Campaign forces big Phil to change tack

ANALYSIS:WAS THE sudden announcement of the septic tank registration fee dropping from €50 to €5 a response to what political anoraks call a "rolling narrative" or was it an old-fashioned U-turn?

The evidence points strongly to the latter but typical of his roustabout nature, Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan views even big political climbdowns as an instrument for Opposition-baiting and political attack. His line? This wasn’t backsliding. No. No. This was a “commonsense” approach. And it showed up the “scaremongering” of the likes of Independent Mattie McGrath and Fianna Fáil’s Éamon Ó Cuív – the two most vocal opponents – for what it was.

That said, it cannot be wished away as anything other than a change of tack. It comes after a concerted political and rural campaign – there were three public meetings around the country on Monday night alone – and amid signs that a campaign of civil disobedience might have some traction. The original announcement last October justified the €50 fee on the basis that it would fund the inspections by local authorities, which will begin in 2013. With some 418,000 tanks, according to the 2006 census, the budget would not be too far off €20 million. But with a massively reduced fee (albeit only for three months) the funds raised will be a fraction of that. A logical conclusion must be that the inspections won’t be widespread and will be minimalist in terms of complying with the EU directive (which dates back to 1975).

The Government may well accuse the Opposition of “scaremongering” but its tactics seems to have some success, creating widespread fears of potential costs of thousands of euro for each householder.

Yesterday, the focus was on downplaying the costs. Hogan said last weekend the maximum cost facing any householder in extremis was €8,000. Department sources revised that down yesterday to €5,000. The “spin” yesterday was very much geared towards spot-checks.

But then some new elements of the guidelines raised new fears.

One new requirement is that grey water (water from baths, sinks, dishwashers and washing machines) be “treated in the system”. For those with older tanks, this will mean additional costs. And the suitability of treating detergent-rich water in a biological septic tank was also questioned yesterday. The department yesterday emphasised there was no “one size fits all” solution.