Septic Biz Magazine
For Today's Onsite Pumping Professional
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Dave Snyder is keeping watch on the future of the state’s septage disposal
industry.
"What I see ahead is a sanitation code," he said. "I can see where the state will eventually have every
septic tank and drain field on a big Mother Computer where each owner must show their septic tank has
been regularly serviced, like once every five years. "In our business, we recommend servicing every two
years for a family of four. I think the state would like to do it every three years, but I’m sure you’ll have
people balk at that."
President of the Michigan Septic Tank Association and co-owner of West Michigan Septic, Sewer & Drain
Service Inc., Snyder predicts the state will eventually enact legislation forcing home septic tank users to be
responsible for these systems.
"To show they have been serviced and taken care of," he said. "I also think local health departments will
get more involved insofar as doing inspections and such on septic systems to find the failures before they
are failures." The current check on septic tank systems in Snyder’s county, a rural area north of Grand
Rapids, is at the point-of-sale. Which means the County Health Department inspects the septic system at
the time a house is sold. As many people don’t move much from one home to another during a lifetime, the
point-of-sale check on an individual home may be the only inspection the septic tank ever receives.
Septic systems need to be checked regularly to monitor their function and ensure they are operating
correctly. However, out-of-sight, out-of-mind, and many septic tank users are reluctant to have the check
done. "When someone asks how often a septic tank has to be cleaned, I say, ‘You never have to clean it.
You can just replace your drain field,’" Snyder noted. "‘I tell them, ‘You don’t have to change the oil in
your car, ever - just replace the engine.’ Once you put it in that relationship, they understand."
The average cost to clean a septic tank is about $200. "I tell people cleaning the tank is cheaper than city
sewer bills at $45 or whatever every quarter," he said. "Our job -our service - is to educate people on their
septic systems, especially when we installed the system. We send them recall cards every two years.
"If you are a family of four, and we installed your system new, you’ll get a recall card from us in two years,
reminding you to get your septic tank pumped. I even send a recall card to my house because I can’t
remember to pump mine, either." Sanitarians have paid more attention the past 20 years to the types of
soils in which sanitary septic systems are to be installed. They now check such items as whether the soil
will percolate, if it will take water well, and if clay masses or moss is present in the ground. "Also, in rural
areas like mine, developers are installing cluster septic systems," Snyder said. "The houses have
individual septic tanks, with one big drain field for an entire community of 25 to 50 houses. Cluster systems
are a big thing now."
The septic disposal business has been around forever, but it is just becoming more environmentally
conscious because of Michigan’s population growth and expansion. Almost half of new construction in
the state is in rural areas not serviced by municipal sewer systems."About 43 percent of the new home
permits issued in Michigan are for the rural areas. Which means more septic tanks and systems, drain
fields, and such," he said. "Our natural waterways are a big selling point for the state. One of the biggest
contaminants of our lakes and streams, rivers, springs and such, is failed septic systems, so that’s
something the state is really watching." Michigan has no state sanitary code. A proposal for one is in the
making, however. Snyder was on the committee which helped draft the measure. He does not know when,
or if, the proposal will go before the General Assembly for ratification.
Snyder said the state may be losing additional revenue through lack of a statewide sanitary code. But
because 2006 is an election year, the push to promote the measure has lessened, he noted.The 170-member
Michigan Septic Tank Association, with Snyder in his third year at the helm, is strongly pushing adoption
of the bill. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has written what is known as the "white
paper" regarding the measure, but is now faced with obtaining a sponsor for the legislation.
"When you get something such as that written up, the legislators want to tear it apart, organize their own
committee to look at it, dissect it, and see if it’s worth anything to do it, or not do it," he said. "It’s going to
take funding - taxpayers’ money. MSTA members know their senators and representatives, and have
talked to them. But they all seem to have something else going on, and they don’t want too many things
on their plate, so you kind of have to know when to step in and when to step out of it."
