[Adopted 12-1-2004; amended 6-14-2006; 7-23-2008; 11-19-2015]
For the purpose of the Town of Nantucket Board of Health regulations,
the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly requires otherwise. Terms expressed in the singular
shall be construed to incorporate the plural, and vice versa, unless
the context otherwise requires.
A unit of land measure equal to 40,000 square feet, which
is considered a buildable acre in accordance with standard real estate
practices.
An agency, department, board, commission, or authority of
the Commonwealth or of the federal government and any authority of
any political subdivision which is specifically created as an authority
under special or general law. The term shall not include housing authorities
permitted pursuant to MGL c. 40A.
American National Standards Institute.
A local approving authority as defined in 310 CMR 15.002;
or the Department with regard to systems owned or operated by an agency
of the Commonwealth or of the federal government, or on a case-by-case
basis as determined by the Department to be necessary to carry out
the purposes of 310 CMR 15.000.
The American Society for Testing and Materials.
A room containing a sink, toilet facility, and a shower or
tub.
Any habitable space in a structure suitable for living and sleeping
that exists in a structure as a room separated from adjacent space
by a wall extending from the ceiling to the floor with or without
doorways and windows that consists of the following:
Dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens, halls, bathrooms, closets,
unfinished cellars, storage and utility space are not considered bedrooms
in dwelling units with seven rooms or less. For the purpose of septic
system design, single-family dwellings shall be presumed to have at
least three bedrooms. Where the total number of rooms for a single-family
dwelling exceeds seven, the number of bedrooms presumed shall be calculated
by dividing the total number of rooms by two then rounding down to
the next lowest whole number.
An undivided room area greater than 50% of the floor area of
any single level, exclusive of dining rooms, kitchens, halls, bathrooms,
and closets, and greater than 400 square feet in area will be equivalent
to two bedrooms for design flow calculation purposes.
Finished basements containing at least one full bathroom will
be considered as one bedroom for design flow calculations.
A layer composed of microorganisms and organic material located
below a soil absorption system which forms on the infiltrative surface
of soil and which provides biological treatment of septic tank effluent.
Wastewater from toilets, urinals, and any drains equipped
with garbage grinders.
The Town of Nantucket Board of Health.
Any land or surface area so defined by the Massachusetts
Wetlands Protection Act, MGL c. 131, § 40 and 310 CMR 10.55(2).
A structure enclosed within exterior walls or firewalls,
built, erected, or framed of any material, whether portable or fixed,
having a roof, to form a structure for the shelter of persons, animals,
or property.
A pipe which begins outside the inner face of a building
wall and extends to an on-site system or municipal or private sewer.
A facility regulated pursuant to 105 CMR 430.00 or 105 CMR
440.00 and any campground operated by the Department of Environmental
Protection in a state park.
That portion of the outside surface of the supporting wall
enclosing a full basement which is above the cellar floor and below
the ground surface.
A certificate issued by the approving authority to the owner
or operator of a system in accordance with 310 CMR 15.021 indicating
that an on-site system has been constructed or upgraded, and inspected,
as necessary, in compliance with 310 CMR 15.00.
An alternative system which has been approved by the Department
for specified uses or site conditions pursuant to 310 CMR 15.288.
Systems which have been certified may be approved for use by the Board
without further departmental review but subject to any limitations
on their use imposed by the Department in 310 CMR 15.00.
A surface water body that has been certified by the Massachusetts
Division of Fisheries and Wildlife as a vernal pool in accordance
with the Vernal Pool Certification Guidelines pursuant to the Massachusetts
Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program administered by the
Massachusetts Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Environmental
Law Enforcement at the time a permit application is submitted to the
approving authority.
A pit with open jointed linings or tiles in the bottom and/or
sidewalls into which raw sewage is discharged, the liquid portion
of the sewage being disposed of by seeping or leaching into the surrounding
soils, and the solids or sludge being retained in the pit. A cesspool
shall be considered a failed system by definition.
Unconsolidated sediment subject to wave, tidal and coastal
storm action which forms the gently sloping shore of a body of salt
water and includes tidal flats, as more fully defined in MGL c. 131,
§ 40 and 310 CMR 10.27(2).
The soils placed on top of a soil absorption system to bring
the area to finish grade.
The top of the internal cross section of a pipe or fitting.
