CONNECTICUT HOME & PROPERTY OWNERS
AVERT ENVIRONMENTAL AND FINANCIAL DISASTER BY SIMPLE MATH

January 20, 2000

The Connecticut Department of Public Health Subsurface Sewage Section has just published an advisory to all local health agencies in Connecticut, stating a concern for nitrogen pollution, recommending that they apply a CT DEP formula for nitrogen analysis where the density of new construction exceeds one bedroom per 0.167 acre.  The DEP formula, which requires that the combination of the effluent and infiltrated rainfall not exceed 10 ppm of Nitrogen when water departs the property at the down gradient property line, has until now only been applied to systems with daily flows exceeding 5,000 gallons.  The DEP renovation criteria does not credit any of the reduction of nitrogen which takes place in a modern infiltration system nor by the naturally occurring microbial flora present in the soil surrounding on site sewage systems.  This is totally unacceptable and requires further evaluation.
It is interesting to note that the Connecticut Regulations require that nitrogen in effluent be reduced to 10 ppm while vegetables can contain up to 6,600 ppm (data from National Academy of Sciences 1981. The Health Effects of Nitrates, Nitrites and N-Nitroso Compounds, Washington, D.C.)

The State of Connecticut Department of Public Health in its design manual issued July, 1998, has determined that an unacceptable level of pollution will not occur if discharges are kept below 2,000 gallons per day per acre.  This means that a 1 acre parcel will accommodate 20 bedrooms at 100 gallons per bedroom without causing unacceptable pollution.  Further, quoting the CT DPH Design Manual, .." The requirements of the Technical Standards may appear to be extremely conservative, considering that the size of the average family has been decreasing and now consists of less than three persons, and considering that studies have shown per capita water consumption to average approximately 50 gallons per day."
The above facts would according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health research of historical data allow the flows from six(6) three(3) bedroom and one(1) two(2) bedroom residences on a 1 acre parcel of land.  These facts and figures do not support limiting the number of bedrooms to 3 for a 1/2 acre parcel of land or 2 for a 1/3 acre.  Further, the possibility exist that this little administrative suggestion would stop you from making improvements to your house.

We will subsequently fill you in on the apparent reason for the CT DPH egregious departure from their own research and facts.

This DPH recommend is a loose cannon and, as a property owner, cuts deeply into your rights and assets.

A huge new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant at Deer Island off Boston, Massachusetts predicts removal of only 15% of Nitrogen before the treated effluent is dumped directly into Massachusetts Bay.  A simple septic system removes approximately 30%, or double the performance at the multi billion dollar US EPA approved treatment plant.  The organisms present in the soils surrounding a properly functioning septic system will remove a very significant amount of nutrients in addition to that removed in the primary system.  The only environmental adverse effect of an on-site septic system is from one that overflows, backs up or fails from improper siting or poor selection of components.  With present technology a 3 bedroom home could be built on a lot just large enough to place the house, park the nitrogen converters and on-site wastewater system, provided the potable water source is off site.  It is still advisable to keep a prudent buffer between the wastewater system and the water supply to accommodate relief for human error.

The nitrogen produced from a fully occupied 3 Bedroom dwelling on a 6,000 square foot lot would on average total 36 lbs of Nitrogen per year before oxidation and reduction in the on-site sewage disposal system.  The homeowner would then shower his or her lawn with about 6-18 lbs of pure nitrogen along with an fair amount of potassium and phosphates and another 5 to 10 lbs of chemical pesticides and herbicides.

The same homeowner, his or her property having been reduced to free (to the state) open space has now been moved out to the suburbs where they would have to submit to 1 to 3 acre zoning.  Of course, the disappointed homeowner will have to wait until the bulldozers and back hoes tear up some wildlife habitat to make the roads and install utilities before they can start tearing up some more landscape to accommodate his/her new dwelling, using lumber made from air purifying trees and possibly some components from the rain forest (forced contribution to the greenhouse effect).

