Under IC 4-22-2-24, notice is hereby given that on July 16, 2012, at 10:00 a.m., at the Indiana State Department of Health, 2 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, the Indiana State Department of Health will hold a public hearing on the proposed rule adding 410 IAC 6-10.1 to update and clarify agency requirements pertaining to the design, construction, installation, maintenance, and operation of commercial on-site sewage systems and to repeal 410 IAC 6-10.

The ISDH has the authority to adopt this rule under IC 16-19-3-5. The rule updates administrative portions of the rule and eliminates unwarranted disparities between commercial and residential on-site sewage system technical requirements. The rule also incorporates the technical aspects of ISDH Bulletin S.E.13, On-Site Water Supply and Wastewater Disposal for Public and Commercial Establishments into the rule and provides updates to the technical portions of the commercial on-site sewage program that have already been implemented by program staff. The rule will not add any expenses to the state or local governments. The department also estimates that there will be no fiscal impact on small businesses. The proposed rule will require a two-compartment tank whenever sewage is pumped into the septic tank using a grinder pump. This will cost no more than a few hundred dollars per tank for a two-compartment tank instead of a one-compartment tank, but will apply only to those businesses where a grinder pump precedes the septic tank. The construction cost will be quickly offset because using a two-compartment tank will reduce the frequency of service calls and the use of a two-compartment tank will prevent premature clogging of the septic tank outlet filter.

Experience from professionals in the industry, including the Rural On-Site Wastewater Management Committee of the Indiana Builders Association, indicates that a two-compartment tank will prevent premature clogging of the septic tank outlet filter better than a one-compartment tank. Robert Seabloom, Terry Bounds, and Ted Loudon described the issue this rule is trying to address in the University Curriculum Development for Decentralized Wastewater Management: Septic Tanks (January 2004). They noted that sometimes high-velocity output pumps will precede the septic tank, which can cause excessive turbulence and could keep solids from properly settling. They stated that an additional septic tank could slow the velocity and reduce the possibility of high suspended solids.

Copies of these rules are now on file at the Office of Legal Affairs, Indiana State Department of Health, 2 North Meridian Street and Legislative Services Agency, Indiana Government Center North, 100 North Senate Avenue, Room N201, Indianapolis, Indiana and are open for public inspection.