[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health
of the Town of Eastham 3-5-2020. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.Â
Whereas:
(1)Â
Floor drains in industrial and commercial facilities are often tied
to a system leading to a leaching structure or a septic system; and
(2)Â
Improper maintenance or inappropriate use of these systems may allow
the passage of contaminants or pollutants entering the drain to discharge
from the leaching structure or septic system to the ground; and
(3)Â
Discharges of hazardous wastes and other pollutants to floor drains
leading to leaching structures and septic systems have repeatedly
threatened surface and groundwater quality throughout Massachusetts;
and
(4)Â
Groundwater resources in the Town of Eastham contribute to public
drinking water supplies.
B.Â
The Town of Eastham adopts the following regulation, under its authority as specified in § 304-2 as a preventative measure for the purposes of preserving and protecting the community's drinking water supply from discharges of pollutants to the ground via floor drains, and minimizing the threat of economic losses due to such discharges.
The Board of Health adopts the following regulation pursuant
to authorization granted by MGL c. 111, §§ 31 and 122.
This regulation shall apply to all new and existing facilities located
within the Town of Eastham MassDEP approved Zone II Groundwater Protection
Overlay District (see map from previous section).[1]
For the purposes of this regulation, the following words and
phrases shall have the following meanings:
A public or private establishment where the principal use
is the supply, sale, and/or manufacture of services, products, or
information, including but not limited to: manufacturing, processing,
or other industrial operations; service or retail establishments;
printing or publishing establishments; research and development facilities;
small or large quantity generators of hazardous waste; laboratories;
hospitals.
The accidental or intentional disposal, deposit, injection,
dumping, spilling, leaking, incineration, or placing of toxic or hazardous
material or waste upon or into any land or water so that such hazardous
waste or any constituent thereof may enter the land or waters of the
Commonwealth. Discharge includes, without limitation, leakage of such
materials from failed or discarded containers or storage systems and
disposal of such materials into any on-site leaching structure or
sewage disposal system.
An intended drainage point on a floor constructed to be otherwise
impervious which serves as the point of entry into any subsurface
drainage, treatment, disposal, containment, or other plumbing system.
Any subsurface structure through which a fluid that is introduced
will pass and enter the environment, including, but not limited to,
dry wells, leaching catch basins, cesspools, leach fields, and oil/water
separators that are not water-tight.
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
A device designed and installed to separate and retain petroleum
based oil/grease, flammable wastes and sand particles from normal
wastes while permitting normal sewage or liquid wastes to discharge
into the drainage system by gravity. Other common names for such systems
include MDC traps, gasoline and sand traps, grit and oil separators,
grease traps, and interceptors.
Any substance or mixture of physical, chemical, or infectious
characteristics posing a significant, actual, or potential hazard
to water supplies or other hazards to human health if such substance
or mixture were discharged to land or waters. "Toxic or hazardous
materials" include, without limitation, synthetic organic chemicals,
petroleum products, heavy metals, radioactive or infectious wastes,
acids and alkalis, and all substances defined as toxic or hazardous
under MGL c. 21C and 21E or Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Regulations
(310 CMR 30.000), and also include such products as solvents, thinners,
and pesticides in quantities greater than normal household use.
The handling, generation, treatment, storage, or management
of toxic or hazardous materials.
The delineated recharge area to a public drinking water well
as approved by MassDEP and defined under the MA Drinking Water Regulations
310 CMR 22.00. Zone II may be seen on the Groundwater Protection District
Map in previous section.[1]
With the exception of discharges that received MassDEP permit
prior to July 30, 2015, no floor drain shall be allowed to discharge,
with or without pretreatment (such as an oil/water separator) to the
ground, a leaching structure, or septic system in any industrial or
commercial facility if such floor drain is located in:
A.Â
An industrial or commercial process area; or
B.Â
A petroleum, toxic, or hazardous materials and/or hazardous waste
storage area; or
C.Â
A leased facility lacking either A or B as described above, but which
has the potential for a change in use to one which has either A or
B; and is in the opinion of the Board of Health or its agent sufficient
to warrant the elimination of the ground discharge present at this
facility.
A.Â
The owner of a facility in operation with a prohibited floor drain system as defined in § 304-4 shall:
(1)Â
Where possible, disconnect and plug all applicable inlets to and
outlets from applicable leaching structures, oil/water separators,
and/or septic systems; and
(2)Â
Remove all existing sludge in oil/water separators, septic systems
and, where accessible, leaching structures. Any sludge determined
to be a hazardous waste shall be disposed of in accordance with state
hazardous waste regulations, 310 CMR 30.000. Remedial activity involving
any excavation and/or soil or groundwater sampling must be performed
in accordance with appropriate MassDEP policies; and
(3)Â
Alter the floor drain system so that the floor drain shall be either:
(a)Â
Connected to a holding tank that meets all applicable requirements
of MassDEP policies and regulations, with hauling records submitted
to the Board of Health at the time of hauling; or
(b)Â
Connected to a municipal sanitary sewer line, if available,
with all applicable MassDEP and local permits; or
(c)Â
Permanently sealed. Any facility sealing a drain shall be required
to submit for approval to the Board of Health a hazardous waste management
plan detailing the means of collecting, storing, and disposing any
hazardous waste gene rated by the facility, including any spill or
other discharge of hazardous materials or wastes.
B.Â
Any oil/water separator remaining in use shall be monitored weekly,
cleaned not less than every 90 days, and restored to proper conditions
after cleaning so as to ensure proper functioning. Records of the
hauling of the removed contents of the separator shall be submitted
to the Board of Health at the time of hauling.
C.Â
Compliance with all provisions of this regulation must be accomplished
in a manner consistent with Massachusetts Plumbing, Building, and
Fire Code requirements.
A.Â
All new construction and/or applicable change of use within the Town
of Eastham shall comply with the provisions of this chapter.
B.Â
Certification of conformance with the provisions of this chapter
by the Board of Health shall be required prior to issuance of construction
and occupancy permits; and
Failure to comply with provisions of this regulation will result
in the levy of fines of not less than $200, but no more than $1,000.
Each day's failure to comply with the provisions of this regulation
shall constitute a separate violation.
If any provision of this regulation is declared invalid by a
court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect
any remaining provisions of this regulation. Any part of these regulations
subsequently invalidated by a new state law or modification of an
existing state law shall automatically be brought into conformity
with the new or amended law and shall be deemed to be effective immediately.