The MSTA is most active in promoting legislation and enforcement affecting the liquid waste industry in
Michigan. Several years ago, the association willingly allowed the state to increase operating license fees
to fund enforcement of laws governing the disposal of septage.
Snyder said the MSTA learned about eight years ago the state planned to cut back on financing for the
septage disposal program, which basically affects septic haulers. The state first intended to raise the cost
of the licensing fees, but when current Gov. Jennifer Granholm was elected to the office, she wanted to cut
the program instead. The MSTA hired a lobbyist, who kept the organization abreast of the state’s
involvement in the liquid waste industry in Michigan. The septage disposal legislation was approved Oct.
12, 2004.
The licensing and handling of domestic septage is regulated under Part 117, Septage Waste Servicers of
the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. The Michigan DEQ, Surface Water Quality
Division, administers the program with assistance of the state’s county health departments.
Part 117 was enacted to protect human health and the environment by regulating disposal of septage.
"We ( MSTA) sat down with the DEQ and the state senators and representatives, and helped write the
new law. It did increase our fees, and the money going to the state from the haulers and such. But, we are
also getting more enforcement. The state is to hire more help," Snyder said. "This is just starting. It takes a
couple years to get people hired and trained, and to get the health departments on board. We want to make
sure our industry is being fair. Those who are illegally disposing of septage on the ground or creeks or
waters or wherever they do it, we want to make sure they’re caught and fined and put out of
business."
There are 1.2 million septic systems in Michigan. On average, each tank is pumped every 10 years, and
yields about 1,000 gallons of septage. Each year, 120 million gallons of septage is pumped from home
septic tanks in Michigan. The legislation had to happen, Snyder noted. He said the state asked the MSTA
to come on board. "They (DEQ) knew they had to sell the legislation to somebody, and they knew they
had to sell it to us," he added. "They picked our brains on some things they wanted to do, and if we shot
them down, they looked it over again, and redid it sometimes. They knew they had to have some state
senator and representative support. And for them to support it, they wanted approval from an association
saying this was okay."
"There’s big teeth in the legislation," Snyder said. "Some big fines, and there are a few haulers who have
been fined pretty heavily already, like $25,000 and $35,000."
The DEQ told Snyder the agency is not there to charge every hauler for each little offense, but it does
want to help correct the problem of illegal dumping of septage.
"In Michigan, we have a lot of land appliers - they apply septic disposal on the ground. It’s a management
type arrangement that’s great for the soil. But, there are some people out there who just don’t know how to
go about it,"he said. "I’m one who doesn’t have to do that. We have a wastewater treatment facility to go
to. But for those who have to, or want to go land disposal, there’s a lot to it. You have to know your
agriculture regulations, such as what kind of crops to put in the ground to take the phosphate and other
elements from the septage."In Michigan, land application of domestic septage is also controlled by federal
regulations. Snyder said some waste haulers were not learning the state and federal regulations very well.
"So instead of just going out there and levying fines, the DEQ asked (MSTA) to help construct a course
for them to teach to help people keep their records straight. We had a course in April, and it went off really
well. They are trying to educate the haulers."
Snyder and his partner, a high school buddy, went into business in 1987. His partner built a pump truck
and pumped the first septic tank on Snyder’s birthday, April 21. The business did everything related to
septic tanks. Snyder quit his other job and joined the business full-time in 1989 at age 32. "I said if I don’t
do it now, I won’t be able to do it, because I’m just not going to, so I did," he said. The business added an
excavating service two years later. The partners then bought another sewer drain company. They added
more septic trucks, and acquired a second excavating company. Now they do it all, from installation of
septic systems, drain fields and water lines, to digging basements and cleaning septic tanks and lines.
"It took a long time to see the business make money to where we can sit back and kind of enjoy it a little
now,"
Snyder said. "And, we’ve got a passion for it. It’s crazy. People don’t understand it, but we do."
industry.