An open pit excavated to a minimum depth of 12 feet to permit
examination of the soils and to obtain data relative to the depth
to groundwater.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
The groundwater/water table elevations shall be determined by:
Direct observation of highest groundwater elevation (including
seasonal perched and tidally influenced groundwater) in a test pit
excavation;
Direct observation of mottling (redoximorphic features) in a
test pit excavation; and
USGS Frimpter High Ground Water Adjustment Method (reference "Probable High Groundwater Levels in Massachusetts USGS Water Resources Investigation Open File Report 80on Open File Report 80 - 1205). Reference available in Health Department.
The quantity of sanitary sewage, expressed in gallons per
day (gpd) for which a system must be designed in accordance with 310
CMR 15.203.
A registered sanitarian or a professional engineer registered
in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The subsurface environment in which a soil absorption system
or reserve area is located.
See "on-site system."
Written approval issued by the Board in accordance with 310
CMR 15.020 authorizing the construction, upgrade or expansion of an
on-site system.
A person licensed in accordance with 310 CMR 15.019, who
constructs, repairs, or replaces an on-site subsurface sewage disposal
system.
A permit issued in accordance with 310 CMR 15.019.
A level, watertight structure which receives septic tank
effluent and distributes it in substantially equal portions to distribution
lines in a soil absorption system.
A pipe which provides dispersion of septic tank effluent
within a soil absorption system.
A watertight structure placed between a septic tank and either
a distribution box or a soil absorption system which is equipped with
a pump designed to discharge septic tank effluent at a predetermined
rate to a soil absorption system.
A pit with open jointed lining or holes through which stormwater
drainage from roofs, basement floors, foundations or other areas seep
into the surrounding soil.
A coastal dune, as defined in MGL c. 131, § 40
and 310 CMR 10.28(2).
A building which is used, intended, or designed for human
habitation, including, but not limited to, houses, hotels, motels,
apartments, mobile and modular homes and condominiums.
The liquid volume of a tank below the liquid level line.
Sanitary sewage/septage discharged into the environment,
whether or not treated.
The repair of a system which is necessary to prevent sewage
backup into a building, surface breakout of sewage, or to alleviate
an imminent danger to public health, safety or the environment in
accordance with 310 CMR 15.353.
Any on-site sewage/septage disposal system. Reference "on-site
sewage disposal system" definition.
A system which fails to protect public health and safety
or the environment as set forth in 310 CMR 15.303(1)(a)(1) through
(6), 310 CMR 15.303(1)(c) and 310 CMR 15 303(2) and as documented
on the Town of Nantucket Septic System Inspection Form.
The clean, uncontaminated, nonindigenous soil placed beneath,
above, and/or around a soil absorption system, as specified in 310
CMR 15.201 through 15.292.
Any putrescible wastewater discharge from domestic activities,
including but not limited to washing machines, sinks, showers, bathtubs,
dishwashers, or other sources, except toilets, urinals, and any drains
equipped with garbage grinders.
A watertight structure located on a building sewer before
a septic tank in which grease and oils are separated from other solid
and liquid constituents of sewage and accumulated in accordance with
310 CMR 15.230.
All subsurface water contained within a zone of saturation,
including perched groundwater.
The Massachusetts Groundwater Quality Standards, 314 CMR
5.00.
Standard H-20 truck loading as specified by the American
Association of State Highway Transportation Officials.
A room containing a sink and toilet facilities only.
A facility restricted to use of adults over 55 years of age
(in accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.; as referenced
in MGL c. 151B, § 4, paragraph 7).
A self-contained system consisting of a composter with a
separate toilet fixture from which no liquid or solid waste materials
are discharged to the surface or subsurface environment and from which
a humus-/compost-like end product is produced. Such systems may be
approved for use only in accordance with the provisions of 310 CMR
15.280 through 15.289.
The backflow of effluent within an underground soil absorption
system as demonstrated by fluids and/or the observance of fluid levels
above the top of the outlet of the distribution box and/or septic
tank. The flow or leakage of effluent to the surface of a property
above the underground soil absorption system and/or the backflow of
effluent into any structure shall also be considered as hydraulic
failure.
Material having a percolation rate greater than 60 minutes
per inch for reasons including, but not limited to, the presence of
bedrock, schist, peat, ledge, unconsolidated material, organic matter
or topsoil or subsoil.
Any water and/or waste generated from any process or industry,
manufacture, trade, business, or activity listed in 310 CMR 15.004.
