A two-compartment concrete septic tank. (Environmental Protection Agency photo)

Michigan Senators on Tuesday took yet another stab at a decades-old policy issue: Michigan’s lack of a statewide septic code.

As the lone state in the nation without uniform standards for onsite waste treatment systems, lawmakers have time and again tried to put forth an effort that would allow the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and local health departments to inspect and enforce regulations on septic fields.

The seven members of the Senate Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee voted along party lines Tuesday, with Democrats in support, to recommend the latest attempt to address environmental health concerns stemming from failing septic systems.

The legislation, Senate Bill 771, is sponsored by state Sen. Sam Singh, D-East Lansing. The vote during the committee Tuesday advanced the measure to the Senate floor.

If passed by both chambers and signed into law, Singh’s bill would create an advisory committee to work with the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to offer recommendations for a statewide septic code, setting up a three-year timeline for EGLE to implement a statewide code for septic systems.

Septic system evaluations would immediately begin after the rules are put in place, Singh said Tuesday. A decade after those rules are put in place, systems that are 20 years old or older would need to be evaluated once every 10 years. Systems that have not been evaluated or are within 500 feet of surface water, or a high-risk erosion area, must receive an evaluation, Singh said.

The committee on Tuesday also advanced another two-bill package increasing the cap on grants and loans from Michigan’s brownfield redevelopment program from $1 million to $2 million per project.

The legislation also removes the one project limit per community for each year and eliminates cost-sharing requirements for local governments that own contaminated land.

Senate bills 898 and 899 similarly await action on the Senate floor.

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