09-22-2010, 02:46 PM
I believe that the law hasn't changed and it is still legal to have a cesspool if you have over 1 acre and are more than 1000 ft. from the ocean. Septic systems are appropriate when your sewage can compromise the water table. Fern Acres is well over 1000 ft. elevation and it's very unlikely that any biological material that you dump into a cesspool there will ever be a threat to the water table. Besides that, a septic system will cost you 3 or 4 times more than a cesspool and it needs to be maintained. I can't imagine any reason why you would need a septic system in Fern Acres. I think that the health department agrees. They were very reluctant to make the change to septics in the first place but were required to by the EPA. I think that they have stalled requiring septics everywhere because they realize that in many situations they are unnecessary.