New Septic Rules Effective January 1, 2024

New septic regulations adopted by the NC General Assembly become effective on January 1, 2024. These rules affect the repairs of existing systems and establish guidelines for new systems classified as high-capacity uses, such as restaurants, churches, and other similar uses. The information included below is from the Dare County Health Department, listing several concerns with the new rules:

1. The applicability of the rules as it pertains to the installation of repair systems for systems permitted prior to January 1, 2024.  The new rules are not supposed to apply to systems that have an IP (Improvement Permit), EOP (Engineered Plan), NOI (Notice of Intent to Construct), etc. issued before January 1, 2024 except for when the repair system is to be installed.  This means homeowners will now be forced to contract with an engineer to design advanced pretreatment systems for the designated repair areas (see concern number 2 below as concerns 1 and 2 are closely linked).
2. Loss of best professional judgment for EHSs.  The ability for local staff to use their experience working with local soils and environment has been severely restricted.  DEH staff will no longer be able to work with people on challenging repair situations.  Forces use of designated repair areas which often may involve use of some form of advanced pretreatment creating an exceptional financial burden on property owners.
3. The labeling of all uses that fall into certain categories as high-strength wastewater.  Churches, schools, RV parks, restaurants/food service, etc. The rules force the use of advanced treatment equipment when designing systems to serve these uses. These systems cost more to install and require significant ongoing O&M costs.

Dare County officials are evaluating the potential for revisions to the rules in the 2024 legislation session. The Government Affairs Committee will be discussing these new rules at their December meeting, and additional information for OBAR members will be forthcoming following that meeting.