Bills would lift 2016 ban on spreading septic tank waste

A pair of bills filed this week would wade into what became a stinky issue last year — a deadline to ban the spreading of septic tank waste on land.

In 2010, the Legislature voted to ban the land application of septic tank waste beginning on Jan. 1, 2016 as part of a bill that supporters said would protect springs and waterways from nutrient pollution.

Last year, septic tank waste haulers and representatives of rural counties said the ban could cause the price of septic tank pump-outs to skyrocket.

Bills that would delay the ban and require a study failed to win approval, though, as the Legislature avoided many thorny issues in an election year.

Filed this week, SB 648 and HB 687 would repeal the ban but require monthly testing by the Florida Department of Health in areas with springs.

Environmentalists said Thursday they’re not excited about the bills. They said that if the ban is lifted, they want stricter requirements in law to protect waterways and they want Florida Department of Environmental Protection to oversee monitoring.

“There are a lot of issues we raised last year we would still like to work out with the land appliers,” said Stephanie Kunkel, who represents the Clean Water Action and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

A DEP spokeswoman said last year that the department was conducting a study of septic tank waste disposal, but an update on the study was not available late Wednesday. The bill sponsors, Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, and Rep. Brad Drake, R-Eucheeanna, also were not immediately available.

The Department of Health in 2011 reported that about 40 percent of the waste pumped out of septic tanks was taken to 92 land application sites, usually in rural areas. The remaining waste was taken to sewage treatment plants.

Septic tank maintenance businesses told legislators in 2014 that the waste is used as fertilizer by farms and that the practice is environmentally sound. The business  operators said some wastewater plants won’t accept the waste or there are no plants in rural areas.

They said septic tank pump-outs, which cost about $250, could more than double in price if the ban is not lifted and there are no other disposal options available.

Bruce Ritchie (@bruceritchie) covers environment, energy and growth management in Tallahassee.