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I am Bill Bolwell PE0003352. I do land capability assessments .

The land capability assessment (LCA) is a term usually applied to the disposal of the septic tank effluent into the soil. It is only used in Victoria, and nowhere else in the world. In 1981 the Soil Conservation Authority (Victoria) printed a guideline for land capability assessments for all types of land use, not just septic effluent disposal. Since then it has become the term associated with septic effluent disposal by the EPA(Victoria). I have in the past used Google advertising, and they banned my advertisement, because I put LCA in my advertisement. It is used as a medical term life cycle assessment (also for Lutheran Church Australia ). I used to just alter it, but one day I challenged them and won. That is when I found out about this aspect of the term LCA.

In the past, I did percolation tests and there was an EPA code and you followed that. The councils wanted a percolation test report that included the trench lengths for the aggies. I mainly worked in what is now Yarra Ranges but was mainly Lilydale Council and Sherbrooke Council. After a while sometimes I would do a land capability assessment LCA. Now most sites are not suited for aggies and require a treatment plant. These days there is no septic code, only guidelines. I disagree with councils who treat the EPA and MAV guidelines as a codes. They refer to the Australian Standard AS1547, which I consider the closest thing to a code.

Years ago we had to throw out all the books because the experts decided a falling head prcolation test was not correct. We had to adopt constant head method.

I also disagree with the way some councils and water boards make you write what they want. In the past I would say this is what I think if you don’t like it overrule it yourself. In other words “put your money where your mouth is”. I have councils often say that study is a bedroom. I said to one why do you call it a bedroom? He said it was because it had smoke alarm. I think that is ridiculous.

For small household size septics, the EPA(Vic) gives the power to the councils. The only recourse is VCAT, a legal dispute. Previously I used the 50m rule. It allows effluent within 50m uphill of a creek in special catchment area, for grey water, non human waste. The council said I had to get authority from the EPA. The EPA said see the council, like they always say when I question things . The EPA said there was no such rule. I said it is in your own superseded code and in your new guidelines. The guidelines, codes etc ofen say they susperseded the very code or guidelines they refer to. Without that rule the person couldn’t build because theother option was to pump the effluent into a tanker, something the council do themeselves , if required.

In a special catchment area you have to use a water balance. But councils often make you use a water balance in normal areas. I just had one, it was for the council as the client, on their land. It gave a very large area required to dispose of the effluent if they adopt the water balance, and normal if not. The new EPA guidelines even say water balances can make the disposal area too big to be pratical, and that things are not that simple as a water balance suggests. The water in from rainfall should be less than the water out, soakage, runoff, evaporation,etc. One method is to store the excess. I did that once for a reception centre that had a large effluent volume, but only intermttently. The councils usually won’t let you take it away in a tanker.