Systems designed to provide or enhance on-site sewage disposal
which either do not contain all of the components of an on-site disposal
system constructed in accordance with 310 CMR 15.001 through 15.293
or which contain components in addition to those specified in 310
CMR 15.100 through 15.293 and which are proposed to the local approving
authority and/or the Department for remedial, pilot, provisional,
or general use approval pursuant to 310 CMR 15.280 through 15.289,
and comply with ANSI Standard 245 for nitrogen reduction.
An interim wellhead protection area, as defined in Massachusetts
drinking water regulations, 310 CMR 22.02. Generally, this is the
half-mile radius for sources whose approved pumping rate is 100,000
or greater. For smaller sources, the radius in feet is determined
by multiplying the approved pumping rate in gallons per minute by
32, and adding 400.
The lowest portion of the internal cross section of a pipe
or fitting.
Any on-site source of groundwater not certified as a potable
water supply by the local Board of Health or the Department in accordance
with MGL c. 111 § 122A and § 160 or 310 CMR 22.00.
The Board of Health or its authorized agent or an agent of
the Health District constituted pursuant to MGL c. 111, § 27
acting on behalf of the Board of Health.
An approval granted by the local approving authority allowing
the owner or operator of a nonconforming system to perform an upgrade
of the nonconforming system to the maximum feasible extent, all in
accordance with the provisions of 310 CMR 15.401 through 15.405.
The stable rate of effluent acceptance through the biological
mat of the soil absorption system measured in gallons per day per
square foot (gpd/sf).
All activities required to assure the effective and continuous
operation and performance of an on-site system, including, but not
limited to, solids and scum removal from the septic tank, releveling
the distribution box, and the upgrade of one or more of the system
components, exclusive of leaching facilities, all as more fully described
in 310 CMR 15.201 through 15.422.
A single transportable structure on a chassis designed to
be used, with or without a permanent foundation, as a dwelling. The
support system of a mobile home is constructed so that the mobile
home may be moved from time to time.
A prefabricated building designed and constructed to be used
as a dwelling and to be transported in two or more sections to a site
where the sections are permanently connected and installed on a permanent
foundation.
A color pattern in soil consisting of contrasting high and
low chroma colors, which shall be used as an indicator of depth to
groundwater.
A septic tank containing more than one settling compartment
in series.
The system of classifying soil color consisting of an alphanumeric
designation for hue, value and chroma, together with a descriptive
color name accepted by 310 CMR 15.00 and USDA/NRCS as a standard procedure
in soil classification.
National Geodetic Vertical Datum.
Soil exhibiting a percolation rate of 60 minutes or less
per inch which was deposited on a site by natural causes and not by
human action.
The construction of a new building and/or addition of enclosed
square footage to an existing building for which an occupancy permit
is required or an increase in the actual or design flow to any nonconforming
system or to any other system above the existing approved capacity.
New construction shall not include replacement or repair of an existing
building totally or partially destroyed or demolished if there is
no increase in flow above the existing approved capacity to any system.
Areas which have been determined by the Nantucket Board of Health
to be particularly sensitive to the discharge of pollutants from on-site
sewage disposal systems, including nitrogen, nitrogen as nitrate,
phosphorous and pathogens. Such areas are depicted on a plan entitled
"Board of Health Nitrogen Sensitive Areas," which is hereby incorporated
by reference herein, and as such warrant the imposition of the loading
restrictions set forth below. All existing lots shall, by right, be
allowed to discharge 220 gallons per day.
Any system which is not in full compliance with the standards
and requirements of 310 CMR 15.00 and for which a variance or local
upgrade approval has not been obtained. Nonconforming systems include,
but are not limited to, cesspools, privies, failed systems, and systems
with a design flow above 10,000 gallons per day.
That elevation below the ground surface at which water is
observed weeping, flowing from the walls of, or standing in a deep
observation hole.
A system or series of systems for the treatment and disposal
of sanitary sewage.
The standard components of a system include, but are not limited
to: a building sewer; a septic tank to retain solids and scum; a distribution
box; a soil absorption system containing effluent distribution lines
to distribute and treat septic tank effluent prior to discharge to
appropriate subsurface soils; and a reserve area.
The terms "on-site or disposal system or on-site subsurface
sewage disposal system or system" also include tight tanks, shared
systems, alternative systems and other on-site systems as defined
in 310 CMR 15.00.
