[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Brewster
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-14-1984 ATM, Art. 117]
This Article is adopted under the authority
of MGL c. 43B, § 13, for the purpose of protecting ground-
and surface water quality during an interim period while the Town
further studies its groundwater. It shall expire on July 1, 1987,
or such earlier time as the Town Meeting adopts alternative water
protection measures.
The Town is hereby divided into three water
quality areas, as follows:
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The same day of the month 12 months earlier.
All contiguous property within Brewster which has been in
the same ownership at any time subsequent to January 1, 1978.
The volume of sanitary sewage estimated to be generated,
based on Section 15.02 of 310 CMR 15.00 (Title 5 of the State Environmental
Code), with that volume weighted as follows:
If disposal is in area WQ1, the equivalent gallons
shall equal 0.3 times the actual estimated gallons.
If disposal is in area WQ2, the equivalent gallons
shall equal 1.0 times the actual estimated gallons.
If disposal is in area WQ3, the equivalent gallons
shall equal 2.0 times the actual estimated gallons.
Publication twice in a newspaper of general circulation in
Brewster of a notice identifying the application and time and place
of hearing, with copies of the notice being sent to the Selectmen,
Water Commissioners, Conservation Commission and Planning Board.
Construction permits for new or expanded sewage
disposal facilities shall be granted by the Board of Health only if
one or more of the following are true:
A.
The disposal is consistent with a disposal management plan approved by the Board of Health under § 150-5.
B.
If the applicant has owned a building lot for five
consecutive years, a permit shall be granted for his personal use.
C.
Authorized increases in disposal will not exceed 1,000
equivalent gallons per day, counting the permit being applied for,
plus all others authorized in the same development are subsequent
to the base date.
D.
Construction of facilities for disposing less than
40,000 equivalent gallons per day of sanitary sewage has been authorized
Town-wide, subsequent to the base date, and this permit, plus all
others issued to the same applicant subsequent to the base date, is
for less than 50% of the difference between 40,000 equivalent gallons
per day and the Town-wide total of equivalent gallons authorized subsequent
to the base date.
A.
The owner or owners of any property or set of properties
on which more than 1,000 equivalent gallons per day of disposal are
planned may apply to the Board of Health for approval of a disposal
management plan. The Board of Health shall hold a public hearing on
the application following notice at the applicant's expense. The Board
shall make its decision within 60 days of that hearing, which may
be held jointly with hearings of other agencies.
B.
Disposal management plans shall designate the dates subsequent to which the owner proposes that each lot or development increment will be authorized to exceed the limits of § 150-4. Plans shall normally be approved if one or more of the following are determined to be true:
(1)
The plan provides for adding, each year, no more than
1,000 equivalent gallons per day of sanitary sewage disposal;
(2)
The plan provides assurance of water quality protection
through tertiary treatment; or
(3)
The plan provides equivalent assurance of water quality
protection through site development substantially less dense than
allowed by right under zoning or by other mitigations. Equivalency
shall be documented by the applicant through a hydrogeological study
consisting of:
(a)
A water table contour map in the vicinity of
the proposed project to determine groundwater flow directions.
(b)
Projection of levels of nitrogen or other constituents
specified by the Board of Health for downgradient groundwater.
(c)
An evaluation of the probable impact on drinking
water (public and private wells) on lakes and ponds and on coastal
waters.
C.
A plan shall be deemed equivalent, provided that projected
constituent levels in downgradient groundwater at the boundaries of
the premises at full development do not exceed half the constituent
levels specified by the Department of Environmental Quality Engineering
Regulations in Drinking Water Standards of Massachusetts, and any
substantial uncertainties are managed through provisions for monitoring
or other means.
Variances from the requirements of this article
may be granted by the Board of Health following a public hearing with
notice given at the expense of the applicant but only in circumstances
where peculiarities of that case not created by the applicant make
compliance a hardship or infeasible and where the purposes of this
chapter will not be compromised by that variance. Granting or denial
of a variance shall be in writing and shall contain a statement of
the reasons for the action.
