The purpose of these regulations is to allow the Orleans Board of Health to protect the public health, safety and environment of the Town of Orleans by requiring proper siting, construction, upgrade and maintenance of on-site sewage disposal systems and appropriate means for the transportation, storage and disposal of septage.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BACKFILL (Cover Material) The soils placed on top of a soil absorption system to bring the area to finished grade. Backfill shall be free from large stones, clay, frozen chunks of earth, masonry, tree stumps and waste construction material.
BASEMENT/CELLAR A room or area partially or completely below grade with a minimum clear ceiling height of six feet eight inches except under beams, girders, ducts or other obstructions where the clear height shall be a minimum of six feet four inches.
BEDROOM Any portion of a dwelling which meets the Minimum Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation (Chapter II) and is designed to furnish the minimum isolation necessary for use as a sleeping area, and includes, but is not limited to, bedroom, den, study, sewing room, sleeping loft or enclosed porch, but does not include kitchen, bathroom, dining room, halls, living room, sun porch (as defined in these regulations) or unfinished basement. For the purposes of this regulation a room with a 6' (minimum) cased opening that opens directly into another habitable room or a hallway that leads to a habitable room is not considered isolated. Cased openings must not be fitted with a door. Rooms that do not meet the strict definition of a bedroom must be reviewed by the Board of Health on a case by case basis.
CESSPOOL A pit with open-jointed linings or holes in the bottom and/or sidewalls into which raw sewage is discharged, the liquid portion of the sewage being disposed of by seeping or leaching into the surrounding soils, and the solids or sludge being retained in the pit. Cesspools are nonconforming failed systems.
CRAWL SPACE An area partially or completely below grade with a maximum clear ceiling height of less than six feet eight inches except for under beams, girders, ducts or other obstructions where the clear height shall be less than six feet four inches.
DENITRIFYING SEPTIC COMPONENTS I/A components that have general Use Approval, Provisional Use Approval or Pilot Approval, in good standing from the DEP for Nitrogen Credit. The term "in good standing" means that the product currently has DEP approval for Nitrogen Credit.
DRAINAGE SYSTEM A drainage system is a system used primarily for the collection and conveyance of storm water runoff, including but not limited to, all receiving basins, retention ponds and their associated piping.
FAILURE OF A SEPTIC SYSTEM Any septic system shall be considered to have failed when any of the following are met:
1) Any component does not function as intended.
2) The system causes effluent to be discharged to the surface of the ground, stream or other watercourse.
3) Any component is pumped to remove septage more than twice in any twelve month period, except grease traps which may be pumped in accordance with Title 5, 310, 15.351 (2) and systems serving laundromats, restaurants, food service or other establishments determined to be a high water user by the Board of Health and which is pumped frequently. Septic systems serving high water uses shall be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with respect to failure criteria.
4) Any of its components consist of a privy, cesspool or a converted cesspool which have been identified during an inspection for the sale of property, a change in use or for a building permit resulting in an increase in flow, increase in square footage or a change of footprint.
5) The soil absorption system lacks a two foot protective zone between the bottom of the system and the maximum groundwater elevation.
6) A system has any other problem as defined by the Board of Health or its agent which fails to protect the public health and safety and the environment.
FOOTPRINT/SQUARE FOOTAGE The footprint of a structure includes buildings, porches and bulkheads but excludes decks or permanent structures which do not have roofs. For the purposes of a residential dwelling, an increase in square footage shall be considered an increase in habitable space.
NEW SEPTIC SYSTEM One which is installed, upgraded or altered to serve a newly constructed building, a building being renovated, remodeled or added on to, or one which is constructed, modified or altered to handle an increase in sewage flow as required by changes is the building's use.
PRIVY A structure used for the disposal of human wastes without water transport consisting of a shelter built over an unlined pit or vault in the ground into which waste is deposited. A privy is a nonconforming system.
RESTAURANT - Informal Seating A seat at a food service establishment which is not located in a designated and/or isolated dining area, at which you cannot consume alcohol, use reusable tableware, provide waitpersons/table service, or serve food on open plates. All food to be consumed at an informal seat must be pre-packaged in a bag or other to-go containers.
RESTAURANT SEAT - Fast food Service and/or consumption of food at a seat placed at tables, booths, or counters on the premises in which single service table ware, glass ware or utensils are used.
RESTAURANT SEAT - Full service Service and or consumption of food at a seat placed at tables, booths, or counters on the premises in which reusable table ware, glass ware or utensils are used.
RESTAURANT SEAT - Tavern A seat in an establishment whose primary business is the sale of beer and other drinks to be consumed on the premises and in which the sale of food is incidental to the primary business. Taverns that engage in the sale of full meals shall be deemed to be full service restaurants.
SUBDIVISION The division of a tract of land into two or more lots and shall include re-subdivisions and, when appropriate to the context, shall relate to the process of subdivision or to the land or territory subdivided; provided, however, that a plan which meets the requirements of an Approval Not Required Plan, as defined by the Orleans Planning Board Subdivision Regulations, shall not constitute a subdivision.
SUN (PORCH) ROOM A room designed to have a minimum of 40% glazed area (window area) of the total combined exterior wall and ceiling area of the room. In calculating the total glazed area only the translucent or transparent window area should be considered (rough opening or unit dimension shall not be considered). Rooms that do not meet the strict definition of a sunroom must be reviewed by the Board of Health on a case by case basis.
WETLAND (as defined in Title 5, 15.002 and the Orleans Conservation Commission's Wetland Protection By-Law) Any natural or man-made stream, pond, lake, wetland, coastal wetland, swamp or other body of water and shall include wet meadows, marshes, swamps, bogs and areas where groundwater, flowing or standing surface water or ice, provides a significant part of the supporting substrate for a plant community for at least five months of the year.
Swamp shall mean areas where groundwater is at or near the surface of the ground for a significant part of the growing season or where runoff water from surface drainage frequently collects above the soil surface.
Coastal wetland shall mean any bank, marsh, swamp, flat or other lowland subject to tidal action.