General
Assembly Allows Cesspools to Stay Put
By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI
News staff
Amendments to the
Cesspool Act of 2007 appeared headed for passage after the Senate Committee on
the Environment and Agriculture cleared the bill June 12. The full Senate,
however, tabled the bill twice before letting it die altogether. Supporters of
the legislation said a late push by the real-estate and banking sectors
convinced House and Senate leadership to halt the bill during the final days of
the General Assembly’s 2014 session.
“Now we're faced with
more closures of swimming beaches and shellfish beds, which are core to Rhode
Island's quality of life and economy,” Topher Hamblett, director of advocacy
and policy for Save The Bay, said after the Senate failed to vote on the bill.
Some 25,000 cesspool
are still in use in the state. As covered pits lined with metal or masonry,
they do little to prevent raw sewage from leaching underground and polluting
drinking water, swimming areas and natural habitats.
Save The Bay considers
the remaining cesspools, especially those in densely built coastal communities
such as Warwick, as some of the worst contributors
to pollution. In 2013, pollution from cesspools in Warwick was linked to record closures of Oakland Beach on
Greenwich Bay.
For years, real-estate
agents and homeowners with cesspools have fought proposed mandates to replace
cesspools with septic systems or to connect to public sewer systems. A new
septic system costs $10,000 to $25,000. A sewer tie-in costs about $1,600, plus
annual assessments. State and federal loan programs offer up to $25,000, with
interests rates as low as 1 percent. Grants up to $7,500 are available for
low-income homeowners.
Proponents of
eliminating cesspools have tied compliance to the sale of a property, a time
when funds are likely available to absorb the costs. But the local real-estate
industry sees linking cesspools to the sale of homes as an impediment.
“If this is an urgent
problem why place the burden only on people who sell their homes?” asked Monica
Staaf, legal counsel for the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
She also said too few
communities offer a loan program. She suggested Rhode Island offer financial
incentives similar to Massachusetts, such as a $6,000 tax credit to repair or
replace a cesspool. The credit covers up to 40 percent of the cost spread
across four years.
The state Department of
Environmental Management, however, offers the low-interest loan funds for sewer
connections to all property owners across the state. They do not require a city
or town to create a wastewater plan, which is required to offer funding for
cesspool replacement.
Hamblett argued that
communities that need to replace cesspools, such as Warwick, already offer
financial aid, while more cities and towns plan to offer programs by the end of
the year. Increasing sewer connections also helps spread the cost of running a
municipal sewer system among the users.
In the end, getting rid
of cesspools eliminates a health and financial burden, Hamblett said. “It's
hard to fathom why the Realtors would oppose a bill that protects public
health, protects homebuyers, home sellers and real-estate agents, and
increases property values."
He plans to try again
next year. “Taking care of Narragansett Bay is part of who we are as Rhode
Islanders. It's time for everyone to get on board," Hamblett said.
