Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 629: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to bring in official certificates for septic tanks and assorted wastewater treatment systems. [35637/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Septic tanks installed on or after 1 June 1992 must comply with Part H of the National Building Regulations. Technical Guidance Document H (Drainage and Waste Water Disposal) calls up the following standards: for septic tanks serving single houses, Irish Standard Recommendations SR6 of 1991 for Domestic Effluent Treatment and Disposal from Single Dwellings, issued by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI); and for septic tanks serving groups of houses, B.S. 6297:1983 (incorporating amendment No. 1 of 1990), a Code of Practice for the Design and Installation of Small Sewage Treatment Works, issued by the British Standards Institution.

Local authorities have been asked by my Department to ensure that septic tank systems are properly installed in accordance with the planning permission granted and the Building Regulations standards. A revised Manual on Treatment Systems for Single Houses has also been published by the EPA, which will assist planning authorities and builders with the requirements of on-site wastewater treatment systems and their siting in relation to wells, site boundaries, etc.

The Water Services Bill, which is currently before the Dáil, will include a duty of care on householders to ensure that septic tanks do not cause a nuisance or a risk to public health and the environment.