[HISTORY: Adopted New Canaan Town Council 3-13-1991, effective 3-29-1991.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Sewers and sewage disposal — See Ch. 51.
[1]
Editor's Note: This legislation also repealed
former Ch. 29, Health and Sanitation, adopted 7-11-1957, effective
9-15-1957, as amended.
The Director of Health shall be the Sanitary
Officer of the town. Reference to the Director of Health herein shall
be deemed to include his authorized agent, and he shall have the power
and it shall be his duty to:
A.
No person shall construct, drill, dig, install, provide
or alter any private source for the provision of potable water without
first making application, paying a fee and obtaining a permit from
the Director of Health. Such private water supply shall be constructed
in accordance with the standards as set forth in the State of Connecticut
Department of Consumer Protection Well Drilling Board Rules and Regulations
and operated in conformity with the approved plans and specifications
of the terms of the permit issued.
B.
The Board of Selectmen, upon recommendation from the
Department of Health and Sanitation and by authority of the Town Council,
shall, from time to time, modify and establish fees.
A lot shall be efficient in area and have soil
and drainage capable of supporting both a private water supply and
subsurface sewage disposal system, as determined by the Director of
Health.
All private water supply sources shall be located
in areas consistent with the general layout and surroundings, protected
against surface wash and as far removed from any known or probable
source of pollution as surroundings will permit and in a direction
opposite to the groundwater and shall be constructed and maintained
in such manner as to prevent the entrance of surface water and any
foreign material. The location shall be subject to approval by the
local Director of Health and in compliance with the General Statutes
of Connecticut and the Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut.
All separating distances shall be no less than
the minimum standards as contained in the Public Health Code of the
State of Connecticut.
No structure shall be constructed over an existing
well nor shall any private water supply source be constructed inside
any building unless the building is specifically designed for such
purpose. Every private water supply source shall be so located and
constructed so that it will be accessible for cleaning, treatment,
repair, testing and inspection.
Before any private water supply source is used,
it shall be disinfected with a chlorine solution and, after final
installation of pumping equipment, the owner shall have the well sampled
for bacteriological, physical and sanitary chemical examination. The
Director of Health shall approve a report of the analysis of this
examination before the well water is used. No person shall use or
permit to be used water from any source which, after laboratory test,
is determined by the Director of Health to be contaminated or in which
certain physical or chemical constituents are above limits set by
the Connecticut State Department of Health Services.
Whenever the Director of Health shall determine
that water supplied, furnished or delivered to consumers for drinking
or other domestic use does not meet the requirements of this Code,
he shall so notify the person in charge of such water supply or source.
The Director of Health may order the abandonment, posting, treatment
or sealing of such water supply or source or any portion of the distribution
system or connections thereto not meeting these requirements. Abandonment
procedure shall be done according to the State of Connecticut Department
of Consumer Protection Well Drilling Board Rules and Regulations.
Any water supply system originally designed
for other than drinking purposes and not meeting the requirements
of this Code as to purity shall have each and every outlet marked
with a permanent, legible and visible sign reading "NOT FOR DRINKING
PURPOSES."
No person shall sell, offer for sale, use or
deliver any natural or artificial ice unless it shall have been produced
from a potable water supply and manufactured, stored and delivered
under clean and sanitary conditions.
No person shall sell, offer for sale, use or
deliver any bottled natural or distilled water intended for human
consumption unless such water comes from a source adequately protected
against contamination or such water is so treated as to render it
safe and sanitary, and all bottles and containers used shall be effectively
cleaned and sanitized. The bottling and delivery of such water shall
be performed in a sanitary manner.
In every public place the use of any drinking
vessel by more than one person without adequate cleansing is prohibited.
All public buildings having a water supply shall be equipped with
drinking facilities of a type approved by the Director of Health.
No person shall allow or permit to remain, deposit
or cause to be deposited the contents of any privy vault or septic
system, any garbage, shells or bivalves, filth, dead animals or decayed
animal or vegetable matter in or upon any place that such materials
may be exposed to air or to flies or in such a manner that any waters
or stream shall be contaminated or disagreeable odors produced. Materials
shall not be deposited so as to cause stagnant water or to be scattered
by wind.
No person shall engage in the business of collecting,
transporting or disposing of the contents of privies, septic tanks,
cesspools or refuse without first obtaining a permit from the Town
Clerk. The Town Clerk shall not issue any such permit until the issuance
thereof shall have been approved by the Director of Health and a fee
for each truck used by the licensee shall have been received. The
Board of Selectmen, upon recommendation from the Department of Health
and Sanitation and by the authority of the Town Council, shall, from
time to time, modify and establish fees. Each such permit shall expire
on the 30th day of April following the date of issuance and may be
renewed annually thereafter as of the first day of May upon approval
of the Director of Health. Operations under any such permit shall
be in conformity with such rules and regulations as the Director of
Health may establish. Any such permit may at any time be revoked by
the Director of Health for cause.
