Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
The Lake George Park Commission is laying the regulatory groundwork for a rolling septic inspection program that would require private systems around the lake to be checked by Park Commission inspectors every five years.
Dave Wick, Executive Director of the LGPC, said 2,700 properties fall inside the proposed boundaries — within 500 feet of the Lake George shoreline or within 100 feet of streams regulated by the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Ninety-five percent of these are residential, Mr. Wick said.
“Our goal has been to be as transparent as possible” about the plan, he said.
“The two things people want to know is — how much is it going to cost me, and when is it going to happen?”
As proposed, private property owners would pay $50 annually, commercial $100 annually
The Park Commission plans public information sessions and hearings this summer, with inspections starting spring of 2023, “at best,” Mr. Wick said.
The annual fees will defray adding two seasonal inspectors, April to October. Six or seven trained Park Commission staff members will be available as “backstops,” Mr. Wick said, to do inspections in the quieter shoulder seasons and in mid-summer when volume may be higher.
The fees will also support outreach and public education programs, he said.
Mr. Wick noted his own career began “30 years ago” doing septic inspections out of the Albany Cornell Cooperative Extension office in Voorheesville.
His “ballpark” estimate is 550 property owners each year would receive notice that they are due for inspection. It would be timed to coincide with regular system pump-outs property owners would schedule and pay for themselves, typically for $200 to $400, the LGPC says.
The inspection checks the holding tank and distribution box, with minimal disruption to the property, Mr. Wick said.
Any repairs would be the responsibility of the homeowner.
“The challenge,” Mr. Wick said, “is the majority of owners don’t know they need to maintain the septic system, or where the tanks even are.”
He said, observing the results of Queensbury’s current inspection program, which is triggered by a property transfer, “80 percent or more have no significant structural problems. 60 percent, they found smaller issues that could lead to much larger issues in the future. They’re happy we found them, that with a minimal cost now they can add 10 years to the lifetime of the system.”
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo initiated a limited program last year to provide septic improvement grants for homeowners who could show financial need. It was so successful, Mr. Wick said, that Gov. Kathy Hochul has included a similar plan in her new proposed budget.
Find more specifics, meeting minutes and FAQs online at lgpc.ny.gov.
Separately, Warren County is pursuing a septic inspection at transfer law that initially was set to cover seven targeted water bodies, including Lake George.
The effort, led by committee chair Claudia Braymer, got as far as holding public hearings at the end of last year. Comments were so mixed that the committee tabled the effort for the time being.
With the Lake George Park Commission so far along in its process, Ms. Braymer said, “There is still room for the County to proceed with a proposal for septic systems that would not be covered by the LGPC rules, such as for non-Lake George lakes, and other water bodies such as the Hudson River.”
She said, “I am planning to call for another septic committee meeting in the near future, but I don’t have a specific time-frame for when we will finish our County proposal. One thing we heard loud and clear from the public last year was that protecting water quality is important, and we should get the proposal right and not rush to get something in place.”
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