Ron Alpers, who owns the Cedar Tavern, will have an unpleasant surprise the next time he's billed for the removal of waste from the two 1,500-gallon holding tanks serving his business.

Effective last week, septic haulers serving county homes and businesses with holding tanks began taking "grey water" to the Suttons Bay Village Sewer Treatment plant, the only treatment facility within a 15-mile radius.

Alpers’ costs for waste removal will increase by nearly $500 a month, while residential properties with holding tanks will have their charges nearly double for each “pump out.”

“In 2004, the state legislature passed a law requiring that holding tank waste be taken to treatment facilities within 15 radial miles,” explained Bill Crawford, health officer and director of the Benzie-Leelanau Health Department. The aim of the law was to eliminate the ground application of holding tank waste. Land application of septic tank waste is still a viable disposal option.

The law went into effect in October, 2005, when there was no septage facility within the 15-mile radius capable of accepting holding tank waste. Recent improvements now allow the Suttons Bay municipal sewer system to accept the waste.

But haulers are assessed 4 cents for each gallon of holding tank waste deposited into the village system. For haulers with a 3,000-gallon tank, that equates to an additional $120 per trip – a cost that will be passed on to customers who have already been paying $130 to $140 per pump out.
For Alpers, who has his 1,500-gallon tanks pumped once a week, it will result in an additional $480 in expenses monthly — $6,240 a year.

Crawford said that just over 300 of the 570 holding tanks in the county lie within the 15-mile radius of the Suttons Bay plant. Holding tank waste from sites in Elmwood and a portion of Solon Townships is taken to a Grand Traverse County treatment facility. Waste collected from holding tanks in a “sliver” of Empire Township within the radius requirement is taken to the Benzie Lake Utility Authority’s treatment facility in Frankfort.

“Holding tank waste is easier to treatment for facilities to handle, it’s more similar to what they get in their sewer systems,” Crawford explained. “The stuff from septic tanks is more concentrated and can affect their operations.”

Growing concern about the volume of material being collected by holding tanks in the county precipitated changes in the county’s sanitary code that encourage the installation of “alternative systems.” provided they meet specific environmental guidelines limiting the levels of nutrients.

In addition, the department and county commissioners, in turn, took action in 2001 to limit the number of holding tanks allowed on property split after state adoption of the Land Division Act in 1997.

No holding tank permits are issued for lots less than an acre in size. Neither are they approved for lots split from a “parent” parcel with an on-site system.

“It appears that the number of holding tank (permits) have gone down, but it could also be theprice of pumping which is driving that,” Crawford said.

Effective 2010, the area of impact for holding tank owners will increase from 15 to 25 radial miles.

“This will cover the whole county with the exception of the very (northern) tip of the peninsula,” Crawford said.

By that time, Alpers may have some relief in the form of a municipal sewer system planned for the unincorporate village of Cedar. Proposed construction of the system is the subject of a public hearing, June 14 in the Solon Township hall. (See Page 9 for story on Cedar sewer proposal.)