Why Septic Solutions LLC's Team Holds 36 Septic Service Licenses

Washington State is one of the most ecologically sensitive regions in the U.S. Puget Sound is home to unique ecosystems: commercial shellfish harvesting, spawning salmon, and orca migration routes all depend on clean water.
Our incredible natural environment and Puget Sound's ecosystem are unique and extremely fragile.
According to the Washington State Department of Ecology, 57% of rivers and streams in Puget Sound lowlands exceed safe levels of fecal bacteria. One of the key reasons is failing septic systems that discharge untreated wastewater into the ground, streams, and ultimately into Puget Sound.

That's why Washington State doesn't mess around with septic issues. The Washington State Board of Health, DOH (Department of Health), and local health departments in King, Snohomish, Skagit, and Island Counties have established some of the strictest requirements in the country for designing, installing, servicing, and inspecting septic systems.

Each type of work requires a separate permit. Each permit requires training, testing, years of documented experience, and regular renewal.

hese licensing requirements are detailed in the official Wastewater Rules and Regulations from the Washington State DOH. 

And trust us, this isn't red tape like you might think. Strict standards and requirements for septic systems and the professionals who install, service, and inspect them are a protection system for our state's wildlife and residents' health.

Our 36 licenses, held by our team members, cover six main categories of work. Each is regulated separately because each carries its own purpose, goals, and environmental requirements.

This license gives us the right to install new septic systems. To earn a Master Installer license, our technicians had 2 to 4 years of documented experience, completed 40+ hours of training, passed a rigorous exam with a passing score of at least 70%.

But here's the key. This license, like many others, must be renewed and revalidated annually by each technician who holds it.

We want to emphasize that even at Septic Solutions LLC, only 2 team members hold the Master Installer license type, because it's difficult to obtain!

Why do our technicians need Master Installer & Associate Installer licenses? Every property is unique: different soil types, groundwater levels, distances to wells and streams, and different regulations across different counties.
An improperly designed and installed system can lead to serious consequences: discharging untreated waste directly into groundwater or streams. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency explains how failing septic systems contaminate water sources and endanger public health here.

This means potential contamination of drinking water, streams, rivers, and the Sound with E.coli bacteria, plus risks of releasing viruses and nitrates into the water, causing environmental damage to the ecosystem and residents.

O&M1 allows servicing of gravity systems, while O&M2 covers complex systems with mechanical components, pumps, and electronic controls. Septic system maintenance is arguably the primary work of any septic company, including ours.

Timely septic maintenance helps identify potential problems before a backup occurs or before you need pumping.

Why is this necessary? It's important to note that maintenance is an annual task for every homeowner. When done correctly, maintenance should be performed once a year, and pumping of a working system should be done every 3 years.

A septic system is a living biological process. If the system isn't maintained properly, untreated waste starts surfacing or seeping into the ground. The result: groundwater contamination, impacts on marine life, and health risks for people.

Grants authority to conduct official inspections during home sales or as required by the county. State requirements are that systems are inspected *annually, inspections are mandatory every year, and only a certified DOH inspector has the authority to inspect the systems and submit the reports.

Inspections are important both for environmental protection and for auditing system performance during real estate transactions. They're ordered by both counties and homeowners purchasing homes to rule out potential issues before they close on their property purchase.

Improper septic use or failure of electrical and mechanical system components can lead to breakdowns, malfunctions, or NEC code violations. By state law, electrical work on septic systems must be performed only by licensed professionals.

Grants authority to pump tanks and transport waste to treatment facilities. Improper pumping can negatively impact the system or cause waste spills. Waste must be delivered only to licensed facilities. Illegal dumping carries fines and criminal liability (unfortunately it still happens).

Each county has its own additional requirements! To work legally in each of these counties, separate local certifications are required, confirming knowledge of local specifics and requirements.

Here's what's important to understand: our 36 licenses aren't just for different types of work. They're licenses obtained for the four Washington State counties where we operate: Island, King, Skagit, and Snohomish.

Each county requires us to obtain all license categories matching our service offerings, separately for its jurisdiction. This means an Installer license for King County is a separate license. An Installer license for Snohomish County is a different license. And so on across all categories and all counties.

Why? Because each county has its own unique environmental risks, geological features, and local codes:

Island County: Most homes are near Puget Sound. Risk: contamination of shoreline areas and shellfish beds. Since 2012, high levels of fecal bacteria have been regularly detected in the water here. 

Island County local codes emphasize shoreline protection and strict requirements for setback distances from systems to the shoreline.

King County: The most densely populated county with strict inspection requirements. High septic density + aging systems (30-40 years old) = high risk of widespread groundwater contamination. King County requires mandatory O&M inspections annually and has some of the strictest installation and review standards in the state.

Skagit County: Agricultural areas with high groundwater levels. Risk - contamination of rivers where salmon spawn. Skagit County has special requirements for systems in floodplains and emphasizes protection of agricultural land.

Snohomish County: Hillside homes, challenging soils (clay, rock). Risk that waste flows downslope, contaminating neighbors' streams and wells. Snohomish County promotes the Savvy Septic program for upgrading older systems and has specific requirements for systems on sloped lots.

To work safely and legally in each of these counties, one universal license isn't enough. You need to know local codes, understand local geology, account for seasonal changes, and understand each county's environmental characteristics.

That's exactly why we obtained all necessary licenses in all four counties where we operate. That's what makes up our 36 licenses.

Based on our data, the average septic company in our counties has 8-10 licenses total: typically a Pumping License, Associate Installer, and maybe O&M1 in one or two counties.

