The Joint Subcommittee to Study Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Systems was created pursuant to House Joint Resolution No. 142 which was passed during the 1978 Session of the General Assembly. The patron of this legislation and Chairman of the Joint Subcommittee was Delegate Bonnie L. Paul.

The resolution notes that many small communities in rural areas have significant problems in securing acceptable wastewater treatment and disposal systems because: 1) conventional central sewage treatment facilities are cost prohibitive; and 2) the primary alternative to the septic tank/drainfield systems is limited to sites on which the soil will support the system. The primary alternative is the septic tank system which can only be permitted on a case by case basis in 50% of the State in which the soil will support the system. Many homeowners have been investigating alternative systems but have met with considerable problems in obtaining approval from the Health Department or State Water Control Board.

The Joint Subcommittee was created to study the problems associated with individual residential systems with regard to the · possibility of developing a statewide program for increased usage whenever possible.

The members from . the Senate and House of Delegates are as · follows: Delegate Bonnie L. Paul, Chairman, Harrisonburg; Senator James T. Edmunds, Vice Chairman, Kenbridge; Senator Howard P.  Anderson, Halifax; Delegate J. Paul Councill, Franklin; Delegate J. Samuel Glasscock, Suffolk; Delegate Joan S. Jones, Lynchburg; Delegate Glenn B. McClanan, Virginia Beach; and Delegate Mary Sue Terry, Stuart, Susan T. Gill of the Division of Legislative Services drafted the Joint Subcommittee's report and recommended legislation.