Virginia HB1178: A Step Backward for Septic Inspections
A new bill introduced in the Virginia General Assembly would redefine what qualifies as a septic inspection. While framed as clarification, HB1178 risks weakening consumer protections, lowering inspection standards, and creating confusion across real estate transactions.
Click below to read HB1178 introduced on January 14th 2026
Why This Proposed Bill Raises Serious Concerns for Consumer Protection and Professional Standards
What Is HB1178?
On January 14, 2026, House Bill 1178 was introduced in the Virginia General Assembly. If enacted, it would amend Virginia Code §§ 59.1-310.7 and 59.1-310.9 and significantly change how septic inspections are defined and performed during real estate transactions.
Most concerning, HB1178 reverses key protections created under HB2671, which became law in 2025 and was designed to standardize septic inspections and eliminate misleading practices.
The Core Problem: Redefining “Inspection”
HB1178 redefines a septic inspection to mean one or more of the following activities:
- Dye testing
- Flow testing
- Sludge or scum measurement
- Camera scoping
- Inspection of accessible components
- Excavation
That phrase one or more matters. It means there is no minimum standard for what must occur during an inspection. Under this bill, an inspection could legally consist of:
- A dye test only
- A flow test only
- A sludge and scum measurement only
And still be called a septic inspection.
Sludge and Scum Measurement Is Not an Inspection
Including sludge and scum measurement in the definition of an inspection is especially troubling. Sludge and scum measurements are maintenance indicators. They help determine pumping intervals. They do not evaluate system condition. They tell you nothing about:
- Tank integrity
- Baffles or tees
- Distribution devices
- Piping condition
- Dispersal field performance
- Site drainage or hydraulic failure
Yet under HB1178, this single activity could qualify as an inspection.
That would have been clearly prohibited under existing law.
Dye Tests and Flow Tests Do Not Replace Observation
Dye tests and flow tests are not regulated inspection standards. Their results vary widely based on timing, soil moisture, weather, and recent water use. A dye test that shows no surfacing does not confirm system health.
A flow test can artificially stress a system without revealing its true condition.
These tools may have limited value when used alongside a full inspection. They are not substitutes for observing system components. HB1178 places indirect testing on equal footing with direct observation. That is a fundamental shift in inspection philosophy.
No More Uniform Inspection Process
The law enacted in 2025 was clear. Inspectors were required to make every reasonable effort to inspect and report on all readily accessible and openable components of the system. HB1178 removes that clarity.
Inspections would now vary widely in scope depending on which activities are selected and documented. Two inspections could be described the same way while providing vastly different levels of information. Uniform standards exist to prevent exactly this kind of confusion.
Bringing Back Pass or Fail Without Standards
HB1178 removes the prohibition that currently prevents inspectors from issuing pass, fail, or graded assessments. That prohibition was intentional. It reinforced that inspections are documentation of observed conditions, not guarantees or subjective judgments.
Removing it without defining what pass or fail actually means creates inconsistency. One inspector’s pass may follow excavation and tank entry. Another’s may follow limited testing.The result is false equivalency and misunderstanding for buyers, sellers, lenders, and agents.
Misleading Language About Pumping
HB1178 also requires inspectors to include a statement suggesting that pumping a tank during an inspection may be unnecessary or harmful. That statement is inaccurate.
Pumping a septic tank does not harm a properly functioning system. In many cases, pumping is the only way to visually inspect tank walls, baffles, and internal components. Discouraging pumping discourages thorough inspections and biases consumers against a standard industry practice that improves inspection accuracy.
More Conflict, Not Less
HB1178 appears intended to reduce conflict in real estate transactions. In reality, it is likely to increase it. When inspections lack uniform standards, disputes follow. Buyers assume more was evaluated than actually was. Sellers challenge results. Inspectors face greater liability due to unclear expectations.
Clear definitions protect everyone. HB1178 weakens them.
Why This Matters
Septic inspections exist to protect the public. They provide critical information about infrastructure that is expensive, hidden, and essential to public health.HB1178 shifts inspections away from observable facts and toward minimal, indirect activities. That is not progress.
Final Thought
HB1178 is only a bill. But if enacted as written, it would undo clarity achieved just one year ago and redefine inspections in a way that benefits convenience over accuracy. Virginia does not need looser inspection standards. It needs clear, uniform, and defensible ones.
Industry professionals should pay close attention to this bill before those standards are quietly eroded.
Bill Sponsor Information
HB1178 was introduced by Delegate Pope Adams.
Industry professionals who wish to better understand the intent of the bill or share technical, experience-based feedback may contact the bill sponsor through official legislative channels.
Delegate Pope Adams
Virginia House of Delegates
Official profile: https://house.vga.virginia.gov/members/H0399
Engagement is most effective when it is respectful, technical, and focused on how proposed language functions in real-world inspection and consumer protection contexts.
