A.
Authority. Under the authority of Chapter 37 of the 2010 Acts and
Resolves of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "An Act Relative to
a Wastewater Management district in the Town of Harvard" (hereinafter
the "Act") and M.G.L. c. 83, as applicable, the Harvard Wastewater
Management District Commission (hereinafter the "Commission") has
adopted the following regulations governing the use of public and
private sewers in the Harvard Wastewater Management District.
B.
Purpose. These Regulations are intended to protect the public health,
safety and welfare and the environment and to ensure proper and safe
operation of the Town's sanitary sewers by regulating the direct and
indirect discharge of wastewater, stormwater, and pollutants to the
Town's Wastewater Management System.
C.
Severability. The provisions of these Regulations are severable.
If any provision of these Regulations or any specific application
to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall
not affect other provisions or applications which can be given effect
in the absence of the invalid provision or application.
D.
Applicable regulations. Every user of the Town's Wastewater Management
System shall be subject to any charges, rates, fees, and assessments
that are or may be established by the Commission. Every user of the
Town's Wastewater Management System shall also be subject to applicable
federal, state, and local regulations. In instances where various
regulations contain different requirements, the most stringent requirements
apply.
E.
Right to amend regulations. The Commission reserves the right to
amend these Regulations in any manner and to establish more stringent
limitations or requirements as are deemed necessary or appropriate.
As used in these Regulations, the following words shall have,
unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following meanings:
The discontinued use of a septic system in accordance with
Title 5, including but not limited to the pumping, filling and disconnecting
of the septic tank.
The Board of Health of the Town of Harvard.
That part of a property's wastewater plumbing which is located
inside the building beginning at the interior face of the building
wall.
That part of a property's wastewater plumbing beginning at
the interior face of the building wall and ending at the connection
to the public wastewater management system and includes any pump,
grinder pump, or accessory equipment required to connect to the wastewater
management system.
All costs and expenses of the planning, design, acquisition,
construction, installation, reconstruction, alteration, extension,
improvement or enlargement of the Wastewater Management System, including,
without limitation, costs of labor, materials, professional services,
consulting services, equipment, grinder and ejector pumps, supplies,
machinery, structures, all rights in real and personal property, costs
of demolitions or relocations, costs of removal or relocations of
public utilities, financing charges and expenses and debt service
costs relative to the Wastewater Management System.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
The letter dated May 26, 2011, from Robert A. Kimball, Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection to Timothy P. Bragan, Harvard
Town Administrator regarding Harvard - BRP WP 68 - #X236132 314 CMR
12.03(1) - Modification GW #723 - WWTF Upgrade Approval, as it may
be amended.
The discharge of treated or untreated wastewater directly
to the waters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including groundwater.
The Harvard Wastewater Management Service Area.
The Town's Department of Public Works.
Water used by a property owner to water lawns and gardens,
or for other uses outside of the dwelling, provided that the water
does not enter the Wastewater Management System.
A facility as defined in 310 CMR 15.002 as of May 1, 2009.
The solid wastes from the preparation, cooking, and dispensing
of food, from the handling, storage, and sale of produce, and from
the packaging and canning of food.
The part of the building sewer that grinds the solids into
small pieces and provides a pressurized discharge. The manufacturer
and specifications of the grinder pump will be determined by the Commission.
That portion of the Town of Harvard shown on a plan entitled
"Proposed Sewer Service Plan, Town of Harvard, Mass. prepared for
Town of Harvard," dated 11/19/2008 and revised on 3/30/2009, prepared
by Norfolk Ram in Association with Weston & Sampson and filed
in the office of the Town Clerk of the Town of Harvard or as such
service area may be modified by majority vote of the Town at a Town
Meeting, upon the recommendation of the Commission.
Substances and materials, including, without limitation,
those described in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 9601
et seq.; the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended, 42
U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.; any applicable state or local laws;
and the regulations adopted under these acts.
Water, other than wastewater, that enters the Wastewater
Management System (excluding building drains) from the ground through
such means as defective pipes, pipe joints, connections, or manholes.
Infiltration does not include, and is distinguished from, inflow.
Infiltration is inadvertent, that is, not purposely designed or built
into the Wastewater Management System or drain.
Water, other than wastewater, that enters the Wastewater
Management System (including building drains) from sources such as,
but not limited to, roof leaders, cellar drains, area drains, drains
from springs and swampy areas, manhole covers, cross connections between
storm sewers and sanitary sewers, catch basins, cooling towers, stormwaters,
foundation drains, swimming pools, surface runoff, street wash waters,
or drainage. Inflow does not include, and is distinguished from, infiltration.
The person, persons or legal entity holding record title
to real property.
All rates, fees, charges, rents, proceeds of loans, grant
funds, insurance proceeds, investment earnings and other receipts
derived from the operation of the Wastewater Management System.
A drain installed to receive water collecting on the surface
of a roof for disposal.
All liquids and solids in and removed from septic tanks,
holding tanks, cesspools, or approved type of chemical toilets, including
but not limited to those serving private residences, commercial establishments,
institutions, and industries. Also sludge from small sewage treatment
plants.
A subsurface sewage disposal system as defined by and regulated
by Title 5.
A substantial deviation from normal rates of discharge or
constituent concentration sufficient to cause interference. In any
event, a discharge which, in concentration of any constituent or in
quantity of flow, that exceeds, for any period of duration longer
than 15 minutes, more than five times the average twenty-four-hour
concentration or flow during normal user operations, shall constitute
a slug.
Any flow occurring during or following any form of natural
precipitation; also the flow resulting therefrom.
Title 5 of the Massachusetts State Environmental Code, 310
CMR 15.000.
