Controversial regulations intended to prevent home sewage systems from contaminating water supplies are slated for yet another overhaul in the biennial budget bill.

Sen. Tom Niehaus (R-New Richmond) provided a glimpse into a compromise measure Friday that would impose a two-year moratorium on the new rules and generally restore a previous 1977 law regulating home sewage systems. The proposal will likely be included in an omnibus amendment to the budget (HB 119) that will be offered in the Senate Finance & Financial Institutions Committee on Tuesday.

In its version of the biennial spending bill, the House repealed a law (HB 231, 125th General Assembly) that imposed new, more stringent rules on home sewage systems.

Homebuilders and business groups applauded the action, saying the new rules required substantially more expensive systems that impact the housing market. Local health departments and environmental groups, on the other hand, were outraged, saying the move would contaminate drinking water supplies. Sen. Niehaus said his compromise language would create a study committee to review the problematic new rules and make recommendations for their revision. Meanwhile, local health departments would be able to adopt their own standards.

"We are telling local health departments to determine the correct distance," he said in answer to a question from Sen. Joy Padgett (R-Coshocton), who asked whether the amendment contained a requirement that systems be at least four feet above ground water.

"How are we going to unconfuse what we've been doing?" Sen. Padgett asked, citing considerable confusion among contractors and local health departments over the recently implemented rules.

"That's going to be a problem," Sen. Niehaus allowed, explaining the House removed statewide standards, which will enable individual local health boards to develop their own standards as long as they are no more stringent than the 1977 law.
The amendment would also reduce the permitting fee to $25 and specify that the revenue be used for grants to local health departments to develop pilot projects to test new technology, educate local officials on the home sewage regulations and other purposes, he said.

A group of stakeholders, that had planned to testify in favor and in opposition to reinstating the rules, received a briefing on the compromise proposal prior to speaking before the committee. Representatives from both sides appeared hopeful, but wanted to read the proposed amendment before endorsing it.

James Boddy, director of Environmental Health for the Lorain County General Health District, said it was, "the proper thing to delay the new rules."

Although homeowners are experiencing increased costs for new and replacement systems, "those costs were going to occur whether or not the rules were in place," he said, pointing to new federal regulations that would require more expensive technology.