Breaking News: HB2097 (Septic Opt-Out) Senate vote today

Good Morning Cochise County and all Sustainable Homestead Builders in Arizona:

This is a special letter from the Ground Party Papers to let you know that the HB2097 bill (see our previous report) is going to a vote in the Senate today. Their session begins at 1pm, so there’s still time to send your district’s senator an email or voicemail in support of this bill.

Briefly, HB2097 does three things:

• Allows composting toilets to be installed on any property which is rural-residential and 2 acres or more.

• Instructs the ADEQ to create kitchen gray water recycling standards so that this water doesn’t have to go to a septic system.

• Allows homeowners to opt-out of installing a septic system if they use composting toilets and all of their household water is recycled as gray water.

This would remove a big pain point for many sustainable DIY homesteaders who understand that septic systems are simply unnecessary in many cases. Further, they prevent families from saving and recycling water.

For Cochise County residents, you’re likely in District 19. Bisbee and Hereford are in District 21 (yes, Arizona likes to gerrymander their districts). Here’s your contact info for our senators:

Even if you’re past septic installation on your home, it’s still worth taking a moment to send an email or leave a voicemail if you support the bill. It will let our legislators know that there is a significant and growing voter base who support sustainable and alternative homesteading. This will be crucial for the future of sustainable and alternative home building in Arizona.

It is especially important for Democrat and Independent voters to write in because it will be the Democratic legislators who will mainly influence whether Governor Hobbs signs the bill.

Key points for a message:

• The bill name is HB2097

• Promotes sustainable water use in a time of drought and water shortages

• Lowers home construction costs in a time when homes and real estate are more expensive than ever

Best of luck flexing your civic muscle. If this bill doesn’t get signed into law this season, we’ll just dust ourselves off and try again.

Mr. Sawyer