Sluge report

Sludge Report: April 14, 2009
Update on Department of Health and your septic tank.
Welcome to the second edition of the SLUDGE REPORT, brought to you by your friendly
neighborhood coalition of Homeowner's Associations and friends whose common bond is
common sense and common cause. The cause is stopping the Department of Health from
making a rule mandating that all septic systems in the Wekiva Study Area be replaced with
electrically operated Performance Based Treatment Systems (PBTS). DOH states the purpose of
the rule is to reduce nitrogen levels in the Wekiva Study Area - which encompasses 250+ square
miles of land beginning in the north from an eastern point in Seminole County (west of Interstate
4), across (west) to portions of Lake County, then stretching south to Ocoee and Winter Garden
pulling in all Orange County communities directly below the northernmost points. (we can send
you a map if you are unsure about whether or not you are affected).
An Open Letter to Legislators:
Please put aside statistics, justifications, and agenda's for a moment. This is about the overwhelming
human toll of the PBTS mandate. This is about real people, average people, people on the receiving end.
This is what I learned as a result of our neighborhood petition drive organized to oppose the DOH rule about
Performance Based Treatment Systems. 99.9% of the 260 homes contacted in our neighborhood signed
the petition. Beyond logic, statistics, justifications, and agendas, this is what I learned.
I knocked on a door where it seemed no one was home it was so dark inside. The elderly gentleman who
eventually answered the door listened to information about costs and the impact selling his home would
have. His eyes closed and his head sagged to rest on the door jam. He signed and quietly thanked me for
trying to help.
Make no mistake, with the costs of this rule, the elderly in this county on a fixed income will have to make
choices between needed dental work, medical co-pays and paying for their PBTS maintenance costs. What
savings are left after the economy decimated their nest eggs - savings set aside for hurricane deductibles,
replacing a roof, or long term health needs will be gobbled up by the installation costs.
A mom with four children looked at me in total disbelief, then asked me if I could help her choose which one
will not go to college. The monthly maintenance costs will make it impossible for her to continue making
payments on pre-paid college plans.
A very young mom with babies said, "There is no way we can come up with that kind of money to install
one." All their savings went into buying the home, their equity line has been cancelled, and she knows there
is not a bank anywhere that will help with the financing.
And, that's only three neighbors. There were more, but these stories tell enough. What do I see as future
consequences across the county? I see homes and whole neighborhoods falling into a state of disrepair. I
see code violations, fines and liens against homeowners who have not the means to comply and outright
fraud potential as citizens avoid normal permitting laws to have septic repairs done. I see more
foreclosures, upside down equity, and abandoned properties.
Going door-to door, I saw the pain and confusion and anger in peoples' eyes as they instantly understood
the economic horror this will cause in their lives and the injustice of it all. I am publishing this because I
promised them I would tell their stories, and I can't forget their eyes.
In a moment of discouragement, one neighbor said, "All we are is homeowners. We have no lobbyist." I
told him, "You are wrong. We have legislators. They are our lobbyists." I would urge every legislator to
hear the reality of the DOH rule and step up to be the peoples' voice. We need you to speak for us and stop
this rule. It doesn't mean we abandon the dream of clean rivers, it simply means we find a way that saves
both the river AND the residents.
Signed: A concerned resident of the Wekiva Study Area