After nurturing the new lawn which may account for 1/2 to 2 1/2 acres of the new property, the nitrogen load from the family wastewater should be identical to that at the little abandoned lot (now home to nitrogen producing Canadian Geese) or about 36 lbs of nitrogen per year.  However, the imported nitrogen*** for fertilizing the lawn would add 43-133 lbs per year or up to 7 times that which it would have required if big brother hadn't forced him/her off their property.  The chemical herbicides and pesticides would also produce a much greater load on the environment.  The new road, shedding heavy metals, hydrocarbons and all sorts of pollutants when it rains adds to the mix.  Maintenance of the new (much longer) road fronting the new property with snow plowing, sanding and spring sweeping etc. also has an impact.
This does not mean that we should stop building roads and houses in the outskirts.  It simply supports the fact that we should allow full utilization of properties on existing roadways and infrastructure.   --------

*** Read here about how The Alaska Department of Fish & Game explain how the fertilized new mowed lawn is an effective Canada Goose Nitrogen spreading machine and how the nitrogen ends up in open water bodies, by going to
http://fir.state.ak.us/local/akpages/FISH.GAME/wildlife/geninfo/birds/goose.htm
Never mind, --- the Russians (or nuclear incoming) --- how about birds of a feather that drop ship(t) together..  Get out of your bunkers, start building Goose fences and show the CT DPH where the real threat's coming from.

------- Of course we probably should not mention that a good treatment system on the little lot should reduce the 36 lbs of nitrogen to less than 8 for a total environmental load of 26 lbs for the small lot vs. up to 141 lbs for the large suburban lot.  However, even if assuming no treatment takes place (54 lbs vs. 169 lbs) all indications speak for utilizing the smaller lot.

To get some further perspective on  the distribution of nitrogen from various sources and in the form of Nitrous Oxide we can go to the US Department of Energy data on "Estimated U.S. Emissions of Nitrous Oxide, 1990-1998" .  It will show us that human sewage in wastewater only contributes 1.5% while domesticated animals contribute 19%, nitrogen fertilizer 52% and energy use 22%.  The estimates do not include animals and birds in the wild which when added to the mix would place the impact from sewage at less than 1% in many areas.
Within less than two weeks of the release of the DPH recommendation we are witnessing two properties being reduced from 2 and 3 bedroom homes to 1 bedroom homes.  This is a severe loss of property value not justified by the facts.  An environmental impact study may be in order relative to the actions of the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

It is certainly time to wake up and analyze the larger picture.  The consensus of world renowned biologists estimate that 40 to 60% of all known species will die off during the next 50 - 100 years.  It has been 65,000,000 years since this last occurred.  This is most alarming and demands an immediate pro-active response from responsible persons on the planet.  The agencies being funded by the public and charged with protecting our environment do not appear to have sufficient information for reasonable decision making and certainly need our assistance.

If you are a property owner or a concerned person in Connecticut or any other state impacted by this administrative slingshot please write to Supervising Sanitary Engineer, State of Connecticut, Department of Public Health,
410 Capitol Ave., MS# 51SEW, PO BOX 340308, Hartford, CT  06134

This new little obscured administrative advisory may cost Connecticut property owners hundreds of millions of dollars, further degrade the environment and order us moved to places not of our choosing.  Until they find a way to control Bird Droppings, Ole Green Thumbs and auto nitrogen converters which are responsible for the largest imbalances in the concentration of Nitrogen, the Health Agencies are totally out of line performing a "de facto" land taking from Connecticut property owners.  

A more recent pile-on by the CT DPH Subsurface Sewage Section is the rejection of native soils for use in backfilling new installations.  This little code change snuck in by Connecticut Public Health Officials increase the cost of Septic Systems by thousands of dollars requiring, in most cases, manufacturing of Sand and trucking long distances in order to comply with a specification which is wasteful and unnecessary.  It should also be noted that millions of gallons of diesel fuel is wasted with much greater environmental pollution as a result.

The ability to compete in the new global economy is further damaged. 

A few New England States Agencies have developed a real affinity for spreading the raw septic effluent over a wide area through open bottom raw septic dumping chamber devices.  This, especially in colder climates, effectively cools the effluent rendering most bacteria dormant and allows, organics, nitrogen, phosphates, bacteria, pathogens, and viruses to migrate into aquifers without little or no treatment.  The principle behind the Living Filter product is to conserve energy by compressing the design, using insulation to elevate temperatures and significantly reduce contaminants before the effluent reaches the aquifers.  It is a well known fact that much greater nitrogen reduction/conversion occurs at elevated temperatures and at increased flow rates through properly structured bacterial matrixes.  There are thousands of tests and research studies confirming the advantages of tightly confined and controlled flows.  There is no need to spend years testing the various alternative devices to confirm that they protect the environment better than "open bottom raw septic dumping devices" currently endorsed by various state and local health agencies.

It is time for the public and property owners to seek sound, effective performance from those agencies they have chartered to protect their health and environment and to be afforded input prior to major changes in legislation.

If you can provide some input or just blow off some steam please write to:

saveyourproperty@nitrap.com

To check out some supporting evidence, click here for links to other interesting documents.