[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health of the Town of Walpole as
indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted effective 5-20-1993[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Notes to this regulation provide as follows:
1. This regulation has been designed to meet the requirements of the
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's Wellhead Protection
"Source Approval" Regulations 310 CMR 22.21(2)(a)8 within designated Zone
II areas.
2. Though the regulations cited above only require that the regulation
cover the Zone II of the public water supply in the Source Approval process,
this regulation applies to the entire Town. The Department recommends, however,
that the regulation cover the entire Town so as to be consistent with the
state regulations (310 CMR 27.00) prohibiting the discharges of the nature
discussed in this regulation.
A.
Whereas:
(1)
Floor drains in industrial and commercial facilities
are often tied to a system leading to a leaching structure (e.g., dry well,
cesspool, leach field) or a septic system; and
(2)
Poor management practices and accidental and/or intentional
discharges may lead petroleum and other toxic or hazardous materials into
these drainage systems in facilities managing these products; and
(3)
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
(4)
Discharges of hazardous wastes and other pollutants to
floor drains leading to leaching structures and septic systems have repeatedly
threatened surface and ground water quality throughout Massachusetts; and
(5)
Surface and ground water resources in the Town of Walpole
contribute to the Town's drinking water supplies.
The Walpole Board of Health adopts the following regulation pursuant
to authorization granted by MGL c. 111, §§ 31 and 122. The
regulation shall apply, as specified herein, to all applicable facilities,
existing and new, within the Town of Walpole.
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;
services or retail establishments; printing or publishing establishments;
research and development facilities; small or large quantity generators of
hazardous waste; laboratories, hospitals.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
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, leaking 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.
A device designed and installed so as to separate and retain petroleum
based oil or grease, flammable wastes as well as sand and 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 water of the Town of Walpole. "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 c. 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.
With the exception of discharges that have received (or have applied
and will receive) a Department-issued permit prior to the effective date of
this regulation, no floor drain(s) 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 either:
A.
An industrial or commercial process area,
B.
A petroleum, toxic, or hazardous materials and/or waste
storage area, or
C.
A leased facility without either Subsection A or B of this section, but in which the potential for a change of use of the property to a use which does have either Subsection A or B is, in the opinion of the Board of Health or its agent, sufficient to warrant the elimination of the ground discharge at the present.
A.
The owner of a facility in operation prior to the effective date of this regulation with a prohibited (as defined under § 644-4) floor drain system shall:
(1)
Disconnect and plug all applicable inlets to and outlets
from (where possible) applicable leaching structures, oil/water separators,
and/or septic systems;
(2)
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
Department policies;
(3)
Alter the floor drain system so that the floor drain
shall be either:
(a)
Connected to a holding tank that meets all applicable
requirements of Department policies and regulations, with hauling records
submitted to the Walpole Board of Health at the time of hauling.
(b)
Connected to a municipal sanitary sewer line, if available,
with all applicable Department and local permits; or
(c)
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 generated by the facility, including any spill or other
discharge of hazardous materials or wastes.)
B.
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.
Compliance with all provisions of this regulation must
be accomplished in a manner consistent with Massachusetts Plumbing, Building,
and Fire Code requirements.
D.
Upon complying with one of the options listed under Subsection A(3), the owner/operator of the facility shall notify the Department of the closure of said system by filing the Department's UIC notification form [which may be obtained by calling (617) 292-5770] with the Department, and sending a copy to the Walpole Board of Health.
The effective date of this regulation is the date posted on the front
page of the regulation, which shall be identical to the date of adoption of
the regulation.
A.
Existing facilities:
(1)
Owners/operators of a facility affected by this regulation
shall comply with all of its provisions within 120 days of the effective date.
(2)
All applicable discharges to the leaching structures
and septic systems shall be discontinued immediately through temporary isolation
or sealing of the floor drain.
B.
New facilities:
(1)
As of the effective date of the regulation, all new construction
and/or applicable change of use within the Town of Walpole shall comply with
the provisions of this regulation.
(2)
Certification of conformance with the provisions of this
regulation by the Board of Health shall be required prior to issuance of construction
and occupancy permits.
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.[1]
[1]
NOTE: Effective 1992, maximum fines for health violations increased.
Under MGL c. 111, § 31 (violation of health regulation), maximum
increased from $500 to $1,000 and § 122 (violation of nuisance regulations),
maximum increased from $100 to $1,000.
Each provision of this regulation shall be construed as separate to
the end that, if any provision, 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 full force and effect.
