REGULATION.
The majority of rural homes in Ireland have their domestic sewage treatment needs met by a septic tank.
All of these waste water applications should have complied with the following council directives:
Articles 4 and 8 of council directive 75/442/EEC of 15th July 1975 on waste, later to be amended by Council Directive 91/156/EEC of 18th March 1991.
Article 4 of the official Journal of the European Communities
Member states shall take the necessary measures to ensure that waste is recovered or disposed of without endangering human health and without using processes or methods which harm the environment, and in particular
- Without risk to water, air, soil and plants, and animals
- Without causing a nuisance through noise or odours
- Without adversely affecting the countryside or places of special interest
Member states shall also take the necessary measures to prohibit the abandonment, dumping or uncontrolled disposal of waste.
Article 8 of the official Journal of the European Communities
Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that any holder of waste:
- Has it handled by a private or public waste collector or by an undertaking which carries out the operations listed in annex II A or B, or
- Recovers or disposes of it himself in accordance with the provisions of this directive.
Why has septic tank registration and inspection been put in place?
Unfortunately due to poor planning and policing thousands of septic tanks are incorrectly installed, constructed in areas of rock or have not been maintained and are therefore causing serious issues to the quality of groundwater.
The Government is experiencing large penalties from the European Commission until it takes steps to enforce the above legislation. Therefore the new septic tank registration and inspection process will soon commence to alleviate the problem of poor ground water quality.
