Disputing Septic Skeptics

Disputing Septic Skeptics

More government regulation of the septic-tank business

may overcome problems with the industry's reputation.

One Gulf Coast company is leading the charge.

government watch by Jean Gruss | Editor/Lee-Collier

Why would any company welcome increased government regulation of its business?

Perhaps to give an out-of-favor human waste managment technique the stamp of legitimacy.

One Gulf Coast business owner in the much-maligned septic-tank industry says more government oversight could boost his company's prospects with just such legitimacy.

Robert Himschoot has been in the waste-management business for decades on the Gulf Coast. His company, Crews Environmental, has installed thousands of septic-tank systems in Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties.

With the housing bust, the septic-tank installation business has nearly evaporated. All that's left is the maintenance side of the business, which includes pumping waste and replacing aging systems.

Himschoot believes that ordinances requiring homeowners and commercial businesses to maintain their septic systems properly will help his company survive the real estate downturn. He points to one community in Charlotte County that is the first in this part of the Gulf Coast to require such maintenance.

But Himschoot acknowledges that his industry peers haven't been as enthusiastic about his calls for greater government regulation. He's often alone in his efforts to lobby government officials and the media, so he's hired Fort Myers public relations firm Spiro & Associates to help him do that. "I don't want to speak poorly, but they're good equipment operators," he says of his peers.

Himschoot knows what he's talking about. His family has been in the waste business for years, having sold a successful garbage operation in Fort Myers to Waste Management in 1974. He managed that facility for the giant trash company until 1997 when he decided to devote all his energy to Crews Environmental, the family owned business.

Himschoot is undeterred at the lack of support for his initiative. "Nobody has really taken a leadership role," he says.

Changing perceptions

Himschoot's timing may turn out to be opportune. During the real estate boom, municipalities and homeowners in places such as Marco Island, Cape Coral and Sarasota were flush with cash and many embarked on expensive drives to install central sewer systems. They labeled leaky old septic systems as threats to health and the environment and worked to get them replaced.

But as the real estate bust seized the area, money for central sewers dried up. In Cape Coral, a city originally built without a central sewer system, hooking up to the expanding sewer system costs homeowners about $18,000. If you don't have the cash on hand, the city will loan you the money with interest.

Meanwhile, expansion is on hold as the city grapples with a sharp decline in property tax revenues. The implications for municipalities are severe. "If people can't pay [sewer] assessments, the bonding capacity of the city will be impacted," Himschoot says.

Septic systems have gotten a bad rap, says Himschoot. If maintained properly, he says septic systems are just as safe as central sewer systems. And they're much less expensive, costing $10,000 to $12,000 to install. Pumping a septic tank once every five years costs just $300.

To back him up, Himschoot points to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's guidelines, which say that septic systems are just as safe and effective as central sewer systems if they're properly maintained.

But most people don't maintain septic systems properly. A homeowner "doesn't realize he's got a problem until it doesn't flush," Himschoot says. "Nobody's required to look at it." The EPA says such systems are the third-most common source of groundwater contamination in the U.S., which is the reason septic tanks have such a bad reputation.

And his calls for greater regulation of septic tanks have fallen on deaf ears at City Hall. The problem is cities hire utility experts who are looking out for their own interests and advise the municipalities who hire them that there are no alternatives to central sewer systems.

"[Municipal utility] engineers were taught big pipes were the way to go," Himschoot laments. The Clean Water Act of 1972 cemented that thinking when it forced municipalities to build central sewer systems, he says.

Now, Himschoot says that as the cost of installing central sewer systems becomes too overwhelming for municipalities and homeowners, he's lobbying government officials and anybody else who is listening that there is an alternative.

Of course, Himschoot says central sewer systems are a threat to his business. "The government might take it away by sewering everything," he says. But that's unlikely because of the sheer magnitude of the cost of building sewers across the land, particularly more rural and large-lot areas.

Inviting government regulation

While the government inspects the installation of septic tanks and licenses contractors, there is no supervision after that. "The only thing missing is there's no mandate by Florida to maintain the system," Himschoot says.

Himschoot says the state or municipalities should enact legislation to force homeowners to maintain their septic systems or face fines.

He says he has the backing of state and national industry associations, who he has encouraged to become more politically active. They're pushing new legislation to that effect and Florida state legislators have appropriated money to study the issue.

Himschoot points to two communities - one in Port Charlotte and the other on St. George Island in the Panhandle - that have passed ordinances requiring septic-tank owners to maintain them properly.

This is a benefit to his business, naturally, because there are thousands of septic tanks that need regular maintenance. It's even more critical now that new installations by homebuilders have virtually dried up because of the housing decline.

Himschoot says county or state departments of health are equipped to regulate the maintenance of septic systems. For one thing, they have engineers and inspectors trained in spotting systems that threaten peoples' health. "They know what they're looking for," he says.

But by inviting more regulation, Himschoot acknowledges that his industry faces greater risk that regulators will overdo it. "What you [might] end up doing is getting government to buy their own septic-tank trucks and getting into the business," he says.

That's a risk Himschoot says he's willing to take, especially considering the fact that greater regulation might boost his septic-maintenance business. Crews Environmental had as many as 25 employees during the boom and is now down to 13.

"This is a mission we've taken on as a company," he says.

REVIEW SUMMARY

Company. Crews Environmental

Industry. Waste management

Key. Increased government regulation may generate more business, but there are always risks the government may go too far.