Septic Inspection Plan Raises a Stink

Hundreds of Ventura County coastal homeowners would be required to have their septic tanks inspected and possibly replaced under a law being proposed by a local legislator.

Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) and a group of environmental health officials want to curb ocean pollution by setting statewide standards for septic tank contamination levels.

“I have every confidence that the people who live on the beach don’t want to be swimming in their own sewage,” said Jackson, whose district includes several Ventura County seaside communities.

If the measure becomes law, mandatory government inspections could start as early as 2001 for 500 coastal homeowners in Ventura County and as many as 300,000 homeowners statewide.

They would be required to fix or replace septic systems that didn’t meet new standards, improvements that could cost thousands of dollars. State officials suspect faulty septic systems along the coast contribute to ocean pollution.

The inspections, which could be conducted as often as once a year, would most likely cost homeowners $150 to $300, said Justin Malan, director of the California Assn. of Environmental Health Administrators, which helped draft the legislation.

The measure passed the Assembly this spring and is scheduled for a Senate hearing this month.

It has, however, attracted some critics who are worried about bigger issues than paying an inspection fee.

The California Assn. of Realtors recently voted to oppose the legislation because of concerns such a testing program could hurt the resale value of coastal homes.

“If the standards are too strict, we envision every property owner with septic tanks is going to be digging up their front yard,” said Eileen Reynolds, legislative advocate for the association.

Several La Conchita residents who stuck it out after the community was devastated by a landslide in 1995 said they also oppose septic tank inspections.

Inspection proponents can “go fly a kite,” said Erna Frank, a retiree. “I know when my cesspool needs pumping.”

Frank and her husband live on a fixed income and say they could not afford to replace their 30-year-old septic system if it was required, she said.

Jackson said she is not trying to force anybody onto a sewer system, which can cost a homeowner $10,000 or more, deplete retirement savings or threaten a home’s value. She said she just wants to keep the coastline clean.

Under her proposed law, state and local agencies would work together to decide what standards to use and whether to inspect all coastal homes or just those in known trouble spots.

Bob Gallagher of Ventura County’s environmental health department predicted the proposed legislation would not have a major impact on Ventura beaches or homeowners, saying no citations were issued for any septic systems on Ventura’s coast last year. Point Mugu, La Conchita and the county’s portion of Rincon Point are the only clusters in Ventura not yet linked to sewers.

But Malan said it’s impossible to know how well septic tanks actually function until they are inspected. In Ventura, as in most places in the state, septic systems aren’t inspected unless someone complains.

“By the old rules, if you don’t see the smoke, the car’s not polluting,” Malan said. “We know now that’s not true.”