Any uncovered ditch, swale or culvert used for the conveyance
of surface water runoff or groundwater. A culvert that carries a watercourse
or intermittent stream is not an open drain.
To use or occupy a facility served by an on-site system or
to own a facility where such use or occupation exists.
A person who, alone or together with other persons, has charge
or control of any system.
A person who, alone or together with other persons, has legal
title to any facility served by a system or control of the facility,
including but not limited to any agent, executor, administrator, trustee,
lessee, or guardian of the estate for the holder of legal title.
A field test to assess the suitability of soils in a defined
area for the subsurface disposal of sanitary sewage as described at
310 CMR 15.00.
Any individual, partnership, firm, association, authority,
trust or group, including, but not limited to, a city, town, county,
the Commonwealth and its agencies, the Nantucket Land Bank, and the
federal government.
A structure used for the disposal or temporary storage of
human waste with or without water transport consisting of a self-contained
shelter with a sealed cleanable and reusable effluent vault.
A structure used for the disposal of human wastes without
water transport consisting of a shelter built over an unlined pit
or vault in the ground into which waste is deposited. A privy is a
nonconforming system.
Coastal areas of special flood hazard (V and A FEMA flood
zones) which extend from the mean low water line to the inland limit
of the one-hundred-year floodplain supporting waves greater than three
feet in height (V Zone) and flood depths of one foot to three feet
(A Zone). The boundary of these flood zones shall be determined by
reference to the National Flood Insurance Program [currently administered
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)] flood data and
Flood Insurance Rate Maps for the Town of Nantucket.
An area of land with demonstrated capacity for subsurface
sewage disposal upon which no permanent structure shall be constructed
and which is intended for replacement of the existing leaching facility
should it fail.
A facility upon which two or more mobile homes, restricted
to use by adults over 55 years of age (in accordance with 42 U.S.C.
§ 3601 et seq.), are located on a continual or seasonal
nonrecreational basis, regardless of whether a charge is made therefor.
Graywater and blackwater from domestic, commercial and other
nonindustrial sources.
Any system of pipes, conduits, pumping stations, force mains
and all other structures and devices used for collecting and conveying
wastewater to a public or private treatment works facility.
Any portion of the earth below the land surface where available
openings (pores, fissures, joint or solution cavity) are filled with
water.
A mass of light solids, such as hair, grease, oils and soaps,
floating on the surface of the wastewater in a septic tank.
A time period not exceeding 180 cumulative days in any given
calendar year.
The distance between the components of an on-site system,
structure, drainage facilities, and property boundary lines.
Material physically removed from any part of an on-site system,
including, but not limited to, the solids, semi-solids, scum, sludge
and liquid contents of a septic tank, privy, chemical toilet, cesspool,
holding tank, or other sewage waste receptacle. It does not include
any material which is hazardous waste.
A person licensed by an approving authority to remove septage
from on-site sewage disposal systems and transport it to an approved
disposal location in accordance with 310 CMR 15.500 et seq.
A permit issued pursuant to the authority of MGL c. 111,
§ 31 and 310 CMR 15.500 et seq., entitling a person to transport
septage within the Commonwealth.
Any solid or liquid material or biological agent intended
or used primarily for cleaning, treating, degreasing, unclogging,
disinfecting, deodorizing, or otherwise affecting the performance
of any component of an on-site system.
A watertight receptacle to receive sewage from a building
sewer which is designed and constructed to permit sufficient retention
of wastewater to allow for the separation of scum and sludge and the
partial digestion of organic matter before discharge of the liquid
portion to a soil absorption system.
The liquid portion of settled sewage which is discharged
from the outlet of a septic tank to distribution lines in a soil absorption
system.
Material including but not limited to solids, semi-solids,
scum, sludge, and liquid waste from sanitary facilities. The term
"sewage" does not include any material which is considered hazardous
waste.
A system of trenches, galleries, chambers, pits, field(s)
or bed(s), together with effluent distribution lines and aggregate
which is installed in appropriate soils to receive effluent from a
septic tank and transmit it to a soil interface for treatment in a
biological mat and disposal to the underlying soils.
A person certified by the Department pursuant to 310 CMR
15.101 as capable of determining the suitability of a specific site
for the use of an on-site subsurface sewage disposal system in compliance
with 310 CMR 15.000.
