Update on New Septic Construction

50 Indian Point Road, Glen Haven, Nova Scotia, Canada

Owner: Dr. Pat Croskerry Engineer: Tim Vienot, Terrain Group

Frost Fish Cove is a pristine inlet off of St. Margaret's Bay on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. You can see its width in the picture below, directly behind the dirt pile. The hole was apparently dug for the sewage effluent from the septic tank shown at left.

This lot is too small for a normal septic field. But the new house construction has been grandfathered because there was a cabin on this tiny beach lot in the past. The original cabin did not have a septic field. Tons of rock have been dumped to infill the little corner of marshy beach that Patrick Croskerry bought in 2005. But obviously when you try to put a septic bed on top of a beach, it is not going to drain very well. And you don't need to be a professional engineer to know that when you put a sewage drain beside the water, sewage goes into the water.

The above picture was taken on the morning of August 14 2007. Local residents continue to be concerned that this sewage is going to pollute the cove and possibly nearby wells. The Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour has resisted releasing the public documents about what was approved here. However, based on many public complaints through the winter of 2006-2007, provincial inspectors apparently did find that the first sewage drain pipe was less than a metre above the water.

Fisheries and Oceans had already made Pat Croskerry move back his construction in 2006, which initialy projected out into the water (without a wharf application). Pat Croskerry apparently infilled the lot before doing a legal survey, which seems kind of backwards and self-serving. The septic system was not inspected at the time of installation as required, and did not meet the required distances from the water. So like the order to move the first construction barrier out of the water, the approval for the septic field was suspended in the spring of 2007, and all of the pipes and fill were bulldozed and hauled away in trucks.

In Nova Scotia's archaic septic approval process, the engineer who is paid a lot to design a system like this is also relied on to inspect it after installation. But the legislation seems to build in a conflict of interest, when the person who is being paid to design a system is also the inspector of the system he was paid to design. Tim Vienot neglected to do the inspection as legally required, when the septic field was installed and sodded in 2006. Nevertheless, as the engineer responsible, Tim Vienot stated in the July 24 2007 Chester Clipper newspaper that he still doesn't get it: "I'm wondering what did I do wrong?".

A further regulatory flaw also became clear when a complaint was made about Tim Vienot putting public health and well water at risk, to the Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia (APENS) in early 2007. The provincial legislation defines APENS as a self-regulating profession. However, after months of supposedly investigating (in secret), the APENS response was a two-sentence letter. Although Tim Vienot's company was being paid to design a septic system for this tiny beachfront sliver of land, and did not inspect the construction and placement of the sewage drain as legally required, APENS concluded that Tim Vienot did somehow act consistent with normal engineering practice, and in the public interest. Hmmm. Self-regulating professional bodies like the Association of Professional Engineers have a code of ethics and professional standards, and are not accountable to any government body. The legislation excludes even the provincial Ombudsman's Office from investigating their oversight of the public interest. Yet here is an example in which the APENS member has broken the law and put public health at risk but somehow not violated the ethical policies of his profession. It makes self-regulating professions seem a lot more like lobby groups preserving their own interests at the expense of the public.

A new septic approval for this tiny lot was mailed to Patrick Croskerry on August 7 2007. Within days, the pit above was dug beside the septic tank at the water's edge. Although the developers pumped it out daily, it continued to fill up like a swimming pool showing how close this property is to the water level.

A perk test is ordinarily done to ensure proper drainage. However, with provincial Environment officials refusing to provide any explanation to the public of what they have approved, it was difficult to know if a satisfactory perk test was done in this case.

On November 14 2007, the newest Septic Approval was suspended, for being too close to the water: "it was determined that the horizontal separation distances granted in the variance of the approval could not be met and would be in noncompliance of the approval".

Community residents remain concerned about the cove being polluted by sewage, detergent and fertlizer (nitrates, ammonia and phosphates that do not break down in the sewage effluent). With little land left around the big concrete house foundation that is now on the lot, yet another Septic Application was subsequently submitted to Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour (NSDEL).

If you have any comments, observations or support that you would like to share (in confidence),
or would like to be on our community mailing list about pollution in this pristine ocean cove,
please email ConcernedResidents@FrostFishCove.org