No person shall spit upon the sidewalk or the
floor of any public building within the limits of the town.
A.
Food permit required. No food establishment shall
be operated in the Town of New Canaan unless a permit shall be obtained
from the Director of Health. Such permit shall be issued and will
remain valid only if the operation of any food establishment shall
at all times comply with the provisions of the Code of the Town of
New Canaan and the Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut.
Each permit shall expire on the 31st day of December following the
date of issuance and may be renewed annually thereafter as of the
first day of January upon approval of the Director of Health.
[Amended 5-11-2005, effective 5-27-2005]
B.
Permit to be posted. All food permits shall be posted
in a conspicuous place on the premises visible to customers.
C.
Examination and condemnation of food. Any substance
or article used in the preparation or serving of food or drink in
any food establishment may be examined by the Director of Health as
often as, in the opinion of the Director of Health, may be necessary
for the detection of unwholesomeness or adulteration for the protection
of public health. The Director of Health may condemn and forbid the
sale or serving of any food, drink or other substances or articles
used in the preparation or serving of food which is unwholesome or
is adulterated or which is detrimental to the public health.
D.
Inspection of food establishments and suspension of
permits. The Director of Health shall inspect all food establishments
as often as required by the Department of Health services and may
inspect any food establishment at any time for the purpose of ascertaining
that the same is complying with the requirements of the Code of the
Town of New Canaan and the Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut.
If any violation shall be found, immediate written notice thereof
shall be given, together with a demand that said violation be corrected.
Within a reasonable time thereafter, the food establishment shall
be reinspected, and if the violation has not been corrected, the permit
of such food establishment may be suspended forthwith.
E.
Access to premises and food sources. Any food establishment
having obtained a permit from the Town of New Canaan shall be considered
to have granted free access to the Director of Health at all times
to the premises and all parts thereof relating to such food establishment
for the purpose of inspection. In addition, such food establishment
shall have available for inspection at all times all invoices and
other records relating to the source of food and drink served on the
premises.
F.
Reinstatement of permit. Any food permit suspended
by the Director of Health may, within one week, be reinstated if the
owner corrects all violations and the food establishment is in compliance
with all provisions of the Code of the Town of New Canaan and the
Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut to the satisfaction
of the Director of Health.
G.
Charging of fees. A fee shall be charged for a permit
to operate a food establishment in the Town of New Canaan. The Board
of Selectmen, upon recommendation from the Department of Health and
Sanitation and by the authority of the Town Council, shall, from time
to time, modify and establish fees.
No person shall sell or offer for sale any article
of food that is adulterated with an unhealthy compound or substance.
No food shall be offered for sale or stored
upon any sidewalk or in front of any place of business unless the
temporary food establishment meets the provisions of the Public Health
Code of the State of Connecticut and is satisfactory to the Director
of Health.
The provisions of the Public Health Code of
the State of Connecticut and the Regulations and Technical Standards
now in force or as hereafter amended relating to matters not covered
by the Code of the Town of New Canaan are hereby adopted by reference
and made a part hereof, except those provisions related to penalties
for the violation thereof.
A.
Percolation tests. Percolation tests shall be performed
according to the Technical Standards and under conditions acceptable
to the Director of Health. Tests may be performed at any time of the
year except when the ground is frozen. The Director of Health has
the opinion to request additional testing during the driest season
and/or may require adjustment of the results to conform to seasonal
conditions.
B.
Type of soil for installation. The area reserved or
intended for individual sewage disposal systems shall preferably be
located in original undisturbed soil. The original ground shall be
protected from surface or subsurface drainage prior to the deposition
of fill material. A subsurface sewage disposal system requiring fill
shall not be installed until the Director of Health approves the depth,
type of fill and the amount of time required for settling.
D.
Requirements for design, application and fees. In
addition to the other requirements, individual sewage disposal systems
shall not be constructed, reconstructed or altered until the Director
of Health has approved the location and issued a permit for the construction,
reconstruction or alteration of said individual sewage disposal systems.
Permits shall not be issued until:
(1)
A report of acceptable site conditions, i.e., soil
characteristics, deep test holes, percolation tests, ledge and ground
water levels, has been submitted to the Director of Health.
(2)
A properly executed application has been submitted
on a form supplied by the Director of Health according to the Public
Health Code of the State of Connecticut and the Technical Standards
for the Design of Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems for Household
and Small Commercial Buildings, State of Connecticut, Department of
Health Services.
