As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
COMMUNITY SEWERAGE SYSTEM
A system utilized for the collection and disposal of sewage
or other wastes of a liquid nature, including the various devices
for the treatment of such wastes, serving more than one lot, whether
owned by a municipal corporation or private utility.
DISPOSAL FIELD
An area in which open joint or perforated piping is laid
in appropriate aggregate material in trenches or excavations for the
purpose of distributing the effluent discharged from a private sewage
disposal system for absorption into the soil.
PERSON
An individual, public or private corporation, political subdivision,
government agency, municipality, industry, copartnership, association,
firm, trust, estate or any other legal entity.
PRIVATE SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM
A sewage disposal system or facility that is not directly
connected to an approved community sewerage system and serving a single
residential lot or other facility generating sewage in quantities
of less than 1,000 gallons per day.
SEEPAGE PIT
A covered pit with open-jointed lining surrounded with washed
gravel or crushed stone through which septic tank effluent may seep
or leach into surrounding ground.
SEPTIC TANK
A watertight receptacle which receives the discharge of a
building sanitary drainage system or part thereof and is designed
and constructed so as to separate solids from the liquid, digest a
portion of the organic matter through a period of detention, reduce
the velocity of discharging wastes and allow the liquids to discharge
into the soil outside of the tank through a system of open joint or
perforated piping or a seepage pit.
SEWAGE
Human excreta or the water-carried discharges of the human
body and/or the human liquid wastes from the household, such as laundry
wastes, kitchen sink and bathroom fixtures, or liquid wastes of human
origin from business, recreation, industry, trade establishments or
other places.
SEWER
A watertight conduit for carrying sewage.
Private sewage disposal systems shall meet the
construction standards as set forth in Standards for Individual Sewage
Disposal Systems, published by the Monroe County Health Department.
Said standards are incorporated by reference in this article.
Where a public sanitary sewer is available and
accessible, no person shall construct, repair, alter or provide on
any property a private sewage disposal system for the disposal of
sewage except a temporary privy for use in connection with a construction
project.
No person shall construct, maintain or operate
any private sewage disposal system so as to expose or discharge sewage
or sewage effluent therefrom to the atmosphere or onto the surface
of the ground or into any lake or stream or stormwater sewer or drain
or roadside ditch without the permission of and treatment acceptable
to the County Health Department. When a private sewage disposal system
is constructed, operated or maintained so as to expose or discharge
sewage or sewage effluent as indicated above, the Department of Health
may order that the premises from which the sewage originates be vacated
until repairs are made and permission to occupy is issued, in writing,
by the permit-issuing official.
For safety purposes, all abandoned septic tanks
shall be crushed, removed or filled with stone, earth or sand.
An alternative method of sewage disposal or
a variation may be approved by the permit-issuing official if it provides
equal or better treatment than the minimum requirements provided for
herein or if, in his judgment, it will secure substantially the objectives
of the standards or requirements of these rules and regulations. Variations
shall be specifically approved, in writing, by the permit-issuing
official before construction or installation. Such approval shall
cover the details of construction to be used.