What does this mean in practice? Most often it means the contractor you find online can only perform part of the work according to their licenses, and for complex work (like designing and replacing a septic system), they'll subcontract it out or leave the homeowner with figuring out how to resolve the issue (often they come to us). All this comes with extra costs, stress, and confusion.
But in our opinion, the main problem with companies having fewer licenses is their teams' narrow specialization. They often simply don't see the root problem or the system as a whole, and they provide temporary band-aid solutions to septic issues!

Art Nikolin explains: "When a tech only knows their narrow scope of work, like pumping, they don't see what happens next. They don't understand why the tank fills up too fast. They just pump it and leave. A month later you're calling again. And paying again. Because the real problem, a clogged drainfield or failed pump, went unnoticed. We train our technicians to see the whole system. To understand not just 'what' broke, but 'why' it happened."

For example: a licensed tech who knows how to pump tanks isn't trained to diagnose why the tank fills up too quickly. Sure, they'll pump your tank, you'll pay for it, and two months later you're facing another backup and they are nowhere to be found.

We encounter this problem often, and it only happens because the pumper, after pumping the tank, either was in a rush to the next job or ignorant of the other issues going on with the septic. We expect our pumpers to be aware of the issues and bring awareness to the homeowner so that they could make better informed decisions.

Considering ourselves among the industry leaders, we at Septic Solutions LLC decided that every senior technician must understand the septic system as a whole, from design to inspection, from electrical to local codes. And to validate their skills and knowledge, they earned all necessary licenses in all four counties where we work.

Art Nicolin, General Manager of Septic Solutions LLC, previously worked in an industry where one mistake could cost millions in losses. Before joining our company, Art professionally installed and serviced complex commercial HVAC systems for data centers, office buildings, and hospitals.
When he came to us, he brought a zero-tolerance-for-errors philosophy to the septic business, which really sets our company apart in the market today! Zero tolerance for errors led us to build a training system for Septic Solutions LLC technicians.

Art says: "In the data centers where I worked before, an HVAC system error meant millions in losses and business shutdown. You couldn't just 'throw parts at the problem' and hope it worked. You had to understand the whole system. I brought that same philosophy to the septic business. Our techs don't just replace pumps or pump tanks. They understand why the system works the way it does. It is important for me that our tech have field expertise, technical expertise, and the license or certification to back it up."

Our training approach works like this:

Every new team member starts their career with us participating in septic installations as a helper. This allows an inexperienced technician to see how a septic system works, how our team conducts site evaluations, draws designs, handles installation and testing.

After working in the company as an installation helper, the newcomer gains experience they can't get or read about anywhere else. They understand how the system works as a whole. When visiting a site they can envision the system underground from the countless experiences they had as an installer.

Only after gaining verified experience as an installer assistant, they join our pumping team and visit countless sites and start learning about the constant issues that septic systems face.

Simultaneously, they are gaining experience by assisting in service calls, pumping, maintenance, basic repairs. Here they learn to see what happens when systems don't work right: clogged fields, failed pumps, overflowing tanks. This is a critically important stage because the technician learns to diagnose, not just fix.

After 2-3 years with the company, a technician begins preparing for more complex exams: Master Installer, O&M2, DOH Inspector, electrical certifications. We pay for training, exams, and annual license renewals.

Gradually, step by step, a newcomer becomes an experienced industry professional, validating their expertise with certifications.

That's exactly how we approach training in our company. Ready-made specialists in the septic industry practically don't exist. We grow them ourselves.

give us the authority and knowledge to do the job right.

When you call Septic Solutions LLC, you get a licensed professional for any type of work, from new system installation to DOH inspections, from complex O&M2 service to electrical work, in any of the four counties where we operate. We can solve the problem completely, legally, and safely from the first visit.

Art says: "Licenses aren't wall decorations for the office. They're protection for your home, your time, and your wallet. When a tech shows up with Master Installer, O&M2, and electrical certifications, he can handle everything. And he does from the first time. Because he understands the system, not guessing what broke."

But it's not just about customer convenience.

It's about Puget Sound, about groundwater, about our kids being able to swim in the same places we do. About keeping shellfish safe to eat. About salmon returning to spawn…

Every failing septic system is a direct threat to Washington State's environment. And every properly installed, properly maintained, properly inspected system is a contribution to protecting that environment.

If you're hiring a septic company, here's what you should ask:

• What licenses does the tech who's coming to my property hold? Ask to see license numbers. You can verify them through the Washington State Department of Health or WOSSA.
• Is your tech certified in my county? f you're in King County and the tech doesn't have King County certification, they're working illegally.
• Who will handle electrical work if it's needed? If the answer is "We'll call a subcontractor," be prepared to wait and pay more.
• Do you have a DOH Inspector License? If not, they can't perform the official inspection when you're selling your home.

At Septic Solutions LLC, we welcome these questions because we're one of the few companies holding 36 licenses to provide all septic-related services in Island, King, Skagit, and Snohomish Counties.

Our company is growing, and in 7 years of operation, we believe we've achieved solid results. We now serve over 4,000 homeowners in Island, King, Skagit, and Snohomish Counties, and we're not planning to stop. It means our team will keep growing, and with it, we'll be earning even more licenses! All of this enables us to deliver the highest quality professional services and protect the environment!

Our goal is to preserve our state's incredible natural beauty, improve the environment, so we and our children can enjoy nature and swim in lakes and rivers without worrying about health risks, just like we did as kids.