(3)
The Director of Health has determined that the subsurface
sewage disposal area will not be adversely affected by surface or
subsurface flooding conditions and that all surface or subsurface
water will be directed away from the sewage disposal area.
(4)
A fee has been collected for a permit to repair, construct
or alter a subsurface sewage disposal system. The Board of Selectmen,
upon recommendation from the Department of Health and Sanitation and
by the authority of the Town Council, shall, from time to time, modify
and establish fees.
E.
Conditions for subsurface sewage disposal systems.
(1)
Individual subsurface disposal systems shall not be
constructed until rough grading of the area has been completed.
(2)
Sewer lines leading to septic tanks shall be laid
with tight joints in a straight line and on a uniform grade except
where accessible manholes, Y-bends or one-eighth-bends with cleanouts
are provided at changes of direction or grade. All sewer lines extending
from any structure to a septic tank shall be a minimum diameter of
four inches and shall consist of cast iron or sewer pipe approved
in Table 2 of the Technical Standards of the Public Health Code of
the State of Connecticut.
(3)
Leaching systems shall be constructed in accordance
with the Regulations and Technical Standards for Subsurface Sewage
Disposal Systems.
[Amended 9-16-2015]
(4)
The maximum trench width shall
be in accordance with the Regulations and Technical Standards for
Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems.
[Amended 9-16-2015]
(5)
After final grading the disturbed area shall be stabilized
with suitable ground cover and/or methods of soil erosion control
approved by the Director of Health.
(6)
Garbage grinders shall be constructed
in accordance with the Regulations and Technical Standards for Subsurface
Disposal Systems.
[Amended 9-16-2015]
F.
Inspection required. The Director of Health shall
be notified a minimum of 24 hours prior to the commencement of any
work on any portion of the subsurface sewage disposal system. All
portions of a subsurface sewage disposal system shall be subject to
inspections and approvals by the Director of Health prior to backfilling
or operation of the system. The Director of Health may order the owner/contractor
to uncover any portion of a system backfilled prior to inspection.
Subsurface sewage disposal systems shall not
be placed in operation or dwellings served by sewage systems be occupied
until the Director of Health has issued a permit to discharge/certificate
of approval to utilize a subsurface sewage disposal system. Issuance
of this certificate is also required for alterations to an existing
sewage system or where an exception is granted.
The Director of Health may grant an exception,
except with respect to the requirements of the Public Health Code
of the State of Connecticut and Regulations and Technical Standards,
for the repair, alteration or extension of an existing subsurface
sewage disposal system where he determines the repair, alteration
or extension cannot be effected in compliance with the requirements
of this chapter and upon finding that such an exception is unlikely
to cause a nuisance or health hazard.
The minimum setback requirement between any
portion of a septic system and a below-ground pool is 25 feet and
10 feet for an above-ground pool.
[Amended 6-12-1991, effective 6-28-1991]
A.
For the purpose of this section, "wastewater" is defined
as effluent from a swimming pool backwash filter system having certain
physical, chemical or bacteriological characteristics that render
it unsuitable for drinking, recreational or other human uses or that
does not meet the minimum standards for water quality for a particular
purpose as established by the Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut.
B.
Wastewater shall not be discharged into any watercourse,
natural or artificial, or into any stormwater drainage ditch which
discharges into any watercourse or any wetland, nor into a subsurface
sewage disposal system designed to handle residential or nonresidential
buildings. Wastewater may be discharged into a sanitary sewer system
having sufficient hydraulic capacity or a separate subsurface sewage
disposal system specifically designed for this purpose.
A.
For the purposes of this section, a "public swimming
pool" is defined as a pool intended for recreational bathing, swimming,
diving or therapeutic purposes, located either indoors or outdoors,
which is provided with a controlled water supply and which is not
owned or maintained as part of a particular residential unit or residential
complex.
B.
The Director of Health may inspect all public swimming
pools, and if any such pool is deemed to be a public health hazard,
the Director of Health may order the pool closed until such time as,
in the opinion of the Director of Health, a health hazard no longer
exists.
A.
Any person who engages in the activities set forth
in this chapter in violation hereof shall be fined $100 or the maximum
sum permitted by state statutes, whichever shall be greater, for each
offense.
B.
The provisions of this chapter are designated for
enforcement by citation in accordance with Section 7-148(10) of the
Connecticut General Statutes, and the Board of Selectmen shall designate
municipal officers or employees to issue warnings and citations as
therein provided.
C.
It is intended that the provisions of this chapter
shall also be the basis of civil relief to the fullest extent possible
in an action by the Town in any court having jurisdiction.
