Who Permits and Files Your Septic System?

Who is allowed to design and build your system?

Every owner who wants to construct, alter or repair a sewerage system must retain an Authorized Person. That is a professional, or a Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioner.

A Registered Onsite Wastewater Practitioner may design and install Type 1 and Type 2 systems with a daily design flow less than 9,100 litres per day. That registration is issued by the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians Association of BC, in categories — planner, installer, maintenance provider, private inspector (commercial), private inspector (residential) — and many practitioners hold more than one.

A professional may design and install Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 systems with a daily design flow up to 22,699 litres per day, and is typically an engineer or geoscientist. We hold the practitioner registration, so what we design and install is Type 1 and Type 2.

What gets filed before the work starts?

Before construction the Authorized Person files information with the health authority: a Filing form, plans and specifications, a property site plan, and any applicable covenants, easements or hydrogeological reports.

Island Health does not approve the sewerage system design, and it does not routinely review filing documents for their technical merit. It receives filings and checks they meet minimum submission criteria. Full responsibility for the design sits with the Authorized Person.

What has to happen before you can use the system?

Within 30 days of completing construction the Authorized Person must submit to the health authority a signed letter certifying that the system meets the requirements of the Sewerage System Regulation. That Letter of Certification states the system was lawfully constructed, that construction is complete, that the system used as intended will not cause or contribute to a health hazard, and that the daily design flow is under 22,700 litres per day. It also carries an as-built diagram and a maintenance plan prepared by the Authorized Person.

The sewerage system cannot be put into use until the Letter of Certification is submitted to the health authority.

Which repairs need filing documents, and which do not?

Replacing the distribution field, replacing the septic tank, and changing from gravity distribution to pressure distribution all require filing documents.

Minor repairs need no new filing: a broken lid on the distribution box, a broken effluent pump, replacing a float switch, installation of an effluent filter, or replacing a short section (10 feet) of crushed distribution line.

Which regulation does your system fall under?

A system with a daily design flow under 22,700 litres per day falls under the Sewerage System Regulation. At 22,700 litres per day or more, a system falls under the Municipal Wastewater Regulation under the Environmental Management Act. The Ministry of Health administers the Sewerage System Regulation that governs septic design, construction and maintenance.

Which authority issues your building permit?

In Sooke it is the District of Sooke, working to Building Bylaw No. 780, 2020. Give it 24 hours' notice for an inspection. Occupying a building there before approval can bring fines of up to $1,000 a day under that bylaw.

In Metchosin it is the District of Metchosin, and you need a building permit before you start constructing a building or a structure, accessory structures and buildings included. Metchosin wants 48 hours' notice for an inspection. The bylaw it names is the District's Fees Bylaw 2024, No. 696.

In East Sooke and Otter Point it is the Capital Regional District, whose building inspection service covers the electoral areas. Each of these applies only in its own area, and none of them reaches into the others.

What does Island Health do once the system is in?

Island Health holds the records of septic system installation and repairs, investigates septic complaints, and enforces orders for repairs if there is a health hazard in the community. There should be records for all systems that are 2005 or newer and for most systems from 1990 to 2005. A records request costs $50.00 per property, charged by Island Health through its Request for Release of Information form.

What counts as an offence?

In Island Health's words, it is an offence to construct or repair a sewerage system without proper qualification, without first submitting Filing documents, to discharge sewage onto the ground surface, into a body of water or into a source of drinking water.

What about grey water?

Grey water is sewage once it leaves the building. Garden use is possible only through a designed system with a filing, applied below ground and restricted to non-food crops. Discharging grey water to the ground surface is illegal.