Mark Kriss, Esq, NYSSPE’s Legislative Counsel updated NYSSPE members at the Annual Conference meeting this past weekend on the Suffolk Septic System Plan. He reported that currently we are hopeful that the bill will not be passed in the Assembly, which along with the Senate is expected to recess this week and not return until after the November 2018 elections. All 213 state senators and members of the assembly, along with the Governor, are up for election and are focused on campaigning.
Currently the Suffolk County Division of Health Services (SCDHS) requires that a septic system for single family homes be designed by a design professional. According to SCDHS protocols both a standard septic system and an Innovative/Alternative (IA) system, referred to as “nitrogen-reducing sewage disposal system” in the legislation must be designed by a “design professional”.
For standard septic systems, the SCDHS presently accepts plans prepared by a professional engineer or a land surveyor. It is asserted by SCDHS that the county accepts plans from a land surveyor because in the County’s view the design of these systems is prescriptive based on their standards and requires little or no engineering. In contrast, for an I/A system, the SCDHS requires plans to be prepared by a design professional (PE or RA). The agency also require that the engineers be certified by the manufacturers of the system they are specifying so they understand the process design and installation requirements of the systems. [Read more…]