"What I see ahead is a sanitation code," he said. "I can see where the state will eventually have every
septic tank and drain field on a big Mother Computer where each owner must show their septic tank has
been regularly serviced, like once every five years. "In our business, we recommend servicing every two
years for a family of four. I think the state would like to do it every three years, but I’m sure you’ll have
people balk at that."
President of the Michigan Septic Tank Association and co-owner of West Michigan Septic, Sewer & Drain
Service Inc., Snyder predicts the state will eventually enact legislation forcing home septic tank users to be
responsible for these systems.
"To show they have been serviced and taken care of," he said. "I also think local health departments will
get more involved insofar as doing inspections and such on septic systems to find the failures before they
are failures." The current check on septic tank systems in Snyder’s county, a rural area north of Grand
Rapids, is at the point-of-sale. Which means the County Health Department inspects the septic system at
the time a house is sold. As many people don’t move much from one home to another during a lifetime, the
point-of-sale check on an individual home may be the only inspection the septic tank ever receives.
Septic systems need to be checked regularly to monitor their function and ensure they are operating
correctly. However, out-of-sight, out-of-mind, and many septic tank users are reluctant to have the check
done. "When someone asks how often a septic tank has to be cleaned, I say, ‘You never have to clean it.
You can just replace your drain field,’" Snyder noted. "‘I tell them, ‘You don’t have to change the oil in
your car, ever - just replace the engine.’ Once you put it in that relationship, they understand."
The average cost to clean a septic tank is about $200. "I tell people cleaning the tank is cheaper than city
sewer bills at $45 or whatever every quarter," he said. "Our job -our service - is to educate people on their
septic systems, especially when we installed the system. We send them recall cards every two years.
"If you are a family of four, and we installed your system new, you’ll get a recall card from us in two years,
reminding you to get your septic tank pumped. I even send a recall card to my house because I can’t
remember to pump mine, either." Sanitarians have paid more attention the past 20 years to the types of
soils in which sanitary septic systems are to be installed. They now check such items as whether the soil
will percolate, if it will take water well, and if clay masses or moss is present in the ground. "Also, in rural
areas like mine, developers are installing cluster septic systems," Snyder said. "The houses have
individual septic tanks, with one big drain field for an entire community of 25 to 50 houses. Cluster systems
are a big thing now."
The septic disposal business has been around forever, but it is just becoming more environmentally
conscious because of Michigan’s population growth and expansion. Almost half of new construction in
the state is in rural areas not serviced by municipal sewer systems."About 43 percent of the new home
permits issued in Michigan are for the rural areas. Which means more septic tanks and systems, drain
fields, and such," he said. "Our natural waterways are a big selling point for the state. One of the biggest
contaminants of our lakes and streams, rivers, springs and such, is failed septic systems, so that’s
something the state is really watching." Michigan has no state sanitary code. A proposal for one is in the
making, however. Snyder was on the committee which helped draft the measure. He does not know when,
or if, the proposal will go before the General Assembly for ratification.
Snyder said the state may be losing additional revenue through lack of a statewide sanitary code. But
because 2006 is an election year, the push to promote the measure has lessened, he noted.The 170-member
Michigan Septic Tank Association, with Snyder in his third year at the helm, is strongly pushing adoption
of the bill. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has written what is known as the "white
paper" regarding the measure, but is now faced with obtaining a sponsor for the legislation.
"When you get something such as that written up, the legislators want to tear it apart, organize their own
committee to look at it, dissect it, and see if it’s worth anything to do it, or not do it," he said. "It’s going to
take funding - taxpayers’ money. MSTA members know their senators and representatives, and have
talked to them. But they all seem to have something else going on, and they don’t want too many things
on their plate, so you kind of have to know when to step in and when to step out of it."
The MSTA is most active in promoting legislation and enforcement affecting the liquid waste industry in
Michigan. Several years ago, the association willingly allowed the state to increase operating license fees
to fund enforcement of laws governing the disposal of septage.
