According to the National Inspection Plan for domestic Wastewater Treatment systems, the government will target non registered septic tanks first.
This unexpected announcement is hoped to get more people to register after only 185,000 availed of the €5 offer which expired on the 30th of September.
Now homeowners have to pay the normal €50 fee to register their septic tank by February 1st 2013. This means that more than 300,000 homeowners will have to pay the increased charge. Failure to register can result in a maximum fine of €5,000.
According to The National Inspection Plan for Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems “Registration Inspections – It is proposed that inspection of non registered DWWTS (Decentralised Waste Water Treatment Systems) will take precedence over registered systems initially. It is envisaged that each WSA will undertake inspections of non-registered properties within their functional area. Appropriate enforcement action shall be pursued by WSAs in respect of homeowners who fail to comply with the registration process.”
Denis Sheridan of DS Environmental Services adds “It is difficult to know if this approach will urge homeowners to register as they are already fed up with the bully tactics by the Department of Environmental. There is a lot of misinformation on the new septic tank regulations and we recently added accurate information to our website so people can make an informed decision.”.
Tanks can be registered online at http://www.protectourwater.ie/, at local authority offices or by post. Forms can be collected at council offices, libraries or Citizens Information Centres and sent to Protect Our Water, PO Box 12204, Dublin 7.
For more information see www.dsenvironmental.ie
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