The relative proportions of sand, silt and clay in a given
soil matrix as defined by the USDA-NRCS.
A building or a room or rooms that include or have direct
physical access to a bathroom and/or half bath facilities. Each such
room complying with the requirements for a studio shall be calculated
as a bedroom.
Any underground conduit used for the underground conveyance
of surface water or groundwater, including, but not limited to, stormwater
culverts, curtain drains and French drains.
All waters other than groundwaters within the jurisdiction
of the Commonwealth, including without limitation, rivers, streams,
lakes, ponds, springs, reservoirs, impoundments, (except man-made
lined ponds) estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters and certified vernal
pools.
Any lake, pond, reservoir, or impoundment designated as a
public water supply in the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards,
314 CMR 4.00.
See "on-site system."
A person certified by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to 310 CMR 15.340 as capable of appropriately assessing the condition of an on-site system in accordance with 310 CMR 15.000 and under Chapter 309, Nantucket Harbor Watershed, Article I, and Chapter 332, Article III, On-Site Sewage Disposal Systems, of the Code of the Town of Nantucket.
See "seasonal."
A watertight vessel having an inlet to receive raw sewage
but no outlet and which is designed and used to collect and store
sewage until it is removed for disposal.
310 CMR 15.000, as amended.
Disposal apparatus used for the removal of human waste products,
including the room or rooms utilized to house such apparatus.
Hotels, motels, inns, rooming, lodging, guest houses, dormitories,
and time-sharing or time-interval ownership dwelling units or dwelling,
dwelling units or dwellings.
Any and all devices, processes, and properties, real or personal,
used in the collection, pumping, transmission, storage, treatment,
disposal, recycling, reclamation or reuse of waterborne pollutants,
including septage receiving facilities but not including any works
receiving a hazardous waste from off the site of the works for the
purpose of treatment, storage or disposal. Treatment works must be
permitted by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
pursuant to the authority of MGL c. 21, §§ 27 through
51 and regulations thereunder.
The modification of one or more components of an on-site
system or the design and construction of a new on-site system which
is intended to bring a nonconforming or failed system into conformance
with 310 CMR 15.000 to the maximum feasible extent. An emergency repair
is not an upgrade.
The United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources
Conservation Service.
The United States Geological Survey, within the United States
Department of the Interior.
Any public or private source of groundwater used for human
consumption, including, but not limited to, a source approved for
such use by the Nantucket Board of Health or the Department in accordance
with MGL c. 111, § 122A or 310 CMR 22.00.
All waters within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, including,
without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments
(except man-made lined ponds), wetlands, estuaries, coastal waters,
groundwaters, and vernal pools.
Any geographic area on which or under which surface water
and/or groundwater flows into a stream, a body of impounded surface
water (except man-made ponds), a coastal embayment or a water supply
well as defined on the Horsley, Whitten and Heggemin groundwater contour
maps, the United States Geologic Survey maps, "Water Resources of
Nantucket Island, Massachusetts Atlas HA - 615," or a more detailed
map duly adopted by the Board at a public hearing.
All freshwater and coastal wetlands as defined in the Town of Nantucket Wetlands Protection Bylaw (Chapter 136 of the Code of the Town of Nantucket) and accompany regulations,[1] and as defined in the Massachusetts Wetland Protection
Act (MGL c. 131, § 40) and 310 CMR 10.00 and as follows.
Coastal wetlands are any bank, beach, dune, barrier beach, ocean,
bay, estuary, tidally dominated river, stream, or creek, marsh, swamp,
salt meadow, flat or lowland subject to tidal action or coastal storm
flowage from the ocean, bay or an estuary. Freshwater wetlands are
any inland bank; bordering vegetated wetland (marsh, wet meadow, bog,
swamp), creek, river, stream, pond, or lake, beach, isolated land
subject to flooding, isolated vegetated wetland, bordering land subject
to flooding and/or certified vernal pool. Verification of the delineation
of wetland resource areas falls within the jurisdiction of the Nantucket
Conservation Commission.
The protective radius required around a public drinking water
drinking supply well or drinking water supply well field, as defined
in Massachusetts drinking water regulations, 310 CMR 22.00.
That area of an aquifer which contributes water to a well
under the most severe pumping and recharge conditions that can realistically
be anticipated, as defined in Massachusetts drinking water regulations,
310 CMR 22.00.
