For wastewater projects, especially in small communities, there are many other issues to consider beyond the costs and finding a technical solution to solve their wastewater pollution problem.  Small communities need not attept to identify problems and plan a project on their own.  They should take advantage of the free assistance offered by Ohio RCAP, the National Environmental Services Center and other organizations to help guide them through this process. 

There are publications as well that can guide communities through planning and decision-making.  Two of these that are recommended:

• The National Onsite Demonstration Project's (NODP) Tools for Communities, a package of twelve (12) products that includes video cassets, booklets and CDs,  is intended to be used in chronological order.  These materials provide basic information, and take small communities through the process of identifying on-site failures and planning a decentralized management approach.  A nominal fee is charged for videos and CDs.

• A Starter's Guide for Community Based Wastewater Solutions, prepared in June 2005 by the Green Mountain Institute for Environmental Democracy for the National Decentralized Water Resources Capacity Development Project (NDWRCDP), is a free publication that offers small communities guidance through the planning and decision-making process.

Perhaps the best way to identify a list of potential installers or consulting firms is to ask other communities that have been through similar projects who they worked with, whether or not they were satisfied and what sort of problems did they encounter.  This may include communities from surrounding states.  Organizations like RCAP and the NESC National Onsite Demonstration Program may be able to help generate a list of communities to contact.

SCEIG, RCAP and other government or non-profit organizations that provide technical assistance usually cannot specifically recommend or endorse individual consultants, installers and manufacturers of onsite equipment and cluster systems.  Some of them have developed, or upon request can provide, lists of Professionals that have minimum qualifications.  

On-line sources for names of professional consultants include:

• The NESC National Small Flows Clearinghouse maintains a database of manufacturers, engineers and other consultants that can be searched on-line.  Users must first register.  NESC does not endorse any company included in their database.  Click here to go to their site.

• The SETLL website offers a list of Professional Soil Scientists that provide consulting services in Ohio.  SETLL also lists everyone, including consultants, installers and manufacturers, that have attended their training events over the last five years.

• NOWRA offers a national Product & Service Locator to find service providers, installers and consultants, though currently its list of providers for Ohio is very limited.  NOWRA's state chapter the Ohio Onsite Wastewater Association (OOWA) maintains a list of Installer Qualification Program participants, a program to ensure installers have recevied basic and continuing education about onsite treatment systems and the latest technology.

• If you have a name of an engineer or surveyor in mind, you can make sure they are licensed to practice on the Ohio Engineers and Surveyor's Board website.