[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health
of the Town of Fairhaven 9-26-1979 as Ch. V of the 1979 Regulations. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
Individual sewage disposal systems or other
means of sewage disposal shall not be approved where a common sanitary
sewer is accessible adjoining the property and where permission to
enter such a sewer may be obtained from the authority having jurisdiction
over it. The Board of Health may require the owner or occupant of
any existing building or buildings, wherever a common sanitary sewer
is accessible in an abutting way, to cause such building or buildings
to be connected with the common sanitary sewer in a manner and within
a period of time satisfactory to the Board of Health.
A.
All individual systems for the disposal of sanitary
sewage shall be designed, installed and operated in strict compliance
with the provisions of Title V of the Massachusetts State Environmental
Code, or any other existing applicable codes.
B.
Septic tanks shall be located not less than 10 feet
from a building and/or foundation wall and 10 feet from a property
line. The leaching area shall be located not less than 20 feet from
a building and/or foundation wall and 10 feet from a property line.
Every owner or agent of premises in which there
are any private sewers, individual sewage disposal systems or other
means of sewage disposal shall keep the sewers and disposal systems
in proper operational condition and shall have such works cleaned
or repaired at such time as ordered by the Board of Health. If the
owner or agent of the premises fails to comply with such order, the
Board of Health may cause the works to be cleaned or repaired and
all expenses be paid by the owner. Sewage disposal works shall be
maintained in a manner that will not create objectionable conditions
or cause the works to become a source of pollution to any of the waters
of the commonwealth.
Percolation testing shall be performed only
during the period from October 1 through June 1, or at such other
times deemed appropriate by the Board. Such measurements and testing
shall be performed only during the period from October 1 through June
1, or at such other times deemed appropriate by the Board. All such
measurements and percolation tests shall be witnessed by a member
of the Board of Health or its authorized agent.
A minimum of two deep observation pits and two
percolation tests shall be required. The observation pits and percolation
tests shall be performed in the area designated as the primary and
reserve leaching area. Additional tests will be required where the
soil structure varies or where large disposal areas are required.
A mechanical digger shall be utilized.
All disposal works construction permits shall
be issued with the condition that the location of any septic tank
access manhole which is below the ground surface or otherwise obscured
from view shall be clearly marked either by the placement of a permanent
marker above the access manhole or by the installation of a marker
on the foundation wall of the building served by the disposal system.
All repairs to existing leaching areas shall
require a plan prepared by a professional engineer or other professionals
authorized to prepare septic system plans. All work must be installed
in accordance with current state and local regulations. Approved subsurface
sewage disposal plans that have not been implemented within two years
must be reviewed and updated, if necessary, prior to the issuing of
a disposal works construction permit.
A permit must be obtained by a licensed disposal
works installer before repair or replacement of a septic tank may
be executed. Having obtained the required permit, the work shall be
completed to the satisfaction of the Board of Health within 30 days
or the permit shall be automatically canceled. If more time is needed,
the installer will be granted a hearing for extension.
[Amended 5-16-2017]
A certified statement by the design engineer, or other professional
authorized to prepare subsurface sewage disposal system plans, who
is unaffiliated with the construction disposal works installer, must
be received by the Board of Health prior to the issuance of a certificate
of compliance. The statement must ensure that the subsurface sewage
disposal system has been installed according to the Board of Health
approved plans and must include an as-built drawing prepared by the
engineer who is unaffiliated with the construction disposal works
installer, showing the final locations and elevations of all system
components.
[Added 2-18-1986]
A.
Amend Regulation 15.03(e) by adding the sentence:
"There shall be a minimum leaching facility size requirement of 400
square feet per system for leaching beds or 300 square feet of leaching
area for trenches, galleries or pits."
B.
Amend Regulation 15.02(13) by increasing the sewage
flow per bedroom to 140 gallons per day.
C.
Amend Regulation 15.03(7) by adding: "The minimum
acceptable distance between a well and a leaching facility shall be
150 feet."
D.
The authority to adopt this section is contained in
MGL c. 111, § 31. These amendments will become effective
as of March 1, 1986.
Dewatered percolation tests, also known as "island
percolation tests," whether by the method of pumping or by removing
water mechanically with earth-removing equipment, shall not be permitted,
except on a repair to a subsurface sewage disposal system serving
a structure.
[Added 5-30-1989]
A certified statement by the design engineer
must be received by the Board of Health prior to the issuance of a
certificate of compliance. The statement must ensure that the subsurface
sewage disposal system has been installed according to the approved
plan and must include an as-built drawing showing the final locations
and elevations of the system components.
