Technical Advisory Council
for
Onsite Wastewater Treatment
August 21, 2003
Meeting held August 21, 2003 at MSU Turfgrass Research Center.
Members and alternates present: Ted Loudon, Ron Lindsay, Larry Stephens, Chuck Cousino, Dan Stock, Bob Godbold, Dan Wagner, Regina Young, and Wayne Kukuk.
Guests present: None
Meeting called to order by Chuck Cousino, Chairman.
Minutes of the June 25, 2003 meeting were reviewed. Motion by Dan Stock, support by Ted, to approve minutes with some minor revisions noted. Motion carried.
UPDATES and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Del Mokma will not be here today because he is home recuperating from back surgery.
OLD BUSINESS
Filter Fabric Over Drainfields – Ron, Ted --- Ron has talked to Orenco, and has tried to get some more information on ASTM Standards, but he has not been successful on the later yet. Ted discussed the result of his conversation with Price & Company in Grand Rapids. They recommend not using woven-type fabric, and they say not to use anything heavier than 4 oz. per square yard. The TAC felt they need much more information before putting out recommendations on the use of geotextile over drainfields. Bob Godbold agreed to put out a feeler on this subject on the Environmental Health Directors listserve.
Residential Flow Study – Ted --- Ted passed out copies of the study along with an Executive Summary he prepared. Members are to review this one final time, with the goal to get it published before the Wastewater Conference in January.
Commercial Flow Study --- Ted says that he and Del have started work on this study. They found some funds and have a student working on collecting data. Members should feed any available data to Ted and Del.
Site Compaction – Regina has nothing further to report at this point. Dan Wagner says he has experienced 3 recent instances where the drainfield area was marked, but still destroyed by compaction. The goal is to get a way to distribute and get information out on the red signs discussed at our last meeting.
Regina will contact MEHA regarding this effort.
New Product Review --- Ric is not here to report, but he was checking with Wisconsin on how they handle product review. We will continue to collect information on this issue.
Regulatory Structure Document --- Ric distributed an update of this document by email. But, since he is not here today, the TAC will defer discussion on this until the next meeting.
Operating Permits --- Ric sent word through Chuck that DEQ has started work on writing a framework for an operating permit program. It is hoped he will have something on paper to discuss at the next TAC meeting.
NOWRA Model Code --- Del was going to present his work on the soils portion of this effort, but this will be postponed until the next meeting due to Del’s absence.
NEW BUSINESS
Meeting was adjourned at 12:20 PM.
NEXT MEETING
Next Meeting --- October 6th, 2003
Location --- To be announced.
FUTURE MEETING DATES
Future Meeting Dates:
November 24th, 2003
_________________________________
Larry D. Stephens, P.E., Sec.