Denied a septic feasibility? Maybe don't give up just yet

You got denied a septic, now what?

It may not be curtains for that property just yet, but make sure it is worth the cost before going down this path. If you remember about 2000 words ago in a previous blog that I mentioned the State of Oregon DEQ is not out of the picture just yet, this is why. There is a process for a variance, an expensive and highly unlikely process, but one never the less.

Let’s start from the moment you get your denial and go from there. The first thing you need to do is stay calm, stay very calm. You are going to need to speak with the inspector that was onsite and the last thing you ever want to do is piss them off, they can block you seven ways from Sunday if they like. Ask them to explain why you were denied and if they saw any path forward with different or modified test pits. If they indicate that the decision is final then say thanks, hang up, call an installer like myself. Yell at me, not them, I can take it. The county makes their decisions based on what they can see and unless they just happen to have noticed another spot on your land that might be worth the effort or that your test holes sucked, thanks neighbor bob who dug the holes, they are not in the business of making decisions for you.

Now that you know for sure you were denied, and you have had some installer worth a shit come look at your lot with you, it may be worth the extra attention of a higher intelligence, let’s call them “variance engineers”. You will be listening to them very clearly from this point on. A good one will know the area where your lot is like the back of their hand and should be able to tell you whether it is worth your money or not to pursue a state variance. If they just want you to pay them to find out, beware, your chances of a flip are getting slimmer. The process is extensive and expensive, 10K plus in most cases, and will take a lot of time so don’t expect to be building within the next 6 months at least.

So what is a variance engineer? They are soils engineers that specialize in septic systems design. This is a common process for a commercial building that is not on a public sewer system, which coincidently is an uncommon occurrence, but even less common on residential property, so they are not easy to find. I have a connection or two here but if you are looking for one on your own your best bet for a contact will be to ask the county inspector who handed you that denial. See, your calmness will pay off here because now they are likely to give you the info instead of saying IDK.

What do they do to earn that 10K? They will come out and start by repeating the same process the county inspector did and use the existing, or now refreshed, test pits. What they are looking for is any possibility of a mistake but more so at what depth does it all go wrong. If they can determine that this line of denial is deep enough to make a run at a specially designed ATT system that’s where it begins. They will survey the land and use their knowledge base to draw up a very complete proposal to present the state with.

Mostly, this will be a variation of the same system typically being built in that area. For instance, in the sunriver/spring river area (South Deschutes County and North Klamath County) a typical system would be a septic tank to Orenco AX20RT treatment tank to a bottomless sand filter. The variations will likely include changing the AX20RT to its 3B configuration which is an optional set-up that allows a portion of the now treated effluent to flow back through the septic tank thus removing even more nitrates. It is a factory option and only a touch more T&M to achieve. Also, they will propose additional drain median be added to the sand filter. This material, lets say an additional 15” worth, may be more of the same pea gravel, drain rock or sand that are typically used in the filter. It could however be something strange like clean wood chips or even recycles rubber. Only a soils engineer could see how something strange like that could work. There is a lot of math going on at this point to determine flow rates because their proposal will have to include a limiting of the flow to a level that may be acceptable for the system to adequately treat. Since here in Oregon we count bedrooms for that formula you would probably be looking at a home that does not accede 3. NOTE; Oregon counts bedrooms to formulate occupancy instead of counting square footage with plumbing fixtures. Occupancy will tell them how many gallons a day could be expected to flow into the system. IDK how they figure it but even with a 3 bedroom limit you could build a 5000SF home with 3 beds, 5 baths, 2 kitchens and a “den” or “sewing room” that you can slip a closet into later as a 4th bedroom. Strange??

OK, now that the soils engineer has drawn up a proposal and left enough survey stakes on your property to make it look like your building commercial they will set up a trial date with the state DEQ folks and sit on their hands till then. That trial is where they present their proposal and argue the case that it is feasible to build a septic system that will meet or exceed the expectations of environmental soils. And wait again. If all went well you will receive the world’s most confusing documents that approve your variance and lay out all the guidelines you must follow to build it. This document now supersedes the county’s decision yet the county is now mandated to oversee the construction.

The construction of the approved variance system will jack up the cost over the typical system by a few thousand dollars. An installer such as myself has to interpret the document back into a usable septic plot plan and then construct the thing exactly as it was approved. Extra T&M, for sure, and a bunch of extra paperwork, of course. That’s it. Your done here but rest assured you are now limited in building to what was approved, so you will not be changing your mind at this point. In a perfect world you would have seen the denial from the county before purchasing the property and backed out. Unless this is a dream lot on the river or something this whole process is too risky and expensive to pursue. Good luck out there!