Acting under the authority of MGL c. 111, § 31,
the Sterling Board of Health hereby adopts the following regulations
governing the design, operation and maintenance of privately owned
small wastewater treatment facilities also known as package plants.
The purposes of this regulation are to protect
the groundwater and surface waters of the Town from contamination
by effluents originating from privately owned small wastewater treatments
plants (SWWTPs); furthermore to insure that the operation and maintenance
of such facilities are reviewed on a regular basis and that the operation
protects the public health and the environment.
The majority of design requirements are governed
by DEP regulations (314 CMR, etc.). The following additional requirements
must be met:
A. Redundancy. All privately owned wastewater treatment
plants must meet one of the following conditions [A(1) or (2)].
(1) Provide 100% redundancy for all mechanical components.
(2) Be designed and constructed so that in event of mechanical
failure the plant has additional storage capacity of 150% of the daily
design flow. If reconfiguration of the plant is necessary to meet
this requirement, the Board of Health will have final decisionmaking
authority as to whether the reconfiguration can be accomplished with
sufficient ease and speed to prevent undesirable environmental consequences.
B. Design capacity. The design capacity and use of that
capacity shall be established at the time of initial application for
the disposal works construction permit. In the case of excess design
capacity (due to the discrete sizes of SWWTPs), only those design
flows and uses approved in the initial application will be guaranteed
as a matter of right. Changes in the approved uses and design flows
will require that a new disposal works construction permit be applied
for and will be subject to review in the same manner as a new application.
C. No discharge from a SWWTP shall result in degradation
of ground or surface waters. There shall be no discharge into any
wetland, stagnant water, storm drain, lake or stream.
D. An SWWTP shall not be located in any wellhead protection
area identified on a map produced in accordance with 333 CMR 12.00
Groundwater Protection Program or in any Aquifer or Water Resource
Protection District identified by the Town of Sterling Protective
Bylaw.
E. SWWTP design shall include attenuation of odor and
noise problems.
The Board of Health shall review annually, or
as necessary, the operating permit and may suspend, modify, revoke,
or add additional conditions prior to the issuance of the annual operating
permit. The Board of Health may suspend, modify, revoke or add additional
conditions to an operating permit only following a public hearing
with advance notice to the permit holder.
Violations of this regulation are subject to
the penalties of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 111, Section
31, after a Board of Health hearing. Each violation shall constitute
a separate penalty, and each day shall constitute a separate violation.
If any section or sentence, clause or phrase
thereof shall be held invalid for any reason, the remainder of that
section and all other sections shall continue in force.