Effective July 1, 2019, Fairfax County established fees for receiving and treating hauled wastewater at its Noman M. Cole, Jr. Water Recycling Facility. These fees recover a portion of the wastewater receipt and treatment costs that were previously borne by sewer-connected customers. Now, all users of the county’s wastewater system pay a fair share of the costs of operating and maintaining the treatment plant.
Hauled wastewater is wastewater collected from septic tanks, grease interceptors, and other sources and transported to a wastewater treatment plant. Businesses that collect and transport the wastewater in trucks are referred to as pump and haul contractors. Fairfax County Code requires routine pump-outs of septic systems and grease interceptors. Proper cleaning protects public health, the environment, and the sewer system. Pump and haul contractors perform this necessary service.
All other jurisdictions in the region charge for disposal for hauled wastewater. Receiving and treating hauled wastewater is expensive. The county’s fees recover a portion of these expenses. Customers of the county’s public sewer system have long paid sewer service charges for the conveyance and treatment of wastewater. Charges for hauled wastewater establish more equity in who pays for the operation and maintenance of the county’s wastewater treatment plant, including the hauled wastewater receiving facility.
Hauled wastewater is different from wastewater entering the treatment plant through the sewer pipes that service homes and businesses across the county. Hauled wastewater may contain more organic material and other pollutants than regular sewage. This makes it more difficult and costly to treat. Analysis of the various hauled wastewaters received by the county show that septic tank and restaurant grease trap wastes are more concentrated than wastewater received by sewer. Other hauled wastewaters, such as portable toilet, recycled carwash water, salt storage wastewater and landfill leachate, are approximately the same strength as sewered wastewater. Therefore, the county established separate fees for high-strength versus low-strength hauled wastewater.
The hauled wastewater fees also cover the cost of the special facilities needed to receive hauled wastewater. The receiving facilities at the Noman M. Cole, Jr. Water Recycling Facility require maintenance and improvements to ensure safe and sanitary disposal of hauled wastewater.
The county’s Health Department registers and inspects trucks used for handling and transport of sewage in the county. Pump and haul contractors are charged a license fee for registration and inspection of the trucks. The license fees that became effective July 1, 2019 are comparable to the fees charged by neighboring jurisdictions.
The hauled wastewater charges are:
High-Strength Waste Disposal - $27 per 1,000 gallons of the hauler’s truck capacity for septic tank and restaurant grease wastes.
Low-Strength Waste Disposal - $7.28 per 1,000 gallons of the hauler's truck capacity for portable toilet, recycled carwash water, salt storage wastewater and landfill leachate.
Sewage Handler License Fees are administered by the Health Department. For more information, visit Environmental Health Fees Schedule.
