Septic Compliance ?

[coonchaser]

Ok i've had several posts on here about this, My septic is not in compliance, it is working but not in compliance, I had to get a building permit because of a fire and i had to sign a form saying i would put in a new system within a year, well long story short i have no finances and can't refinance it into my loan because i have no equity, i don't qualify for any county loans because the house is not owner occuppied, So here's my question what can they do to me if i just leave it for awhile and fix it later ???

[CAMAN]

Probably fine you, possibly condemn your property until it is fixed, maybe fix it themselves and put a tax assessment on your property.

[Tom7227]

Depends on where you are and how bad it is. If there is sewage seeping out and neighbors nearby or some water or wetland being impacted it may get to be a bigger issue faster.

If you are in a town of any size or a county that pays attention to such things they will inquire about the situation, probably by letter. When you fail to respond they probably will send someone out. Assuming they can determine that it is still not in compliance they will issue you some orders requiring you to fix it within X amount of time. When you fail to do so they will go through several steps to put more and more pressure on you. If you continue to not comply they will possibly write you a tag and require that you go to court. The process could take anywhere from4 months to a couple of years.

I live in a Ramsey County suburb next to a lake. There were several failed septic systems in the neighborhood and the local authorities didn't do anything at all about it for years. Eventually we got a central sewer system installed but I think there are houses that didn't hook up and a few of those may still be failed systems. It depends on how much the local authorities want to hassle someone and many local councils don't like to do that unless it is really really bad.

[nofishfisherman]

In meantime you may want to get a few quotes on paper so if someone comes knocking or calls to check on the status of the system you can at least tell them you have estimates in hand and are working on finances. At least that way you have something to tell them and then you also know how much cash you need to come up with.

[nobody05]

probably fix it an put it on property tax... seen it a few times already as an installer

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

What is causing the system to be non-compliant?

[coonchaser]

non compliance is seperation between bedrock and pipes in mound type system, the tank is also maybe leaking at the seam thats not 100 percent though

[BobT]

This may seem a little shady but you are not necessarily required to become compliant in a year. I'm betting that you are required to begin the process (hire a contractor) to do it within that year. If you hire a contractor and he booked up solid and doesn't get to it in two years, well....

This is how it worked when I did mine. When I applied for a building permit I was told that my system would be inspected and I would be required to bring it up to compliance if needed. I told them not to waste their time coming out because I knew I would not be up to code. They told me (Todd county) I needed to get it up to code in 18 months. I contacted a contractor to come out and he did some testing and we determined where we would put the system. I told him that money was tight and if possible I'd like to stretch things a little so I could have enough time to arrange financing. He told me he would draw up his plan for me to submit it to the county and then he would come back later to install the system. It was almost three years later.

[Tom7227]

I just re-read your original post and saw that you indicated that the house is not owner occupied. I assume that you are the owner. Given that the agencies may be a little less forgiving in dealing with it. But again I suspect that the advice you have received here will get you through it without too much hassle.

[delcecchi]

I just re-read your original post and saw that you indicated that the house is not owner occupied. I assume that you are the owner. Given that the agencies may be a little less forgiving in dealing with it. But again I suspect that the advice you have received here will get you through it without too much hassle.

As for what they can do to you, they can presumably stop you from renting it out, if that is what you mean by "non owner occupied". Probably depends on exactly where this place is located.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

non compliance is seperation between bedrock and pipes in mound type system, the tank is also maybe leaking at the seam thats not 100 percent though

I think the reason you were given one year is because of the possible leak. As far as I know, most counties require replacement within a year on leaking systems. If it is just an issue of not meeting specs, but isn't an environmental hazard, you often times aren't required to replace it for 10 years. Maybe you can have it re-tested to find out for sure. It could mean the difference between one year and ten years.

The trouble is that you already signed that document saying you would do it.

[coonchaser]

I did sign but i can argue i was railroaded, i don't think its leaking very hard etc..but who knows

[delcecchi]

I bet the rules for rentals are different. And I bet the "railroaded" thing doesn't get too far.

All depends on where you are.