Snyder said the MSTA learned about eight years ago the state planned to cut back on financing for the
septage disposal program, which basically affects septic haulers. The state first intended to raise the cost
of the licensing fees, but when current Gov. Jennifer Granholm was elected to the office, she wanted to cut
the program instead. The MSTA hired a lobbyist, who kept the organization abreast of the state’s
involvement in the liquid waste industry in Michigan. The septage disposal legislation was approved Oct.
12, 2004.
The licensing and handling of domestic septage is regulated under Part 117, Septage Waste Servicers of
the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. The Michigan DEQ, Surface Water Quality
Division, administers the program with assistance of the state’s county health departments.
Part 117 was enacted to protect human health and the environment by regulating disposal of septage.
"We ( MSTA) sat down with the DEQ and the state senators and representatives, and helped write the
new law. It did increase our fees, and the money going to the state from the haulers and such. But, we are
also getting more enforcement. The state is to hire more help," Snyder said. "This is just starting. It takes a
couple years to get people hired and trained, and to get the health departments on board. We want to make
sure our industry is being fair. Those who are illegally disposing of septage on the ground or creeks or
waters or wherever they do it, we want to make sure they’re caught and fined and put out of
business."
There are 1.2 million septic systems in Michigan. On average, each tank is pumped every 10 years, and
yields about 1,000 gallons of septage. Each year, 120 million gallons of septage is pumped from home
septic tanks in Michigan. The legislation had to happen, Snyder noted. He said the state asked the MSTA
to come on board. "They (DEQ) knew they had to sell the legislation to somebody, and they knew they
had to sell it to us," he added. "They picked our brains on some things they wanted to do, and if we shot
them down, they looked it over again, and redid it sometimes. They knew they had to have some state
senator and representative support. And for them to support it, they wanted approval from an association
saying this was okay."
"There’s big teeth in the legislation," Snyder said. "Some big fines, and there are a few haulers who have
been fined pretty heavily already, like $25,000 and $35,000."
The DEQ told Snyder the agency is not there to charge every hauler for each little offense, but it does
want to help correct the problem of illegal dumping of septage.
"In Michigan, we have a lot of land appliers - they apply septic disposal on the ground. It’s a management
type arrangement that’s great for the soil. But, there are some people out there who just don’t know how to
go about it,"he said. "I’m one who doesn’t have to do that. We have a wastewater treatment facility to go
to. But for those who have to, or want to go land disposal, there’s a lot to it. You have to know your
agriculture regulations, such as what kind of crops to put in the ground to take the phosphate and other
elements from the septage."In Michigan, land application of domestic septage is also controlled by federal
regulations. Snyder said some waste haulers were not learning the state and federal regulations very well.
"So instead of just going out there and levying fines, the DEQ asked (MSTA) to help construct a course
for them to teach to help people keep their records straight. We had a course in April, and it went off really
well. They are trying to educate the haulers."
Snyder and his partner, a high school buddy, went into business in 1987. His partner built a pump truck
and pumped the first septic tank on Snyder’s birthday, April 21. The business did everything related to
septic tanks. Snyder quit his other job and joined the business full-time in 1989 at age 32. "I said if I don’t
do it now, I won’t be able to do it, because I’m just not going to, so I did," he said. The business added an
excavating service two years later. The partners then bought another sewer drain company. They added
more septic trucks, and acquired a second excavating company. Now they do it all, from installation of
septic systems, drain fields and water lines, to digging basements and cleaning septic tanks and lines.
"It took a long time to see the business make money to where we can sit back and kind of enjoy it a little
now,"
Snyder said. "And, we’ve got a passion for it. It’s crazy. People don’t understand it, but we do."
Michigan Septic Tank Association President Dave Snyder
Keeps Watchful Eye On
Michigan's Disposal Regulations
Keeps Watchful Eye On
Michigan's Disposal Regulations