct

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Why Here in the Panhandle?

• 14 of States population
• 9 of States surface area
• 33 of States surface water area
• 23 of States septic permits issued

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Why Now?

• Rapid growth
• Density of development
• Increase of
• sensitive sites

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Negotiated Rulemaking

• Summary to date
• Dale Peck, PE

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Negotiated Rulemaking Process

• Negotiated rule making to PHD Health Code IDAPA
  41.01.01
• Three phase focus group meetings
• Four groups Development, Design Professionals,
  Citizens, Agency
• Total of nine meetings and 39 participants
• Results of focus groups presented to BOH on July
  26, 2007

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Development Focus Group
Steve West, Centra, Inc., Coeur dAlene Lakeshore
Property Owners Association Ron Mahuron, M W
Construction and North Idaho Building
Contractors Assoc. Bill Fanning, Tomlinson Black
and CDA Lakeshore Property Owners
Association Greg Limandri, Limandri
Excavating Jerome Kalberer, JK Construction Allen
Worst, R.C. Worst and Co. Rick Vernon, Coeur
dAlene Association of Realtors John Corcoran,
Coeur dAlene Association of Realtors Gregg
Delavan, Coeur dAlene Lakeshore Property Owners
Association Sandy Emerson, Emerson Valuation Matt
Ellsworth, CENTRA, Inc., Coeur d Alene Lakeshore
Property Owners Assoc. Bill Johnson, Johnson
Custom Homes, North Idaho Building Contractors
Association Life Erikson, North Idaho Building
Contractors Association Lucas Braden, Coeur d
Alene Chamber of Commerce
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Design Professionals Focus Group
R.G. Nelson, Architect, American Institute of
Architects George Miles, P.E. Advanced Wastewater
Engineering Keith Dixon, ASLA, American Society
of Landscape Architects Tim Martin, Golder
Associates Hank Swift, Golder Associates
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Citizen Focus Group
Herb Heisel, Retired Citizen Nelle Coler,
Panhandle Area Council John Wallis, Hauser Lake
Watershed Coalition Scott Weston, Cedar Creek
Construction Joyce Bergen, League of Women
Voters Barbara McFarland, League of Women
Voters Jack OBrien, Retired Citizen Kate Wilson,
Pend Oreille Basin Commission Jamie Davis, Idaho
Assoc of Soil Conservation Districts
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Agency Focus Group
Clare Marley, Planning Director, Bonner County
Jeff Legg, Planning, Zoning and Flood Plain
Administrator, Shoshone County Roger Tinkey,
Engineering Manager, Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality (Regional office), AJ
Maupin, State On-Site Wastewater Coordinator,
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
(Boise) Glen Rothrock, CDA Lake Management Plan
Coordinator, Idaho Department of Environmental
Quality (Regional Office) Sandy Young, Planner,
Kootenai County Lewis Rich, Bonner County
Commissioner Rob Spafford, P.E. Coeur dAlene
Tribe Rebecca Stevens, Coeur dAlene Tribe Lewis
Rich, Bonner County Commissioner
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Potential Schedule

• Legislator briefing and decision on draft rule
  August 30
• Public meeting September 19
• Formal public hearing October 10
• BOH approval of Proposed Rule October 25
• Official notice to Administrative Bulletin
  November 5

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USEPA 2002 Onsite Manual

• Septic systems work well if installed in areas
  with appropriate soils and designed to treat the
  incoming waste loads
• Only 1/3 of the land in the US has soils suited
  for conventional drainfields
• Owners are not likely to replace failing systems
  unless they backup or pool in the yard
• Local planners and health officials need to make
  sure that the programs and regulations are
  appropriately tailored to local conditions

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How is a septic system sized?

• Two components to the equation
• Wastewater flow
• Soil type
• Currently use the number of bedrooms as an
  indicator of wastewater flow

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Treatment System Design Flow

• Septic system sizing is analogous to sewer
  treatment plant capacity
• Can only properly treat wastewater if within the
  design capacity of the system
• If septic system tank and drainfield are not
  properly sized the system will not properly treat
  the wastewater

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Water Usage Study Criteria

• Winter time water use
• Summer wastewater flows may be higher
• Monthly or seasonal averages
• Data grouped by 1000 square foot dwelling
  increments
• 90th percentiles of flows selected
• 150 safety factor applied to average based on
  EPA design manual

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Water Usage Studies

• King County (1150)
• Aspen and Fairfax combined (1363)
• Boise (37)
• Idaho Panhandle, Golder Associates (506)
• Method to validate local flows in line with King
  County study

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Design Criteria Summary

• Minimums between 240 and 400 gpd
• Agreement on multiple between 1000 and 7000
  square feet
• Multiple over 7000 sqft between .02 and .06 gpd
• Bedrooms or square footage, which ever is greater
  should be considered

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NRM Alternative A
Dwelling Size Method

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NRM Alternative B
Bedroom Method
300 gpd minimum and 120 gpd/bdrm over 2
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BOH July 26 Action

• Board voted that a change to the rule governing
  septic design flow is needed
• Requested evaluation of feasibility of studying
  onsite impact of effluent on ground water
• Requested additional water usage data

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Additional Water Usage Data

• Usage from over 7000 homes
• Same criteria for winter use
• Sorted by
• Square footage
• Bedrooms

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Why change the rule?

• The wastewater generated by homes in the
  Panhandle is substantially greater than what the
  state rule requires
• Current state rule does not produce accurate
  flows on which septic system is sized
• Therefore systems are undersized to properly
  treat the wastewater

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Wastewater Flows

• Using the current state bedroom standard, over ½
  of all homes have undersized septic system

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Recommended Process

• Select the preferred method
• Proceed with negotiated rule making
• Draft rule language
• Conduct public information meeting
• Conduct public hearing
• Evaluate public comment
• Make a final decision on changing the rule at the
  BOH meeting on October 25

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Thank you

• Questions?

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Impact of Increased Design Flows on Affordable
Housing

• Less than 15 of septic applications are for
  homes of less than 2000 sqft on 3 acres or less
• Less than 10 of applications are for homes of
  less than 2000 sqft on 1 acre or less
• The homes being built on septic systems would not
  generally meet the affordable housing
  requirement.
• City of Coeur dAlene study would require homes
  priced less than 125,000
• With acreage costs where they are, would preclude
  sale price below 125,000