[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health of the Town of Littleton 9-3-2013. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Title 5 of the State Environmental Code (hereafter called Title
5) shall be considered the minimum standard for the design and installation
of subsurface disposal systems for sanitary sewage in the Town of
Littleton. In addition, the Littleton Board of Health has issued the
following supplemental regulations to Title 5. The intent of these
supplemental regulations is to provide for inadequacies and/or deficiencies
in the requirements of Title 5 as they apply to the Town of Littleton
and to protect the health and environment of the Town of Littleton.
Previous regulations enacted by the Littleton Board of Health are
hereby superseded.
The invalidity of any section(s) or provision(s) of these regulations
shall not invalidate any other provision or section thereof.
All permits issued under 310 CMR of Title 5 or groundwater discharge
permits must be reviewed and approved by the Littleton Board of Health
before any construction can begin. Permits issued under Section 15.019,
15.020, and 15.502 or Title 5 by an agent for the Littleton Board
of Health will be valid in the Town of Littleton unless the permit
holder is notified by the Littleton Board of Health.
The Board of Health, when reviewing an application for any permit,
approval, site assignment or similar matter, including, but not limited
to, any proceeding considering modification, revocation or amendment
of any such permit, approval, site assignment or similar matter, may
determine that the assistance of outside professional expertise and/or
consultants is warranted due to the size, scale or complexity of a
proposed project or matter (or the issues raised thereby) or because
of a project's potential impacts. The Board may require that applicants
pay in advance a fee consisting of the reasonable costs incurred,
or to be incurred, by the Board for the employment of outside professional
expertise and/or consultants engaged by the Board to assist in the
review of an application.
Previous subsections repealed in 2011.
The required percolation rates are as follows:
A. A maximum percolation rate allowed for on a lot of 30,000 square
feet or less is 30 min/inch. A rate slower than this will be considered
a failed percolation rate.
B. A maximum percolation rate allowed for all lots over 30,000 square
feet is 40 min/inch.
C. A leaching area shall not be located closer than 25 feet from a location
with a failing percolation rate until a passing percolation rate has
been proven between the leaching area and the failing percolation
test site.
Garbage grinders are not allowed in conjunction with a subsurface
sewage disposal system.
Subsurface sewage disposal in areas within the Aquifer or Water Resource District zones, as defined under the Aquifer and Water Resource District Bylaw, §Â
173-61 of the Code of the Town of Littleton, shall be limited to six gallons per day per 1,000 square feet of lot area with the flow based on Title 5 (310 CMR 15.000). This does not include single-family dwellings.
When one or more lots are subdivided from a parcel of land with
a structure discharging into a subsurface disposal system, a plan
showing the location for the septic tank, leaching system, well, and
a leaching system expansion area must be submitted for the existing
structure on the subdivided lot.
No additions or alterations to a dwelling and/or structure will
be allowed until it is determined, to the satisfaction of the Board
of Health, that the existing sewage disposal system is adequate, in
terms of permeability of soils, groundwater, or refusal, for a proposed
alteration or addition to an existing dwelling and/or structure and
that the lot size is large enough to permit a septic system repair
or expansion. Any proposed increase in design flow may require a Title
5 inspection in accordance with 310 CMR 15.300 to 15.305.
A. All plans for subsurface sewage disposal systems must be submitted
to the Board of Health and stamped by a professional land surveyor
(PLS) or meet all of the following survey requirements:
(1)Â Professional land surveyor or registered land surveyor of record.
(3)Â County Registry of Deeds plan number (book and page if appropriate).
(4)Â The date of the registry plan.
B. If the owner of record is other than a natural person, a copy of
the certificate of corporation, trust document(s) or whatever applicable
document(s) which establish legal entity must be supplied at the time
of application to Nashoba Associated Boards of Health.
C. All applicants [if other than owner(s) of record], shall supply a
signed, notarized affidavit by the owner of record(s) authorizing
the applicant to act on their behalf in pursuing this application
before the Littleton Board of Health or its agent.
D. All septic engineering documents involving work in the Town of Littleton
must have a summary section briefly describing the scope of work involved
for that project. Any addendums or changes must include a note describing
all revisions since the original issue. All subsequent changes will
also be described on the plans. This will allow all Board of Health
members, their agents and staff to quickly understand the scope of
a particular project.
If a proposed project contains more than four lots, the Board
of Health requests three master site plans be submitted showing legal
boundaries, topography, proposed septic system locations, well and
house site locations, wetlands, surface water, drains, easements,
floodplain information, Zone I, Zone II, Water Resource Area and Aquifer
Protection Area. This includes Zone I and Zone II of any and all abutting
towns as well as Littleton.
Previous subsections repealed in 2011.
The maintenance of all pump systems shall be explained to the
homeowner by the installer and/or builder prior to occupancy.