The Town of Harvard.
Greywater and blackwater from domestic, municipal and other
governmental and institutional uses; provided, however, that wastewater
shall not include industrial waste as defined in 310 CMR 15.002.
The wastewater collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal
systems serving more than one facility to be constructed or to be
in the possession of and under the jurisdiction and control of the
Commission, including all components thereof.
A.
The Commission will manage, maintain, and operate the Wastewater
Management System on behalf of the Town which will own the main trunks
of the Wastewater Management System, the leach field, the treatment
facility, and all equipment required to operate same. The building
sewer and the building drain will be maintained by the owner of the
property on which they are located.
B.
The Commission will manage, maintain and operate the Wastewater Management
System so as to maintain this valuable asset for the benefit of the
Town and the users of the System.
The Wastewater Management System will serve properties within
the Harvard Wastewater Management Service Area (hereafter referred
to as the "District") shown as "Proposed Low Pressure Sewer System,
Preliminary Service Area, Prepared by the Town Center Sewer Action
Group, January 2009" on the map distributed and voted on at the Annual
Town Meeting on May 2, 2009. A copy of this map is attached in the
Appendix.[1] Any change in the boundaries of this map requires a vote
at Town Meeting. Any property that lies within the District will be
subject to a betterment assessment, except for properties owned by
the Town.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said map is included at the end of this chapter.
The Wastewater Management System must at all times be operated
in accordance with the DEP Permit and any amendments thereto (the
"Permit"). The Permit currently provides that all connections to the
Wastewater Management System must cease when the discharge from the
Wastewater Management System reaches 20,000 gallons per day. To avoid
the serious consequences imposed by DEP if the Wastewater Management
System's discharge should reach 20,000 per day, if daily discharge
from the Wastewater Management System reaches 19,000 gallons per day
there will be a moratorium on new connections or changes in use until
the Commission determines that further connections can proceed without
detriment to the Wastewater Management System or risk of exceeding
the discharge limit established by DEP.
A.
Any property within the District served by a septic system which
is in a state of failure at the time the Wastewater Management System
becomes complete and operational, as determined by the Harvard Board
of Health (hereinafter "BOH") or the Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection (hereinafter "DEP") shall be connected to the Wastewater
Management System within 60 days after the owner of the property receives
written notice from the Commission that the Wastewater Management
System is complete and operational.
B.
Provided that the discharge from the Wastewater Management System
has not reached 19,000 gallons per day, any property within the District
served by a septic system which is determined to be in a state of
failure, by the BOH or DEP at some time after the Wastewater Management
System become operational, shall be connected to the Wastewater Management
System within six months after the owner receives notice from the
BOH, DEP or the Commission that the owner's septic system is in a
state of failure.
Provided that the discharge from the Wastewater Management System
has not reached 19,000 gallons per day, the properties within the
District will be permitted to connect to the Wastewater Management
System to serve the use of those properties as of May 1, 2009. The
use of all properties in the District as of May 1, 2009, including
whether a property is commercial, institutional, single family or
multifamily, its net square footage and number of bedrooms and kitchens,
is set forth on the List attached hereto as Appendix A.[1] The information contained on this list will be controlling.
All landowners of the District have had a chance to review and object
to the List prior to the adoption of these Regulations.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said list is on file in the Town offices.
A.
The Commission will not permit the connection of (1) a new use or
building not in the District as of May 1, 2009; (2) a property that
has been reconstructed after May 1, 2009, resulting in an increase
in net floor area or in the number of bedrooms; (3) a property that
has undergone a change in use since May 1, 2009, that creates an increase
in the Title 5 design flow of the property or which increases the
net square footage of a building by more than 5% (all hereinafter
referred to as a "Change in Use") unless:
(1)
The Commission determines that the new or changed facility could
have been constructed with a wastewater disposal system or septic
system which could comply with Title 5 or other applicable regulations
of the DEP; or
B.
Upon application by the property owner, the Commission determination
to allow connection must be approved by the Board of Selectmen.
C.
Any property owner seeking to connect a property for which there
has been a change in area or use must submit a written application
to the Commission. The application shall include:
(1)
Evidence satisfactory to the Commission demonstrating that the proposed
facility could have been constructed with a septic system or evidence
supporting a determination that the connection is necessary or beneficial
to the Town; and
(2)
Evidence of the Title 5 design flow and actual design flow both before
and after the proposed change in use.
In the event the Commission grants a permit for connection of
a property which has had a change in use, that property shall be subject
to a privilege fee charge which will equal the betterment charge the
property would have been subject to at the time the Wastewater Management
System was constructed had the changed use existed at the time of
the Wastewater Management System construction, less any betterment
charge actually assessed against the property.
A.
Sewer rates for private property users shall be calculated at a rate
equal to the proportionate share of the operating and maintenance
costs divided by projected Wastewater Management System capacity in
gallons. The portion of the expenses allocated to unused capacity
will be borne by the Town.
B.
Sewer service shall be billed based on water usage. All sewer connections
shall have a metered water supply. For properties connected to the
Town's water system, the present meter, tested at the behest of the
Commission for accuracy, shall be used. For those properties using
private wells, the wells shall have a meter installed, at the property
owner's expense, and subject to inspection and approval by the Town's
Water Department.
C.
All claims for adjustments shall be made, in writing, to the Commission
within 90 days of receipt of the bill.
A property owner may elect to meter his or her exterior water
use by installing a meter at the property owner's expense. The meter
installation must be inspected and approved by the Town's Water Department.
Such documented exterior water use shall be excluded from the calculations
to compute usage to the septic system.
