[Domestic Clients]

Septic Tank Inspections

 

The Water Services Act 2007 has been introduced to make Ireland compliant with a European Court of Justice ruling in October 2009 where the Court found that Ireland had failed to fulfil its obligations regarding domestic waste waters.

Some Important Figures:

€50 (max) to be paid (every 5 years) by the property owner to register septic tank

€200 fee for a re-inspection

€5,000 persons (homeowner/proprietor of Septic Tank) found guilty of an offence

€50 Registration Fee*

The revenue from the fee will be used to defray the costs of the water services authority and insure there are no Exchequer or staffing implications arising.

*Feb 2012 update - Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan has announced a discounted Registration Fee of €5 for early registration.

€200 Re-inspection Fee

The scope of the re-inspection includes surveys, excavations, monitoring, testing of samples, etc. and so therefore the re-inspection fee is a partial contribution to the actual costs.

€5,000 Guilty of an offence

The owner must ensure that the on-site waste water treatment system serving the premises is maintained and operated in a manner that does not cause risk to human health or the environment. Owners must also register their systems with the relevant water services authority by the prescribed date. Failure by an owner of a premises served by a treatment system to carry out any of the requirements of the legislation will be issued with a max. fine of €5000.

Owners must maintain their treatment systems so that they do not pose a risk to human health or the environment and in particular not to:

• create a risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals,

• cause a nuisance through odours, or

• cause pollution to the countryside or places of special interest — these include Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and Natural Heritage Areas.

• provides that owners must ensure that their treatment systems are included on the register of such systems

Once notification of an inspection has been provided by a water services authority, it will be an offence for a person to prevent an inspector from entering a premises (not the dwelling), to obstruct or impede an inspector when carrying out their duties, or to provide false or misleading information regarding a treatment system to an inspector, the EPA or a water services authority.

Once an Inspector has concluded the inspection they will notify the owner AND the relevant water services authority within 21 days  of his/her opinion and the reasons for same. In the event a system is deemed to be unfit for purpose in its current condition then a direction to the owner to carry out necessary remediation works within a specified timeframe will be issued. Furthermore the system will have to be re-inspected once works have been completed.

Lehane Environmental are permitted Waste Collectors who can arrange for the collection, transportation and disposal of your Septic Tank Waste.  The EPA recommends to de-sludge a septic tank at least once a year but this varies with the system’s capacity and use. You must de-sludge the septic tank if scum is present in the second chamber or if the sludge comes up to about 400mm from the bottom of the tank. A minimum of 75mm of sludge should remain in the tank to assist in the reseeding of the new sludge. Regular maintenance is required to ensure that the septic tank operates effectively and that solids do not enter the percolation area and clog the distribution pipe work.

The Waste Collection Permit Regulations came into force in 2001.  Anybody, other than a local authority, who collects waste for the purposes of profit or reward, is required by law to hold a Waste Collection Permit.  The WCP must specify the waste type, corresponding EWC code (Septic Tank Waste = 200304) and Final Destination (Treatment Facility). A list of Permitted Waste Collectors is available from Cork Co Co website. 

 

Domestic Clients -

Drain Cleaning - Cork