Raimondo signs cesspool law

PROVIDENCE – Gov. Gina M. Raimondo has signed legislation that will require underground cesspools to be updated when a property is sold.
“This legislation not only protects our environment, but gets Rhode Islanders in the building trades back to work updating and modernizing our wastewater treatment systems,” Raimondo said, in a statement.
The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski, D-South Kingstown, and in the House by Rep. Teresa A. Tanzi, D-South Kingstown.
The state banned installation of new cesspools more than 40 years ago, but many existing, older homes continue to use the systems, according to Sosnowski.
The R.I. Department of Environmental Management estimates that Rhode Island has about 25,000 cesspools.
By making an upgraded septic system a requirement of a property sale, the cost of the project can be factored into the sale price of a home or the financing of a purchase, Sosnowski said.

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