Onsite septic systems

The April seminar focused on alternative septic systems. Selden Hall, Washington Department of Health was guest speaker for a very small audience. A similar program late last year drew over 60 attendees.

Traditional onsite septic systems treat and dispose of waste near the site where it is produced. Typical installations include a tank and drainfield with subsurface discharge of the treated effluent.

The objective, of onsite systems, is to minimize human exposure to sewage, reduce public health effects and the impact on the environment. Traditional onsite systems can provide known levels of treatment, long life expectancy and are economical with a minimum of maintenance.

Why are there alternative systems? Any time the soil is too shallow to support a traditional system, or the soil is too coarse, or the installation has insufficient setback or is in a sensitive area, there might be a need for an alternative system.

Selden described and discussed 3 alternative approaches. Mound systems for shallow soils and Sand Filter or Sand Lined Bed/Trench Systems for coarse soils.

Each of these solutions has unique design and equipment requirements. They can be used to meet the objectives of onsite systems through proper siting, proper design, proper installation, proper maintenance, and timely correction of system problems.

Interest was shown in composting toilets. Selden expressed some concerns about this type of solution since they deal primarily with solid waste. Another solution is needed to deal with grey water. Incinerating toilets are available, but they too require a drain field for liquid wastes. Selden illustrated the grey water problem with slides of a study which show very high contaminant levels in grey water. The disposal system needed for grey water isn't always as easy as using it to water the lawn or vegetable garden.

The CRC has a public resource library available for your use. Since our opening in late January we have developed an inventory or catalog of material in the library. Three new reports just in from Washington Department of Ecology are:

Recent video additions (mentioned earlier) which are now available to checkout:

A complete listing of the Resource Library content is available from the CRC. Please send a stamped, self-addressed envelope along with your request. If you are driving by the library in Oakville any afternoon, drop in and pickup a copy of the library listing. Or if you have internet access a copy of the library index is available on-line at: http://www.crcwater.org/

Are These Roads Unique?

Are you smelling the fresh cut grass, seeing the beautiful flowers bloom and hearing the birds sing? Yes, it is springtime! Springtime also means mowing the yard, pulling weeds and raking flower or garden beds. The Department of Ecology would like to share some helpful gardening hints.

May CRC Seminar

Reserve May 8th for an interesting seminar on Initiative 188.

This initiative, Marine Waters & Salmon Habitat Protection, requires 225,000 registered state voter signatures. The signature gathering campaign was kicked off on Earth Day weekend.

In the interest of informing voters about this initiative the CRC is sponsoring a free public seminar. Proponents of the act will present information to the public. That will be followed by an open question and answer period. This seminar is open to all and opponents as well as proponents are invited and welcome.

One of the major events in a volunteer nonprofit organization's life is achieving 501C3 status from the Internal Revenue Service.

The CRC submitted a lengthy application to the Internal Revenue Service in late December. That application was approved and the CRC is now recognized, by the Internal Revenue Service, as a 501C3 Charitable organization.

A lot of news is reported that has some relation to water and water quality. One of the projects of the CRC has been to collect those news stories.

Now, thanks to the efforts of Donna Bickar, one of our clerks, these articles are organized and available for use. Currently there are over 500 news stories dealing with Water Resources, Water Quality, Restoration, Biosolids/Sludge, Water Management and similar news categories available to the public. These cover a time period from 1989 to the present.

Along with at least 29 other applicants the CRC vied for a grant from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Our grant application described a unique news offering. On April 15th we were notified that our grant application was selected for partial funding.

The proposal called for and describes a basin wide monthly publication which is distributed with newspapers published in the basin. This includes newspapers in Olympia, Centralia and Aberdeen. The intent of the proposal is to provide information about water and fisheries issues to every household which has a newspaper subscription. This means that every subscriber has an opportunity to learn about issues and successes where ever they happen throughout the basin. Related organizations will be invited to participate and the newsletter can provide a monthly calendar of meetings and events related to our missions.

Negotiations with the grantor are under way and we will keep you posted as progress as made.

