RD227 - Five-Year Report on the Status of Onsite Sewage Handling and Disposal


Executive Summary:
The Code of Virginia (“Code”) requires the Board of Health to develop and revise as necessary a five-year plan for the handling and disposal of onsite sewage (See Code, § 32.1-163.2). The Code also requires the Board to report to the Governor and the General Assembly every five years on the status of onsite sewage in Virginia and the progress in implementing its long-range plan. The following report details the Virginia Department of Health’s progress and contains information about the current status of the onsite sewage program.

The Division of Onsite Sewage and Water Services (DOSWS) within the Virginia Department of Health’s (VDH) Office of Environmental Health Services (OEHS) develops policy and assists in development of the Board of Health’s regulations. The overall goal is to prevent the spread of human diseases associated with water and wastewater. VDH implements the Board of Health’s regulations via 35 health districts comprising 119 local health departments and about 325 VDH staff. Local health departments collectively receive nearly 68,000 applications for onsite sewage system and private well construction permits and certification letters each year. In addition, they typically review nearly 10,000 new subdivision lots each year for local governments. VDH estimates that there are about one million onsite sewage systems currently discharging about 82.5 billion gallons of wastewater into the soil each year.

This report discusses several areas of progress since VDH’s last report (2002). Development of the Virginia Environmental Information System (VENIS) provides capabilities for electronic permitting, data storage, retrieval and analysis, and may allow for online applications and other citizen-user interfaces (See Part IV.E of this report). Much of the data for this report was generated from VENIS. In another new development, VDH has partnered with localities and other agencies to create the first performance-based decentralized wastewater pilot projects. These innovative projects allow localities to provide wastewater services to communities that previously were not served due to poor soil conditions for onsite sewage systems and lack of availability of public sewer. The program for Authorized Onsite Soil Evaluators (AOSE) has grown significantly. In its 2002 Report VDH noted that approximately 20% of all permit applications contained AOSE certified evaluations and designs, a number that increased to approximately 40% in FY ‘06. VDH signed an agreement with Southside Community College in 2005 creating the Virginia Onsite Wastewater Training Center. VDH published Notice of Intended Regulatory Action (NOIRA) in September 2006 announcing a new initiative to update and replace Sewage Handling and Disposal Regulations.

The Commonwealth has experienced tremendous growth during the five years that comprise this report. Because much of the development in Virginia depends upon onsite sewage and water facilities, VDH felt the strain of that growth. High rates of employee turnover in growth areas, the increasing use of advanced technologies and private-sector participation, and the need to manage the operation of onsite sewage systems to protect public health and water quality- all of these and more are driving forces in changing VDH’s role in the onsite sewage and water programs. In 2005 VDH received funding from the Council on Virginia’s Future ( http://www.future.virginia.gov) to employ a consultant to analyze its onsite sewage business model and make recommendations for changes. VDH has received the consultant’s report and is evaluating the recommendations with agency staff and other stakeholders to develop a strategy for improving its business processes.