If the Environmental Protection Agency finds evidence that your septic tank is causing pollution, you will need to replace or upgrade your system before January 1, 2020. In this case, you may be able to: It is important that you have the right treatment system for your property in order to comply with the generally binding rules. If you need help finding what`s right for you, check out our product selector (insert a hyperlink here). We also have tanks of different sizes to handle different waste capacities (insert hyperlink here). Call us on 0800 328 5492 so we can guide you through the process. Do you have any other comments or questions about the generally binding rules? You can also click on Contact Us. You will need to use a small treatment plant to treat wastewater when you discharge it into surface water such as a river or stream. This type of system uses mechanical parts to process the liquid so that it is clean enough to enter a river or stream. They may not discharge directly from septic tanks into surface waters in accordance with the general binding rules. While the full list can be found here, here are the rules that only apply to systems that spill into the ground.
This guide explains the mandatory general rules you must follow when discharging wastewater into surface waters such as a river, stream, estuary, lake, canal or coastal water. Do not create or use a new introduction to Earth through non-standard systems such as boreholes, wells, concrete rings, or similar structures. These are not appropriate methods for the disposal of wastewater according to the mandatory general regulations, as they present an increased risk of pollution. Previously, exempted small wastewater had to be registered, but the registration system has been replaced by generally binding regulations. This article covers the rules in England, but not in Wales, where the rules differ slightly. This guide explains the rules you should follow when dumping sewage into the soil. Wastewater must be household waste and must not cause pollution. Below you will find the general binding rules when discharging wastewater into the ground. The general binding rules regulate small discharges of waste water and apply to anyone who operates a septic tank or small wastewater treatment plant in England. According to these regulations, anyone who has installed or plans to install a septic tank or a small wastewater treatment plant must at least follow the generally binding rules. Once you comply with the general binding rules, you do not need a permit. The permit allows the Environment Agency to assess the discharge to ensure that it does not cause pollution and, if necessary, to set additional requirements beyond the general binding rules.
All small discharges of wastewater to designated sensitive areas (or those that cannot comply with the Mandatory General Regulations) must be licensed. New sentence to clarify the rules applicable to existing and new treatment systems: if properties with septic tanks discharged directly into surface water are sold before 1 January 2020, the responsibility for replacing or modernising the existing treatment system between the buyer and the seller should be considered a condition of sale. Gateley Plc is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors` Regulation Authority (SRA). Please visit the SRA website for more details on the Code of Professional Conduct that Gateley Legal must follow. Binding general rules are a term for legally binding requirements in regulations that specify the applicable minimum standards or conditions. Think about binding rules such as TÜV certification of your car. The purpose of a TÜV is to ensure that your car is running efficiently, that parts do not fall out while driving and that they do not cause pollution. This is not something that is necessary for new cars, but after 3 years they are prone to breakdowns.
If you have your car checked, the mechanic can warn you if your exhaust is rusty and needs to be replaced soon, or if your tires are too bare, for example. They also give you documentation so that you can record the checks you have done on your car. How to comply with the mandatory general rules when your septic tank or small wastewater treatment plant discharges (discharges) wastewater into a surface water body. In England, the exemption conditions were simplified on 1 January 2015 when the obligation to declare tax-exempt relief was lifted. The generally binding rules now set out the conditions that must be met in order for the discharge to benefit from an exemption from the requirement of an environmental permit. The generally binding rules take over and extend the Environmental Permits Regulations, 2016 (the „Environmental Permits Regulations, 2016“), which came into force on January 1, 2017, and regulate discharges to groundwater and surface water. You will not be able to comply with the mandatory general rules if you use the following: If you have installed a septic tank or small wastewater treatment plant in England, the binding rules apply to you*. They can be difficult to navigate and understand when you first encounter them. The official rules on the GOV.UK website can be found here. There are also other links at the bottom of this page.
In this blog post, we want to make these rules clearer for the ordinary consumer, it`s you! The 2020 Binding General Rules regulate the use of septic tanks and are set by the Environment Agency to protect England`s natural water resources such as rivers and streams from pollution. Under the new rules, you may need to upgrade or replace your septic tank system. The initial deadline for upgrading your septic tank was January 2020. However, the Environment Agency has now extended this, and you now need to upgrade or replace within a reasonable period of time, usually 12 months. Since this rule change was made in October 2019, we recommend that all work be completed by September 2020. In this blog, we want to systematically break down the generally binding rules for small wastewater. The rules differ depending on whether the sewage system you have or plan to install discharges to soil or discharges to surface water. The full list of rules can be found here on gov.uk`s website, but not all of them apply to you. You need to know where your drainage point is (to the ground or surface water) to know what rules apply to you. You also need to know if you operate a septic tank or wastewater treatment plant and whether or not you have installed a drainage field. If you already have an idea of what the rules mean and why they exist, you can move on to the rules section for releases to soil or the rules for releases to surface water. In the last section, we discuss the general binding rules that apply to all small wastewater.
If you already have a septic tank that flows directly into surface water, you`ll need to replace or upgrade your treatment system by January 1, 2020, or if you`re selling your property if it`s before that date. .