A. No septic tank or humus/composting toilet shall be constructed in
a 100-year flood zone, except a septic tank that replaces a tank in
existence on the site as of March 31, 1995, that has been damaged,
removed or destroyed, where placement of the tank outside of the 100-year
flood zone, either horizontally or vertically, is not feasible. Where
reconstruction of a system in existence on March 31, 1995, occurs
or reconstruction of a building or buildings is allowed in accordance
with the Wetlands Protection Act and 310 CMR 10.00, it shall be presumed
to be feasible to elevate the tank if the building is elevated above
the 100-year flood zone.
B. No soil absorption system shall be constructed in a 100-year flood
zone, unless:
(1)Â The system is to serve a building or buildings that were in existence
on March 31, 1995, or reconstruction of such building or buildings
where allowed in accordance with the Wetlands Protection Act and 310
CMR 10.00; and
(2)Â There is no increase in design flow from such building or buildings;
and
(3)Â No connection to a public sewer or shared system is available; and
(4)Â The owner or applicant cannot site the system elsewhere; and
(5)Â The septic tank or humus/composting toilet is sighted outside of
the 100-year flood zone, either horizontally or vertically; and
(6)Â The system achieves required separation from high groundwater elevation
required by 310 CMR 15.212; and
(7)Â Any portion of the soil absorption system that is within the 100-year
flood zone is a leaching bed or trench system or any other system
constructed in accordance with the Wetlands Protection Act and 310
CMR 10.000.
All applicants for retail food permits or food service permits required by Chapter
10, 105 CMR 590.000, shall be required to have the following: a disposal works construction permit issued by the local Board of Health.
Previous subsections repealed in 2011.
A. Abutter notification. Prior to approving a system incorporating a
retaining wall, impervious barrier, fill within 10 feet of a property
line, or a variance from offset to property line(s), the applicant
shall notify all immediate abutters at least 10 days prior to the
scheduled hearing date by certified mail. An abutter shall be considered
the owner of property(s) that are contiguous to the applicant's property
and directly across any right of way, street, path, etc., of the applicant's
property.
B. Flagging. The limit of work shall be delineated, to the satisfaction
of the Littleton Board of Health or its agent prior to notifying the
abutters.
A. When a system is used only on a seasonal basis and a proposed change
is made to year round use, the Board of Health may require percolation
and deep observation tests performed as stated in Regulation 5 of
these regulations.
B. When changes are made in commercial and industrial facilities using
subsurface sewage systems, the Board of Health may, if it deems necessary,
require all testing as stated in Regulation 5 of these regulations.
All applications to the Building Department which involve any
change in square footage for new or existing structures must provide
plans to the Board of Health. This includes, but is not limited to,
the main dwelling, barns, sheds, any outbuildings, garages and decks.
No portion of a fill requirement for a subsurface sewage disposal
system shall be within 10 feet of a property line. This shall include
the required expansion area. Abutter notification shall be in accordance
with Regulation 23.
See this regulation under separate cover.
All new septic tanks for a subsurface sewage disposal system
shall be two-compartment and shall be in accordance with 310 CMR 15.224(1)
through (4). This shall include a new tank being installed as part
of an upgrade; this shall not require replacing a single-compartment
tank with a two-compartment if the designer of the upgrade certifies
that the single-compartment tank is functioning and structurally sound.
Every new design and upgrade shall require an outlet tee filter. There
shall be written notice provided in a conspicuous place near the building
sewer or some other method to show that an outlet tee filter is installed
to ensure that the outlet tee filter is cleaned when the septic system
tank is serviced. The Board believes these components will provide
additional protection and prolong the life of the soil absorption
system.
Variances may be granted only as follows:
A. The Board of Health may vary the application of these regulations
with respect to any particular case when, in its opinion, the enforcement
thereof would do manifest injustice, and the applicant has proven
that the same degree of public health and environmental protection
required under these regulations can be achieved without strict application
of a particular provision(s).
B. Variance requests shall be in writing to the Board of Health. The
Board of Health shall grant, modify, or deny a variance in writing.
The purpose of this regulation, established under the authority
granted by MGL c. 111, § 31, is to formally establish and
define the charges (fees) for review work done by the Board of Health
or its Agent. There are various services for which a fee is required.
Please visit Board of Health website www.littletonma.org or the Board
of Health office for a detailed fee schedule.
If any word, sentence, clause, phrase, paragraph, or section
of this regulation shall be declared invalid for any reason whatsoever,
that portion shall be severed and all other provisions of the regulation
shall remain in full force and effect.
Lids must be made of concrete or other solid material. They
cannot be made of plastic.
The design of sewage disposal systems, where the soil absorption
system (SAS) is designed within 100 feet of a Bank or Bordering Vegetated
Wetland (BVW) (as defined by 310 CMR 10.54 and 10.55), shall include
an approved DEP innovative technology to treat the wastewater to secondary
treatment standards as described in 310 CMR 15.202 of Title 5 when
the design also requests a two-foot reduction of the groundwater offset
for the SAS.