Septic program eligibility area extended

MARGARETVILLE, NY, Sept. 18, 2008 - A change in eligibility requirements for the Catskill Watershed Corporation’s Septic Rehabilitation and Replacement Program means that nearly 900 additional homeowners may be eligible to participate.

Letters have been mailed to some 880 people whose properties are within 200 feet of a watercourse in the latest extension of the program eligibility distance. The voluntary program has widened progressively, from 50 to 100 to 150 feet, and now to 200 feet from a watercourse. Properties within 500 feet of a reservoir stem are also targeted.

Homeowners in the New York City Watershed in Delaware, Greene, Schoharie, Sullivan or Ulster Counties whose properties fall within the eligibility distance may sign up to have their system pumped out and inspected. A call to the CWC to arrange an initial visit with technical staffers is the first step.

Participation is entirely voluntary. Those who sign up agree to have their system examined. If the system appears to have failed, or is likely to fail, the CWC will reimburse full-time residents 100 percent of the cost of replacement. Part-time or non-resident property owners will be reimbursed 60 percent of eligible repair or replacement costs.

Your one-or two-family residence or home-business combination must use less than 1,000 gallons of water per day.

Systems installed in conjunction with construction of new homes are not eligible for reimbursement.

In addition, homeowners who can prove their septic systems were repaired or replaced between July 2, 1999 and December 31, 2007, regardless of whether those systems are located in the current priority area, may be eligible for reimbursement for those repairs. Call the CWC at 1-845-586-1400 (toll free (1-877-928-7433) to request a reimbursement form. You must also produce contractor receipts and proof of construction approval from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

If your system is farther than 200 feet from a watercourse, and you have received a Notice of Failure or Violation from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, you are still required to make the repairs. Keep receipts from all design and construction work done on the system and you may be eligible for reimbursement at some point in the future.

Homeowners who meet income requirements may qualify for hardship assistance from the CWC, whether or not their property lies within an eligible area.

The CWC’s Septic Maintenance Program also provides assistance to Watershed homeowners who received construction approval from the NYC DEP since November 1, 1995. If those systems are at least three years old, they may arrange for a pump-out and inspection of the system and apply for 50% reimbursement from the CWC.

For more information on these and other programs designed to assist homeowners and businesses in the New York City Watershed, please call the CWC, or go to www.cwconline.org