Maricopa County supervisors accept 27 recommendations to streamline septic permitting

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors unanimously accepted a report Nov. 3 from an ad hoc stakeholder task force that developed 27 recommendations intended to clarify permitting, reduce inspection delays and align county practice with state guidance for on-site wastewater systems.

The report, chaired by professional engineer David Pounders, calls for seven broad changes including clearer written interpretations that county staff use when reviewing alternative septic systems, harmonizing county mapping with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) GIS map for alluvial basin determinations, authorizing virtual reinspections for minor issues, streamlining resubmittals, notifying original designers when projects change engineers, reconsidering reserve-area rules for some older parcels and asking ADEQ to prioritize updates to the Arizona Administrative Code governing on-site wastewater.

"The septic community here is a small community, very tight knit," said David Pounders, the task force chair and a professional engineer with Pounders Engineering. "The voice that you're hearing is the voice of all of us, throughout Arizona." Pounders told the board the group met every two weeks after a…