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systems are typically used where soil and site conditions <br />prohibit the use of ground absorption systems and where sewer <br />connections or extensions are not available. They are used <br />mainly for cluster housing, mobile home parks, subdivisions, <br />businesses, and industry. The Division of Environmental <br />Management (DEM) currently approves and permits these <br />systems, however actual site visits and monitoring by the DEM <br />staff are severely limited due to staffing levels and limited <br />resources. This often results' in systems which are <br />improperly installed and systems which fail for long periods <br />of time without corrective action. Consequently, surface <br />waters and the environment receive untreated or <br />insufficiently treated sewage. <br />Likewise, large ground absorption and other. engineered <br />s stems lack oversight during construction and operation. <br />The Division ''of Environmental Health (DEB) or DEM are <br />currently responsible for approval of ans, installation <br />inspections, and monitoring. Due to limited 'resources and <br />inspections, these systems are seldom in full compliance and <br />there is little or none of the required monitoring done. The <br />consequence of a large system failure is an obvious risk to <br />public health and the environment in the form of ground water <br />pollution and sewage discharge to the ground surface or to <br />the surface waters. <br />20 <br />