Registration of septic tanks
10/10/2011
By Owen Walsh, Associate in Commercial Property & Development.
All septic tanks and sewage treatment plants which discharge into water or the ground (Activities) must be registered with the Environment Agency.
An Activity must be registered even if no environmental permit is required (eg if the discharge is lower than set limits). An Activity servicing a three-bedroom house is unlikely to require a permit, but must be registered.
Registration is available online for free, unless a permit is also required. Activities must be registered:
- now if the discharge is into surface water; or
- by 31 December 2011 if into the ground.
If you sell your house, you must give the buyer full details of the Activity and maintenance records going back at least five years. Failure to do so could seriously affect the sale of your house.
See the Environment Agency for more information.
Please note the requirement to register small domestic sewage discharges has now been put on hold pending a joint review with Government and the Environment Agency.