Regulations and Policy Regarding On-Site Wastewater Disposal Systems

Abstract

There are no Federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations regarding the design of on-site wastewater systems in the United States. In 1957 the U.S. Public Health Service published a document entitled “Manual of Septic Tank Practice” (1) which represented the first major compilation of post-World War II research. Prior to that time the states had administered a wide variety of codes, almost as many and varied as the number of states involved in their administration. The Manual of Septic Tank Practice (MSTP) had such an influence on the various codes that by 1971, a study of state septic tank-soil absorption system (ST-SAS) codes showed that modal values for ST-SAS design were identical to the MSTP (2). However, as the next decade unfolded, an unofficial survey of state codes revealed that all but three of the responding 47 states had revised their conventional ST-SAS regulations (3). This discussion will focus on the trends apparent in the changes in state regulations and their interpretation in light of recent research studies following a brief overview of how these regulations are administered.