We were looking at purchasing a park in the northern midwest. The park is on a septic system and the owner was pumping the tanks himself. There was also about 10 acres of vacant pasture next to the park that was part of the purchase. When he would pump the tanks he would apply the raw sewage to the pasture. I found this out with about 2 weeks of diligence time left. Step one was to find out if this was legal. A few calls later I find out it is legal as long as it is treated with alkaline. I asked the seller if he treated it before applying. These are not his exact words but he told me ” No, all you have to do see, is when you pump them tanks, is throw you some chicken bones in there and you never have to worry about it.”

At this point we had to decide what to do. We called someone who had done enviro studies for us and asked if he could run up there and test the pasture for any problems and have it back to us in a week. He was able to do so and was able to provide us with test results showing there was no enviromental or health hazard based on soil samples. We ended up purchasing the park and now have the tanks pumped by a licensed individual.

So the lesson learned here is: Anytime a seller is handling a critical aspect of the operation – Water well testing, pumping sewer tanks, operating a lagoon or sewer plant or does their own trash collection. You have to find out exactly what their process is. You will avoid buying a possible major liability.

Perry