[Adopted by Ord. No. 27-90 (Ch. 15, Sec. 15-10, of the 1978 Revised General Ordinances)]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
DIVISION OF HEALTH
The subdivision of the Department of Health of the Township of Denville, County of Morris and State of New Jersey.
[Amended 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. 27-18]
ENTITY
Any corporation, partnership, limited partnership, proprietorship, association, organization, club, contractor or the like.
INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM
A system for the disposal of sanitary sewage into the ground which is so designed and constructed to treat sewage in a manner that will retain most of the settleable solids in a septic tank and to discharge the liquid portion to an adequate disposal field.
THE CODE
The New Jersey Administrative Code.
A. 
The standards set forth in New Jersey Statutes Annotated 58:11-23 et seq., including 58:11-36 and the amendments thereto, as well as Chapter 7:9A-1.1 through 7:9A-12.8 of the New Jersey Administrative Code and the supplements and additions thereto, are hereby adopted by this article and incorporated herein.
B. 
Three copies of the statute and code sections herein cited (one copy attached hereto as Schedule A) shall be on file with the Division of Health for the use and examination of the public, upon the introduction of this article and will remain on file there until final action is taken on said ordinance.
[Amended 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. 27-18]
No person or entity shall locate, construct, or alter any individual sewage disposal system, nor shall a completed or altered system be backfilled without the approval of the Division of Health.
A. 
The Division of Health shall examine all applications for permits, and approve or deny in whole or in part the application within 30 days. If the application is denied in whole or in part, the Division of Health shall set forth the reason therefor in writing. If the Division of Health fails to grant in whole or in part, or deny an application within 30 days, such failure shall be deemed a denial of the application for the purposes of an appeal as provided by law, unless such period of time has been extended with the consent of the applicant.
B. 
Suspension of permit. Any permit issued shall become invalid if the authorized work is not completed within one year after the issuance of the permit. The Division of Health may consider an extension beyond the one-year period completion date, provided an application is made, in writing, prior to the termination of the one-year period explaining the reason for the delay. Said extension, if granted, shall not exceed three months commencing from the original date of termination.
C. 
Approved plans. The Division of Health shall stamp or endorse, in writing, the approved plans. One set of approved plans shall be retained by the Division of Health and the other set shall be kept on the construction site open to inspection by the Division of Health or its authorized representative at all reasonable times.
D. 
Revocation of permits. The Division of Health may revoke a permit or approval issued under the provisions of the code in case of any false statements or misrepresentation of fact in the application or on the plans on which the permit or approval was based.
E. 
Posting of permit. A true copy of the permit shall be kept on the site of operations open to inspection during the entire time of prosecution of the work and until the completion of same.
F. 
Notice of start. At least 72 hours' notice of start of work under a sanitary permit shall be given to the Division of Health.
G. 
Conditions of permit. The issuance of the sanitary permit shall be conditioned upon the following:
(1) 
The payment of appropriate fees to the Township of Denville;
(2) 
That work will conform to the approved application, plans and specifications on which the permit has been issued, including prior approvals and amendments thereto;
(3) 
That the permit is authorization to proceed with the work and shall not be construed as authority to violate, cancel or set aside any of the provisions of the regulations;
(4) 
A professional engineer who designs an individual sewage disposal system and who also serves as the contractor for the system's installation, construction, repair, or alteration shall not be permitted to issue the final certification for the system's certificate of compliance. The applicant shall hire, at his/her expense, an independent licensed professional engineer for said certification.
[Amended 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. 27-18]
There shall be a fee established pursuant to the article as follows:
A. 
All fees to be collected by the Division of Health under the provisions of this article shall be set forth in Chapter 245, Fees, Rates and Charges, of this Code.
[Amended 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. 27-18]
New individual sewage disposal systems shall not be placed in operation, nor shall new dwellings or buildings or additions thereto be sold or occupied which must rely on such a system for sewage disposal, until the Division of Health shall have issued a certificate indicating that such disposal system has been located and constructed in compliance with the terms of the permit issued and the requirements of the code adopted by this article. Issuance of such certificate shall be required for alterations to an existing individual sewage disposal system.
No person or entity shall own or operate an individual sewage disposal system which is designed, constructed or located in a manner that will permit the discharge of any effluent onto the surface of the ground or into any watercourse.
[Amended 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. 27-18]
Soil logs shall be witnessed, and engineering reports on soil conditions shall be submitted, pursuant to the requirements set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:9A-1.1 et seq.
[Amended by Ord. No. 34-96]
A. 
For all single-family dwellings constructed after the date of adoption of this section, an area equivalent to 100% of the disposal area shall be reserved for future expansion or replacement of the system. This area shall meet all the site requirements applicable to individual sewage disposal systems and shall be shown on the plot plan and marked "Reserved for Disposal Area Expansion." No permanent improvements shall be installed within or adjacent to this reserved area which will adversely affect its future use as a disposal area.
B. 
Neither the Health Officer nor any other enforcement officer of the Township shall have any authority to make exceptions to the requirements established in this section. The Township of Denville may, for good cause shown and based upon the opinion and recommendation of the Township Health Officer, waive the requirements of this section upon resolution of the Municipal Council. The resolution shall set forth the reasons for the waiver and shall contain such conditions as the Municipal Council may impose.
