Septic-tank regulation was hard because the technology served growth and homeownership

Evidence

Almost from the start, indeed, the supporters of regulation understood that the septic tank was not just a waste-disposal technology. It was also a mechanism for facilitating the construction of single-family homes in the suburbs, and so it furthered a number of widely shared goals. The septic tank supported a popular domestic ideal. It increased the opportunity for people to profit from one of the great American paths to wealth – real estate speculation. Above all, the septic tank helped to stimulate economic growth. With so much at stake, the regulation of septic tanks was a difficult proposition. — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 441

Categorization

• XREF: Generalizes the growth-machine account: land-use infrastructure serving speculation and pro-growth ideology made regulation politically costly — a thread running through the whole polyad on land and extraction. — connects to: Septic-tank failures caused roughly forty percent of waterborne disease outbreaks — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 431; Septic tanks let builders develop cheap land beyond sewer lines — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 376; Sanitary engineers launched the campaign to regulate urban septic tanks — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 388 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Septic tanks enabled postwar suburban sprawl as much as highways did #corroborates (0.85) — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 371
• Homeowners ignored environmental costs their septic systems imposed on others #expands (0.78) — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 438