[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Steuben 9-13-1977. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and cited as the "Town of Steuben Sewage Disposal Ordinance."
It is the purpose of this chapter to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of the Town of Steuben by regulating sewage disposal or treatment systems with respect to minimum standards governing the design, construction, and installation thereof, authorizing the issuance of permits, and providing penalties for violations.
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the meanings as indicated:
ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM
A nonwaterborne system or device for the collection and treatment of toilet waste.
COMPLETION CERTIFICATE
A written certificate issued by or under the authority of the Town Board approving the construction of an individual waterborne disposal system and authorizing its use.
DISPOSAL PERMIT
A written permit issued by or under the authority of the Town Board approving the plan and specifications for a proposed individual waterborne disposal system.
DOMESTIC WASTE
All waste from a flush toilet, bath, sink, lavatory, dishwashing or laundry machine, or the water-carried waste from any other fixture, equipment, or machine.
INDIVIDUAL WATERBORNE DISPOSAL SYSTEM
A system for the reception, transportation and distribution of domestic waste by water and consisting typically of a building sewer, septic tank, distribution device, and absorption system.
PERSON
Any individual, corporation, governmental authority, trust, estate, partnership, association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal entity.
A. 
Domestic waste shall be disposed of within the Town of Steuben by means of an individual waterborne disposal system only pursuant to compliance with the permit requirements established in this chapter.
B. 
Whenever feasible, domestic waste shall be discharged to a public disposal system. When a public system is not available or connection thereto is not feasible, discharge shall be made to a community system, if feasible.
C. 
When service from a public or community disposal system is not available or feasible, the individual waterborne disposal systems designed and installed according to the requirements of this chapter shall be acceptable, but the Town Board may refuse to grant a permit for an individual waterborne disposal system when a public or community system is reasonably available.
A. 
Any system intended to receive domestic waste exceeding 1,000 gallons per day according to the standards of the New York State Department of Health referred to in § 110-10, with respect to dwellings, or according to the standards of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, with respect to institutional and commercial facilities, is not an individual disposal system within the meaning of this chapter and the design, construction, and use of such systems shall comply with the requirements of the Environmental Conservation Law.
B. 
Any person proposing to construct, alter, or extend such a large-flow system within the Town of Steuben shall before any work is begun present to the Town Clerk or to the Enforcement Officer if the Town Board shall have made such appointment a copy of the permit for the system issued pursuant to the Environmental Conservation Law.
A. 
No individual waterborne disposal system shall be constructed, altered, or extended within the Town of Steuben except pursuant to a duly issued disposal permit. No individual waterborne disposal system for which a disposal permit is required shall be used until a completion certificate has been duly issued.
B. 
No system other than an individual waterborne disposal system (and except systems subject to regulation as provided in § 110-5) shall be installed except pursuant to a special approval of alternative systems issued by or under the authority of the Town Board.
The applicant for a disposal permit shall be responsible for furnishing all percolation tests, plans, engineering and land surveying services, and all other information required to determine compliance with the provisions of this chapter and the standards of the New York State Department of Health referred to in § 110-10. Application for disposal permits shall be in writing, shall be signed by the applicant and shall include the following:
A. 
Name and address of owner.
B. 
An adequately referenced location sketch on which the construction, alteration or extension is proposed.
C. 
A complete plan of the proposed disposal system with substantiating data showing its compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
A. 
Location and installation of an individual waterborne disposal system shall be such that, with reasonable maintenance, it will function in a sanitary manner and will not create a nuisance, health hazard, or endanger the safety of any domestic water supply. Installation of waterborne systems in low, swampy areas, areas with a high water table (permanent, fluctuating or seasonal), areas with ledge rock, or areas which are subject to flooding or accumulation or flow of surface water is not acceptable.
B. 
Consideration shall be given to the size and shape of the lot, shape of natural and finished grade, depth and fluctuation of groundwater, proximity of existing and future water supply, on-site structures and possible extension of the system.
C. 
The area to be used for sewage disposal shall be free from encroachment by driveways, accessory buildings, additions to the dwelling and trees or shrubs whose roots may cause clogging.
The liquid capacity of the septic tank shall be based on the number of bedrooms proposed or that can be reasonably anticipated in a dwelling and on the number of individual users or occupiers of other buildings and shall be at least that shown in the following table:
Type
Liquid Capacity of Tank
(gallons)
Number of bedrooms:
2 or fewer
750
3
900
4 or more
1,000
Individual users or occupiers of all other buildings:
4 or fewer
750
Up to 8
900
Over 8
1,000
A. 
Except for the septic tank capacities specified in § 110-9, the regulations issued by the New York State Department of Health under § 201 of the Public Health Law or corresponding provision of any subsequent statute shall be the basis on which all applications, plans, and specifications for individual waterborne disposal systems shall be reviewed for approval and issuance of disposal permits and completion certificates.
B. 
The Town Clerk shall, on request, make available a copy of such regulations as then in effect to any person intending to install or extend a disposal system for which a disposal permit or completion certificate is required under this chapter.
A completion certificate shall be issued only if the installation is completed in conformity with the disposal permit and the requirements of this chapter. Inspection at any stage of construction shall be allowed and in no event shall a completion certificate be issued unless the underground portions of the work have been inspected before they are covered.
The Town Board is hereby authorized to appoint an Enforcement Officer and to delegate to him by resolution the authority to enforce this chapter. Such delegation may include the authority to grant or deny permits, but any person aggrieved by the issuance or denial of a permit or by any other determination of the Enforcement Officer may appeal to the Town Board, whose determination shall be final.
A. 
If a person proposes to install a system of limited capacity for the handling of toilet waste only, a special installation may be approved by or under the authority of the Town Board relieving such person from the requirements for the installation of an individual waterborne disposal system according to this chapter and authorizing the installation and use of an alternative system in compliance with the regulations issued by the New York State Department of Health referred to in § 110-10 above.
B. 
Application for approval of an alternative system shall be made in writing to the Town Clerk. Approval of the system shall be evidenced by a permit in writing. The installation, alteration, relocation, or extension of an alternative system without the approval required by this section shall be a violation of this chapter.
A. 
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation as defined in Article 10 of the Penal Law and shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $250 or to imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or to both such fine and imprisonment. Each week's continued violation shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
B. 
Compliance with this chapter may also be compelled and violations restrained by order or injunction of a court of competent jurisdiction.
C. 
The Town Board of the Town of Steuben or its Enforcement Officer is hereby authorized in the name of and on behalf of the Town to undertake and prosecute any proceedings necessary or appropriate to enforce compliance with this chapter.
A. 
A conflict between the requirements of this chapter and the requirements of any other ordinance, rule or regulation, statute, or other provision of law shall be resolved by giving effect to the provision imposing the more restrictive requirement or the higher standard.
B. 
The provisions of this chapter are severable and the invalidity of a particular provision shall not invalidate any other provision.
A fee in such amount as the Town Board may from time to time establish by resolution shall be paid with the application for a disposal permit or for approval of an alternative system.