Environment Agency - Treatment Plant & Septic Tank Binding Rules

CM Environmental is committed to ensuring your treatment plant adheres to all the relevant rules. All of our representatives are fluent with the existing 2020 binding rules and requirements to help advise you accordingly, as we recognise this is a technical area that can be overwhelming. And our engineers are British Waters accredited so are classed as 'somebody competent' on the Binding Rules below.

Highlighting our commitment to help, the basics for a domestic property outlined in the EA's 2015 Binding Rules are below in slightly plainer English:

• Any treatment plant must be British Standards approved (as all the tanks we supply are)

• Any treatment plant must be installed and maintained to manufacturer's spec by somebody competent

• ANY Sewage system MUST receive treatment, either by a sewage treatment plant OR a septic tank WITH A (suitably sized) DRAINAGE FIELD. See our 'It's Better to Be Safe than Soggy' blog for sizing a drainage field.

• The treatment plant will need to be emptied (desludged to manufacturer's spec) by an accredited tanker company

• You can discharge up to 2000L a day to a (properly sized) soakaway/drainage field - see 'It's Better to Be Safe than Soggy' (The average person in a home uses approximately 150L per person per day)

• You can discharge up to 5000L to a flowing ditch or watercourse. (The average person in a home uses approximately 150L per person per day)

• All of the above are subject to location restrictions such as tidal areas or protected zones/trusts, but this is a GENERAL guide. If you want more information about your site specifically, we can help! Just give us a call.

CM also offer testing on the discharge as part of our service, to offer reassurance that your system is achieving the 20:30:20 levels that any BSEN12566 approved tank should. And if we maintain your system you receive a full report that covers you for the maintenance aspect of the binding rules.