Responsible Management Entities as a Method To Ensure Decentralized Wastewater System Viability

T he U.S. Environmental Pro te ction Age n cy in its 1997 Re sponse to Congress on the Use of Decentralized Wa s t e water Tr e a t m e nt Systems ( E PA, 1997) re c o g n i z e d that “a d e q u a tely managed decentra lized wa stewa ter systems are a cost e ffe c t i ve and long-term option for meeting public health and wa ter quality goals, particularly in less densely popu l a ted areas.” Even befo re the EPA published its response, communities, c o o p e ra t i ves, and priva te entities we re e ffe c t i vely managing decentra l i z e d wa stewa ter systems across the globe— albeit on a limited scale. In addition, the currently proposed D ra ft EPA Guidelines for Man a ge m e nt of Onsite/Decentra l i z e d Wa s t e water Systems ( E PA, 2000) outlines the need for decentra l i z e d wa stewa ter systems as fo l l ow s : “The performance of ons i te / d e c e n t ralized wa stewa ter is a national issue of great concern to the EPA. . . . Onsite / d e c e n t ra lized systems can provide a high l evel of public health and natura l re s o u rce pro tection if pro p e r l y s e l e c ted, sited, designed, opera ted, and maintained. Un fo rt u n a tel y, many of the systems curre n t l y in use do not provide the leve l of treatment necessary to adeq u a tely pro tect public health and surface and ground wa te r q u a l i ty. . . .” CONTRIBUTING WRITERS