Nassau County, NY-- Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced today that the County is initiating a septic system replacement program for residents and small businesses -- Septic Environmental Program to Improve Cleanliness (SEPTIC). The SEPTIC program will provide grant funding to eligible recipients to replace a conventional or failing septic system with an innovative and alternative onsite wastewater treatment system. Nassau County is offering grants of 50% of the costs, up to $10,000, for homeowners or small businesses to install state-of-the-art nitrogen reducing septic systems.
“Water is one of our most precious resources, but nitrogen pollution from cesspools and septic systems has been identified as one of the largest causes of poor water quality and contributes to toxic algae blooms, which contaminate our water and leads to inhabitable conditions for marine life. I encourage eligible property owners to participate in SEPTIC to take advantage of this opportunity to update their septic systems, to help preserve our water quality and environment for generations to come,” said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.
Tens of thousands of homes and small businesses in Nassau County are currently served by cesspools and septic systems. Reversing degradation of water quality will depend on replacement of existing systems with new, individual Innovative and Alternative Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (I/A OWTS) designed to remove nitrogen. When properly designed, sited, installed, managed, and maintained, these new septic systems provide a cost-effective and environmentally sound alternative to sewers in areas that are outside designated sewer areas. These systems significantly reduce nitrogen, biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids, before being discharged below grade to leaching structures.
I/A OWTS can provide greater performance reliability and reduce the number of pump outs for homeowners that currently pump out their wastewater systems more than once per year.
Nassau County residents and small businesses that discharge less than 1,000 gallons a day of wastewater are eligible for grants to install these new septic systems provisionally approved by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. The list of provisionally approved manufacturers is here.
Eligibility criteria includes:
• Residences must be single family, owner-occupied and a property owner’s primary residence.
• The residence/small business must be served by a septic system or cesspool and not connected to a sewer system or located within a proposed sewer district.
• Grant recipients may not be a current employee of Nassau County, an elected official of the State of New York or any political subdivision therein, or a party officer.
• Property does not have any outstanding or open real property tax liens.
• There must be a valid certificate of occupancy (CO) or equivalent. Income verification (provide a copy of each property
For more information, please contact NassauSepticProgram@Gmail.com