Dept Health

D E P A R T M E N T

Advisory Note 1 – October 2000

Exemption of Sewage Management Facilities to be Accredited,

Application of Clause 43(2) Local Government (Approvals) Regulation, 1999.

Clause 43 (1) states that council must not approve of the installation or construction of a Sewage Management Facility (SMF) unless the SMF has a current certificate of accreditation issued by the NSW Health Department.

Clause 43 (2) allows exemptions for circumstances where a council may grant an approval to install or construct a SMF without a NSW Health certificate of accreditation. These circumstances are:

(a) where a SMF is being installed for testing.

It is not intended that a manufacturer of a SMF would be permitted to install multiple SMFs to facilitate testing. Approvals should be limited to one test installation for each manufacturer for each local government area.

(b) where a SMF has been designed and is to be built by the owner or occupier of the premises on which it is to be installed.

It is intended that the SMF be designed exclusively, built exclusively and used exclusively by the owner / occupier of the premises. It has recently been drawn to the attention of NSW Health that photocopied plans of home built waterless composing toilets are being freely distributed within communities. Individuals then submit these photocopied plans to council for approval under this exemption of accreditation and such actions do not comply with the exemption. This defeats the purpose that mass produced or standard design SMFs should be accredited to ensure that they protect public health and the environment. Further, the applicant has not researched the design, construction and use of the SMF and is therefore not considered to be committed to the safe operation of the SMF. Manufacturers of accredited SMFs are required to produce a quality assured product, installation and operation manuals, warranty, and other features designed specifically to teach and assist the owner / occupier in the use of the SMF.

Again it is intended that the SMF be designed exclusively for, built exclusively for, and used exclusively by the owner /occupier of the premises. Typical examples include vessels such as castin-situ septic tanks, collection wells, greywater tanks and waterless composting closets. This clause is not meant to apply to more complex systems such as aerated wastewater treatment systems, greywater treatment systems and recirculating sand systems where component parts are installed. Submission of photocopied plans to council for approval under this exemption of accreditation also does not comply with the exemption. Similarly, this defeats the purpose that mass produced or standard design SMFs should be accredited to ensure that they protect public

health and the environment. The applicant is not considered to be committed to the safe operation of the SMF.

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