Why the change? 2 reasons. 1) Funding for the Drops of Water ends December 31. 2) The Drops of Water is distributed to about 800 readers. But the basin population is roughly 130,000 people.

Using the newspapers as a distribution vehicle we can reach a larger readership at a lower cost per reader. This will also eliminate the maintenance of a huge mailing list, labeling costs and time.

The CRC has undergone some changes. You will recall from a previous newsletter that we hired a clerk in January. That person is recovering from a medical condition and Donna Bickar has stepped in to fill that clerical position.

The CRC Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the hiring of a new, full-time addition to the CRC.

In January we started a complex selection process. The weeks of effort and interviews resulted in the selection of Carol Bordin as the CRC Watershed Coordinator.

Carol started work on April 15. She brings an extensive set of skills and experiences to the organization. Throughout the selection process she demonstrated an awareness and knowledge of the basin and water quality issues that was unequalled.

Our Washington Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection Agency grants have some very specific tasks for Carol to accomplish by December 31. Carol will focus all her time and effort on those tasks and be a very active and important member of the CRC.

It is hard to imagine but yes, all the flood mud and sediment will dry out this summer. Dust is often a problem in Washington State, especially in dry weather. Don't let your dust control system be a problem too.

The use of used oil for dust suppression or weed abatement is prohibited in Washington. Do not use products containing used oil as an ingredient. This practice pollutes drinking water sources, lakes, rivers and streams. One gallon of used oil can effectively pollute up to one million gallons of water. To control dust without using chemicals:

Manufacturers market a variety of chemical dust suppressants can be used if these other options are not practical. Preferably, restrict the use of chemical dust suppressants to unpaved roads with low traffic volume. The chemical must not pollute surface or ground water if it should eventually migrate from the application site.

Toxic reduction specialists in Ecology's regional offices have the most current information on safe methods of dust suppression.

To improve protection of public health from environmental hazards, EPA today for the first time in a decade proposed new guidelines for assessing the cancer risk posed by pollutants and chemicals in the environment. "These new guidelines will help us to be more protective of public health by ensuring that cancer risk assessments reflect the very best scientific knowledge available," said EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner. "With new scientific information we can be more protective of special populations such as children and give the American people more confidence about this vital health information." The guidelines will:

o Modernize the science of cancer-risk assessment by incorporating a broad range of evidence that includes microbiological testing and genetic data. Currently, EPA risk assessments rely heavily on identifying tumors in animal testing. (In the absence of new data on a particular chemical, EPA will use the earlier guidelines to ensure the most protective approach to assessing cancer risk.)

o Focus attention on the cancer-causing environmental contaminants to which people are most likely to be susceptible.

o Identify parts of the population who may be more susceptible than others -- such as children.

o Identify agents that are not likely to have effects at environmental levels because they only cause cancer in animals only at excessively high doses never seen in the environment.

Although it is too early to determine how the risks of various pollutants will be changed under the new system, over time EPA will set up a process for reviewing both new and existing chemicals under the guidelines. In cases where newer types of data are not available, EPA will continue to use its current public health conservative framework of assessment. The proposed guidelines are not regulations and do not impose any new requirement on the regulated community. However, EPA risk assessments are used in making regulatory decisions about how best to control various pollutants.

The proposed revisions to the guidelines are a result of extensive EPA and other federal and independent scientific reviews, as well as recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences 1994 report "Science and Judgment in Risk Assessment." The proposal and major issues identified in public comments will be presented to the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) for consideration. Final guidelines will be published after public comments and SAB review are taken into account.

The proposed guidelines are being made available for a 120-day public review and comment period upon publication in the Federal Register the week of April 22. The guidelines can be ordered through the National Technical Information Service by calling 703-487-4650. .

For more information, call Jeanette Wiltse, National Center for Environmental Assessment, EPA Office of Research and Development, at 202-260-7317.

Personal note from the editor:
While note directly related to water quality this article was added to trigger your thoughts on pollutants and health - be they in the water or not. As we have learned there is a risk and each of us plays a role in reducing that risk as much as possible.