East Hampton last week officially became the first East End town to introduce legislation to direct millions of dollars in Community Preservation Fund money to help residents replace their homes’ septic systems.
The town introduced legislation that will give thousands of homeowners access to as much as $15,000 each in subsidies to replace cesspools, septic tanks, or other failing or outdated waste systems with new systems designed to reduce nitrogen levels in wastewater to less than 19 milligrams per liter—compared to 50 mg/l or more from typical septic tanks.
The legislation, which will be the subject of a public hearing before the Town Board on June 15, also would mandate the use of nitrogen-reducing waste systems in all new construction and the replacement of outdated systems as part of any major renovation or expansion of a property, or in any case where a system has to be substantially repaired.
Voters in all five East End towns last fall approved the use of up to 20 percent of each town’s respective CPF revenue, from a 2-percent tax on all real estate sales, for water quality improvement.
East Hampton has led the charge as the first to introduce legislation and the first to impanel a committee, which began meeting over the winter, to review and prioritize other water quality improvement projects.
Southampton Town has been working for months on legislation but is still likely months from introducing its own law. Councilman John Bouvier said this week that the town is waiting for Suffolk County to introduce its own mandate and rebate legislation, so the town can tailor its law to complement or benefit from the county efforts. Southampton also is about to start interviewing individuals for its water quality review committee.
Both towns have a variety of projects on tap to start lowering nitrogen inputs from other sources as well, but replacing outdated residential waste systems, especially in homes close to bays and creeks, has been seen by many as the most pressing need.
Nitrogen leaching into tidal waters and freshwater ponds from residential wastewater—primarily urine that enters groundwater tables largely unfiltered through most current systems—has been identified by scientists as the main catalyst for algae blooms that have been seen in local bays with increasing frequency and intensity since 1985.
Homes built close to tidal bays prior to the 1970s have been identified as the most impactful properties since their waste systems essentially empty directly into water tables that are sometimes almost immediately in contact with tidal waters.
East Hampton’s legislation pledges to give homeowners in its critical watershed areas as much as $15,000 to pay for installing the new systems, which can cost as much as $16,000 to install.
on May 23, 2017