Alt Building in SOMD

[nebeno]

Anyone have any experience with the counties in southern maryland and alternative building techniques? Whenever and wherever I build, I plan to make something very green, probably using straw bale construction. Also thought about not having a septic (using composting toilets). Would love to hear stories of interaction with the counties over such things. Thanks.

[nebeno]

I just wrote a long reply that got lost. Thanks SOMD :(

To summarize, I called the Charles County Dept. of Health and talked to a guy named Jerard who is in charge of the Welcome, MD area where I am looking at land. He said they categorize things in one of three ways:

Conventional: standard septic systems, wells, etc.

Alternative: Compost toilets fall in here. He said they usually look at and approve things in this category if they fail optimum perc (<30 minutes to drain). If it's 31-60 minutes then they look at this category. Maryland does allow for compost toilets (Information for Homeowners)

Innovative: Constructed wetlands for greywater recycling. This would require engineers and multiple signoffs. Probably would take a lot of money, a lot of connections, or maybe some academic support (say from UM).

In all Jerard was helpful and friendly. I think I have a fair chance of getting a compost toilet approved with him. I think I would probably need to get some help for the constructed wetlands however. He did say someone in the county got a grant to install such a system, but it wasn't maintained and so weeds took over and it stopped functioning before too long (such a system would need to be looked at a type of garden that needs continued care).

Finally, I found a company near Fredrick that has installed many such systems across Maryland and surrounding states: Welcome To nutricyclesystems.com. They even installed one at the White Plains Post Office. I'm going to contact them for advice.

[Chris0nllyn]

Originally Posted by nebeno

In all Jerard was helpful and friendly. I think I have a fair chance of getting a compost toilet approved with him. I think I would probably need to get some help for the constructed wetlands however. He did say someone in the county got a grant to install such a system, but it wasn't maintained and so weeds took over and it stopped functioning before too long (such a system would need to be looked at a type of garden that needs continued care).

I work for an environmental engineering firm, and if you need some engineering done, shoot me a PM.

I'm sure it won't be cheap (like you said) but it will be done right, and we've done work in Charles Co. before.

[mtrentw]

Seems to me, septic is a natural way to dispose of waste. Allow the natural bacteria in the feces to continue to digest the mess. CO2, water and fertilizer as byproducts. Same result as a composting toilet, but it happens underground? I am not an expert on wastewater or anything, but just seems failry straightforward.