[Added 4-1-1986]
No disposal works construction permit for a
subsurface sewage disposal system shall be issued until a certification
has been made by the design engineer as to the location and elevation
of the foundation as shown on the approved plan.
[Added 3-25-1994]
A.
Groundwater elevation shall be determined at the time
of the year when the maximum groundwater level is usually reached
during the months of December through April and shall be based upon
actual groundwater elevation observations obtained from weekly readings
of the Board of Health approved observation wells placed throughout
Fairhaven and other Fairhaven Board of Health approved observation
wells.
B.
This policy shall become effective forthwith. Percolation
tests performed and passed prior to this date shall require additional
groundwater observations which conform to this policy except in those
situations where Board of Health approved subsurface sewage disposal
plans have been filed in the Board of Health office. This policy is
adopted to conform to the intent and application of 310 CMR 15.00
and is not an amendment to that regulation.
[Added 11-6-1989]
A.
The definition of a bedroom is adopted as described
in a letter of policy put forth by the Department of Environmental
Protection as being a room providing privacy, intended primarily for
sleeping and consisting of all the following:
B.
Living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, halls, bathrooms,
unfinished cellars and unheated storage areas over garages are not
considered bedrooms. Single-family dwellings shall be presumed to
have at least three bedrooms. Where the total number of rooms for
single-family dwellings exceeds eight, not including bathrooms, hallways,
unfinished cellars and unheated storage areas, the number of bedrooms
presumed shall be calculated by dividing the total number of rooms
by two and then rounding down to the next lowest whole number. The
applicant may design a system using design flows for a smaller number
of bedrooms than are presumed in this definition by granting the approving
authority a deed restriction limiting the number of bedrooms to the
smaller number.
A.
No building within the Town of Fairhaven shall be
converted or altered or repaired so as to enable its use year round,
nor shall its use be changed, unless the present existing subsurface
sewage disposal system complies with the requirements of Title V,
310 CMR 15.00 and this chapter, or the system can be brought into
such compliance.
B.
In addition, no building shall be reconstructed, replaced
or altered in any manner unless said subsurface sewage disposal system
complies with Title V, 310 CMR 15.00 and this chapter or written approval
is obtained from the Board of Health.
A.
The owner or occupant of any building upon land served
by a private potable well and a subsurface sewage disposal system,
which do not meet the minimum separation distance as established under
current Board of Health rules and regulations, this chapter and the
Massachusetts Environmental Code, Title V, must, within six months,
connect to the municipal water system when said system is adjacent
to the parcel of land containing the potable well and subsurface sewage
disposal system.
B.
The potable well and all other wells on the property
shall be disconnected so as not to create a cross connection between
the municipal water system and the well or wells on the property.
Said disconnection is to be inspected and approved by the Fairhaven
Water Department or its authorized agent.
A.
The Board of Health prohibits the use of septic system
chemical additives/cleaners to an on-site subsurface septic system.
These products can work their way into the groundwater aquifer and
cause contamination. A list of prohibited chemicals is as follows:
(1)
Methylene chloride.
(2)
l, l, l trichloroethane.
(3)
Trichloroethene.
(4)
Tetrachloroethene.
(5)
Carbon tetrachloride.
(6)
Ethylene glycol monophenlether.
(7)
Acids (ex., H2S04, A12(S04)3).
(8)
Orthochlorobenzene.
(9)
Orthochlorotoluene.
(10)
Dichloromethane.
(11)
Petroleum distillates.
(12)
Naphthalene.
(13)
Benzenes.
(14)
Bases (ex., KOH, CuS04).
B.
Further, any establishment which sells septic system
additives/cleaners must post a notice in the direct vicinity of these
products so as to be noticeable to anyone purchasing them. A sample
of a notice may be obtained at the Board of Health office.
[Added 4-11-1994]
A.
No subsurface sewage disposal leaching facility shall
be closer than 100 feet to surface water supplies, reservoirs, tributaries
to reservoirs, open drains, subsurface drains, retention basins and
watercourses as defined in 310 CMR 15.00, the State Environmental
Code, Title 5: Minimum Requirements for the Subsurface Disposal of
Sanitary Sewage.
B.
Wetlands may not be filled to accommodate the setbacks
required above. Setbacks are to be measured from the original wetland
line and from any proposed replicated wetland area. For retention
basins with less than twenty-four-inch separation between the bottom
of the retention basin and maximum groundwater elevation, setbacks
are to be measured form the elevation of the outlet invert.
[Added 10-31-1994]
The attendance of the Health Agent to witness
any percolation test and/or observation requires a fee of $75. Any
callback on this location will require an additional fee of $75 per
day.
