March 2026 Riverkeeper Report

The ospreys have turned to our rivers and that means we're preparing for the 2026 water monitoring season. That also means the 2026 legislative session end date is in sight! We just passed crossover—a critical milestone for bills to make it to the finish line.  We have weighed in on about 28 legislative bills so far - touching on topics including oysters, housing, resiliency, PFAs, wastewater, plastics, and more.

One of our priorities, a bill requiring septic pump outs and inspections during property transfers, made the crossover deadline in one chamber. However, the Senate crossfile became a hotly debated bill on the Senate floor in the final hours of crossover. What does this mean? It means we need to contact committee members and Senators to encourage them to vote favorably for this bill.

What does HB146 do?

HB146 mirrors legislation passed in 2022 that requires inspections of drinking water wells at property transfer or every three years at rental properties.

Rental properties must have a septic system inspection between tenants.  That might be ten or 20 years if there is no turnover. However, if tenant turnover is more frequent, a septic inspection is not required more often than every three years. This bill does not impact on short-term rentals.

At point of sale most mortgage companies require a septic system inspection. However, in the event this is not already required, then an inspection must be done. Like all other things that might come up during the home inspection, repairs would be negotiated between parties. The repair or replacement does not need to be completed before the sale is finalized. 

Any septic system found to be failing will be reported to the local authority.

You can contact the below representatives to help push this important legislation across the finish line.

Senator Ready

Senator Hershey

Members of the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee.

See you on the river, 

Elle Bassett

South, West, and Rhode Riverkeeper