Any person or entity violating any of the provisions of or any order promulgated under this article or N.J.A.C. 7:9A-1.1 through 7:9A-12.8 adopted by this article shall, upon conviction thereof, pay a penalty of not less than $25 nor more than $1,000 for each violation.
[Amended by Ord. No. 3-91; Ord. No. 7-07]
A. 
In accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:9A-1.1 et seq., each property owner is required to have an abandoned septic system, including all septic tanks, dosing tanks, seepage pits, dry wells and cesspools, emptied of wastes and removed or filled completely with gravel, stones or soil material in accordance with the requirements of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Abandoned systems shall be inspected by the Township Plumbing Inspector to ensure regulatory compliance has been achieved when connections to the public sewer system have been or will be made.
[Amended 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. 27-18]
B. 
Each property owner shall give the Township Plumbing Inspector at least five days' prior notice of the filling in of an abandoned system. The Township Plumbing Inspector shall inspect the system prior to covering and final grading of the septic area. There shall be a fee payable in accordance with Chapter 245, Fees, Rates and Charges, for the inspection.
C. 
Each property owner shall furnish to the Township Health Officer and Township Plumbing Inspector, within 30 days of the abandonment, a certificate of compliance signed by the person who filled in or removed the abandoned system, as well as by the property owner stating that the system has been emptied and filled or removed and describing the method and material used for fill. An extension of the time requirements may be granted, for good cause, by the Township Plumbing Inspector.
D. 
The Township shall notify each property owner at the time of application for a permit to connect to a public sewerage system or for a permit to construct or alter a septic system of the requirements of this article.
E. 
Any person or entity violating any provision of this section shall be subject, upon conviction, to the penalties provided in Chapter 1, Article II, of the Township Code.
[Amended by Ord. No. 14-02; 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. 27-18]
A. 
License required. No person shall engage in the business of installing individual or any other type of sewage disposal systems in the Township unless he has demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the law applicable to installation of individual sewage disposal systems.
B. 
Examination.
(1) 
The Health Officer shall conduct examinations designed to test the knowledge and ability of an applicant for a license as a certified builder and installer of individual sewage disposal systems in accordance with the code. Examinations shall be held at least once yearly.
(2) 
Licensees shall be required to take the examination designed to test their knowledge and ability as a certified builder and installer of individual sewage disposal systems in accordance with the code every five years after being issued the original license, assuming the license has been renewed every year during that five-year cycle.
C. 
Issuance of license. The Health Officer shall issue an appropriate license to each applicant who has successfully passed the examination for a license to build and install individual sewage disposal systems in the Township, and such license shall not be transferable. A current license held in another municipality may be accepted in lieu of taking the examination, so long as the license is no more than five years old.
D. 
Renewal of license. All licenses to build and install individual sewage disposal systems in the Township shall be valid from January 1 to December 31 of each year and shall be renewed for the ensuing year prior to any work being done during that year.
E. 
Revocation of license. The license held by a certified installer of individual sewage disposal systems in the Township may be suspended or revoked by the Health Officer, after notice and a hearing, as applicable, for any of the following reason(s):
(1) 
Violating the provisions of this article, N.J.A.C. 7:9A, and regulations governing the individual sewage disposal systems, as the same may be amended or supplemented from time to time;
(2) 
Installing, constructing, repairing, or altering an individual subsurface sewage disposal system without having first obtained a permit from the Health Department;
(3) 
Installing, constructing, repairing, or altering an individual subsurface sewage disposal system which contradicts or otherwise may invalidate the issuance of the original permit;
(4) 
Failing to cease installation, construction, repair, or alteration activities on an individual subsurface sewage disposal system after the Health Department had rescinded the permit for said activities;
(5) 
Installing, constructing, repairing, or altering an individual subsurface sewage disposal system in a willfully negligent manner;
(6) 
Fraud, misrepresentation, or false statement in an application, plans, and/or specifications for a septic permit;
(7) 
Fraud, misrepresentation, or false statement in the application for a septic contractor's license; and/or
(8) 
Fraud, misrepresentation, or false statement made in the course of carrying on activities related to a septic permit and/or a septic contractor's license issued the Health Department.
F. 
Notice of hearing. The Health Officer shall provide to a licensee a written notice of hearing regarding a license revocation, setting forth the specific grounds of the complaint, the time and place of the hearing, and a brief statement of the grounds to be relied upon for the revocation. Such notice may be given to the licensee by either personal delivery or by simultaneous regular and certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the licensee at the business address appearing upon the license. The hearing shall be held before the Health Officer, within 10 business days of the notice date.
G. 
Suspension. A license may, pending revocation proceedings, be suspended for not more than 10 business days (Monday through Friday, excluding holidays) by the Health Officer if, in his/her opinion, the conduct of the licensee is detrimental to the health, safety and general welfare of the Township of Denville.
H. 
Hearing. At the hearing before the Health Officer, the licensee shall have an opportunity to answer and be heard. Upon due consideration and deliberation, the Health Officer may dismiss the complaint or revoke the license.
I. 
Right of appeal. A licensee may appeal a decision by the Health Officer to revoke a license by submitting a written request to the Health Officer. Such appeal shall be held before the Municipal Council within 30 days of receipt of the written request.
J. 
New license required. If a license has been revoked, neither the license holder nor any person acting for the license holder, directly or indirectly, shall be entitled to another license to carry on the same business within the Township, unless the application for such license shall be approved by the Health Officer.