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

AUGUSTA — On Tuesday, Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-Arundel, introduced a bill to safeguard Maine’s lakes, rivers and coastal waters. 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,” was the subject of a public hearing before the Legislature’s Committee Health and Human Services.

“Clean water is one of Maine’s most valuable natural resources and this legislation provides a substantial opportunity to address one of the largest sources of water pollution in the State,” said Sen. Henry Ingwersen. “This legislation is a practical step to address the serious issue of nutrient pollution in our waterways without creating new burdens for homeowners or restricting development. As was stated in the public hearing, the solution to pollution is dilution.”

“One of the most consequential pollutant sources for waterbodies in Maine are septic systems,” said Luke Frankel of the Natural Resources Council of Maine in testimony supporting LD 1550. “By focusing on natural process[es] backed by science to reduce pollution, the approach proposed in this bill represents a cost-effective means to tackle an emerging thereat facing our waterbodies here in Maine.”

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. While many of Maine’s soils naturally filter out these nutrients, sandy soils allow effluent (liquid waste or sewage) to short circuit through the ground, carrying pollutants directly to groundwater and surface waters. 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 a work session and further action in committee.