[Adopted 11-15-1993 FYTM, Art. 6]
The Town of Brewster shall have the authority
to provide financial assistance to its property owners through a program
promoting compliance with the Town's requirements to repair and/or
upgrade private septic systems. When an existing septic disposal system
constitutes a present or potential threat to human health, safety,
welfare or the environment, the Town is authorized to use public moneys
to assist property owners to fund improvements or upgrades of their
existing system.
The Town is authorized to borrow and incur debt
for the purposes of cleanup, abatement, repair and/or septic system
upgrade pursuant to this section. This agreement shall be recorded
as a betterment pursuant to MGL c. 80, § 2, and the amount
assessed shall be a lien on the property pursuant to MGL c. 80, § 5
and may be apportioned and reapportioned pursuant to MGL c. 80, § 13;
provided, however, that such assessment shall bear interest at a rate
determined by the Board of Health by agreement with the property owner,
but, in no event, shall such interest be less than the rate of interest
chargeable to the Town for the financing of such cleanup, abatement,
repair and/or upgrade. Any such borrowing shall not be included for
the purpose of computation of the levy or borrowing limits otherwise
imposed upon the Town by the Massachusetts General Laws.
The Board of Health is hereby authorized to
establish regulations governing the operation of this program after
an advertised public hearing. Said Board of Health shall establish
guidelines on eligibility and evaluate all applications with reference
to said guidelines.
A.
The applicant (who must be the property owner or owners)
for funding must submit a signed petition and a deed or a certificate
of title to the Board of Health by October 15 of each year. The petition
shall include the septic system plans and specifications, designed
by a licensed civil or sanitary engineer or a registered sanitarian.
Said plans shall meet the minimum requirements for subsurface disposal
of household wastewater as established by the State Environmental
Code (310 CMR 15.00), commonly known as Title 5, or, where stricter,
the regulations adopted by the Brewster Board of Health. In addition,
the application shall include a disposal works construction permit,
issued by the Brewster Board of Health.
B.
An agreement between an owner and the Board of Health
pursuant to this section shall not be considered a breach of a limitation
or prohibition contained in a note, mortgage or contract on the transfer
of an interest in property.
The Board of Health shall obtain construction
estimates according to the scope of work outlined in the plans and
specifications submitted by the petitioner. The Board of Health shall
hold a public hearing on the application after due notice to the petitioner.
The Board of Health shall provide an estimate of all costs to be levied
against said petitioner, including engineering, legal, construction,
administrative, interest plus 2% and other related expenses. Upon
receipt of the approval of the estimated costs by the property owner,
the Board of Health will seek funding by an Annual Town Meeting. Upon
funding approval, the Board of Health shall obtain bids in accordance
with the provisions of MGL. c. 30B. Within six months after the construction
has been completed, the total costs for installation and maintenance
shall be assigned to the petitioner, and the time for payment, not
to exceed 15 years, shall be specified. Moneys repaid to the Town
for septic betterments shall be deposited into a separate receipts
reserved account.
The total cost of the project shall not exceed
the estimate, and the Town shall not be responsible for any additional
costs related to upkeep or maintenance; if, through any eventuality,
the cost of the project should exceed the estimate, the excess shall
be the responsibility of the property owner. Upon the approval of
the betterment application and following notice thereof, the property
owner may, within 30 days, pay the total cost of the project. Should
the property owner not elect such a payment, the Tax Collector shall
bill the property owner for 10% of the total cost. With the next real
estate tax bill, the Tax Collector shall bill the property owner the
apportioned amount of the balance of the total cost, and this balance
may be apportioned over a period not exceeding 15 years. At any time
during the remainder of the payment period, the property owner may
elect to pay in full the balance still remaining. The Town shall have
a lien to secure payment in the same manner as it acquires a lien
for a betterment assessment under MGL c. 80.
