Committee supports Sen. Ingwersen bill to strengthen water protections with septic system reform

AUGUSTA — On May 6, the Health and Human Services Committee unanimously approved LD 1550, “Resolve, Directing the Department of Health and Human Services to Amend Its Rules to Protect Water Quality by Reducing Nutrient Pollution from Septic Systems,” a bill sponsored by Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-Arundel.

“Here in Maine, we can take for granted our clean lakes, rivers and coastal waters. They serve as vital resources for recreation and livelihoods, and we need to take care of them,” said Sen. Henry Ingwersen. “This legislation is a simple but critical step to help mitigate increasing nutrient pollution of the water we hold so dear.”

LD 1550 seeks to amend Maine’s Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Rules, overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, to reduce nutrient runoff from septic systems into bodies of water. LD 1550 directs the Department to amend design standards for disposal fields in a way that addresses the risk of pollution via short circuiting, with standards only applying to soil profiles that pose a high risk of short circuiting. Maine is one of the most septic-reliant states in the country, with around half of all homes served by an individual system, rather than a public sewer.

The bill faces further votes in the full Senate and the House.