Bibbins Septic Service & Repair empties a septic tank at a residence near Cement City, Michigan, in this 2011 MLive file photo.CITIZEN PATRIOT

LANSING, MICH. – Michigan is the sole state in the nation without a statewide septic code and a bill in the state House is meant to remedy that, perhaps in the coming lame duck session.

A Macomb County lawmaker said a point-of-sale septic inspection program works in his community and he believes something similar could be expanded statewide. Scientists estimate as much as 20% of Michigan’s aging and widely unregulated septic systems have failed and are leaking harmful bacteria into groundwater and waterways, which can cause illness if consumed or contacted.

For example, health officials frequently shut down public beaches across Michigan because of E. coli outbreaks.

“I think it being the Great Lakes State we probably should come on board for a standard. I think it’s just better for everyone across the board,” said state Rep. Jeff Yaroch, R-Richmond.

Yaroch sponsored House Bill 6101, which would require septic system inspections whenever property changes hands with few exceptions. He said it’s what is done in his home county, so he advocates for a similar process triggered at the point of sale.

“It’s probably the most pragmatic way of dealing with this,” he said during a Sept. 28, 2022, House Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Committee hearing.

Past attempts to create a statewide program for periodic inspections for all septic systems in Michigan didn’t succeed, so perhaps the way Macomb County and a handful of other municipalities do it should be explored, Yaroch said.

The proposed legislation would create uniform septic system regulations across Michigan and the lawmaker said he is open to having either the state’s health agency or local health departments manage the program. He emphasized his bill is focused on setting inspections when homes with septic systems are sold.

Typically, there would already be a property inspection at that time, so it seems good timing to include the septic system with that, Yaroch argued.

But the Michigan Realtors organization says it is “strongly opposed” to this bill, not because its members don’t want to see a statewide septic code, but because they don’t want inspections tied to property sales.

Brad Ward, the group’s vice-president of public policy and legal affairs, said they don’t simply want uniform definitions and rules, but also uniform inspections at regular intervals.

“If the ideal thing is clean water in our rivers, lakes, and streams, it makes sense that we should probably be testing everyone in a regular interval, rather than just when homes sell which is not a means to getting at probably root problems that are already there. Because you’re only inspecting the ones that turn over,” he said.

Ward argued homes that aren’t sold for decades would escape inspections, while houses that are more frequently sold may be inspected multiple times in only a few years. He said HB 6101 would not create a statewide septic code, but instead a “statewide point-of-sale mandate.”

Yaroch rebuffed that argument, instead contending the opposition from the real estate industry is self-serving.

“Fundamentally what this is about is Realtors don’t want to have this on their plate as part of the sale process, even though this is the most pragmatic time to do it,” he said.

Michigan House officials confirmed no additional committee sessions are on the calendar during which HB 6101 will be considered for a vote. And time is running out for the current legislative session.

Meanwhile, environmental experts said identifying leaky septic systems and improving technology used in new systems can better protect Michigan’s waterways and public health.

Microbiological water quality scientist Joan Rose, Michigan State University professor, testified during last month’s House committee session about her research into 64 river basins across the Lower Peninsula.

“We found that increasing human marker was related to increasing numbers of septic tanks in our watersheds. This is in our surface waters. This means that the more septic tanks we have, the more there is human sewage markers in our surface waters,” Rose said.

In Traverse City, water advocacy nonprofit organization For Love of Water has argued for a statewide septic code for years. The group even hosted a one-day conference in 2019 about protecting water resources from uncontrolled septic pollution.

Liz Kirkwood, the group’s executive director, said she believes this bill won’t make it through the fast-approaching lame duck legislative session that follows the mid-term election. But the issue will linger, she said.

“I believe it will come back in the next legislative session and my hope is that the different stakeholders can find consensus and broker something that is acceptable to the majority of folks here, because this has to be addressed if we’re really, really serious about being the Great Lakes State. And the reason I say that is the potential for pollution and public health issues are tremendous,” Kirkwood said.

Even Yaroch said he thinks the issue will spill over into the next Legislature.

“Because I’m term limited, a new champion will pick it up and say ‘OK, we’re this far along in the process.’ And somebody else who has an interest already knows that the groundwork has been laid and they could, if they’re interested, carry that on.”

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