Recode and International Living Future Institute invite you to participate in a letter-writing/email campaign to encourage the State of Washington to adopt and implement a statewide onsite water permit program. Washington has already invested significantly towards this effort by lending the expertise of two Washington State Department of Health representatives — Stephen Deem, Regional Engineer and Mamdouh El-Aarag, Wastewater Management Section — to serve on the National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-potable Water Systems. These commissioners, along with agency experts from 10 other states, created a series of documents to help states and/or local jurisdictions undertake this work. The state now just needs to hear from external stakeholders to move forward. Scroll down for background information on the National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-potable Water Systems and the resources available to jursidictions. Will you adapt a letter or email and send it to two key decision makers in the Washington Department of Health? If your answer is YES, CLICK HERE for instructions on sending our letter and/or email template. Are you also willing to participate in future Recode campaigns for safe and abundant water supplies? If your answer is YES, please sign up on our Recode Campaigns announcement list. The National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-potable Water Systems The National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-potable Water Systems “advances best management practices to support the use of onsite non-potable water systems within individual buildings or at the local scale. We are committed to protecting public health and the environment, and sustainably managing water—now and for future generations.” To that end, the commission provided a variety of tools and resources to help governmental agencies implement a permit program for onsite non-potable water systems that is more protective of public health than regulatory requirements for centralized systems. This “Risk-Based Framework for the Development of Public Health Guidance for Decentralized Non-Potable Water Systems” defines the reduction targets (called “log reduction targets” or LRTs) for a variety of different onsite waters and municipal wastewater, too, based on the risk to human health that could be caused by the presence of pathogens (i.e. viruses, bacteria, and protozoa). Resources for Jurisdictions Accompanying this publication were a substantial portfolio of detailed guidance for states to implement a permit program that will ease permitting, both for jurisdictions and permittees as follows: A Guidebook for Developing and Implementing Regulations for Onsite Non-potable Water Systems. This guidebook establishes water quality criteria and standards for ONWS and presents pathways for implementation and management of these water systems at the local and/or state level. Model State Regulation for Onsite Non-potable Water Programs. Template state legislation for establishing regulatory programs for onsite non-potable water systems. Model Local Ordinance for Onsite Non-potable Water Programs. Template local ordinance for establishing regulatory programs for onsite non-potable water systems. Model Program Rules for Onsite Non-potable Water Programs. Model program rules should be established alongside state or local legislation, and regulators should modify them to meet the needs of their communities. These model program rules provide specific details on implementation of an ONWS, including system design criteria, permitting, cross-connection control, reporting, notification, and enforcement. Technical Appendix: A Guidebook for Developing and Implementing Regulations for ONWS. Technical appendix and additional resources.
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