ORDINANCE
#75
MANAGEMENT
OF ON-SITE SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS
The purpose of the Ordinance for Management of
On-Site Sewage Disposal Systems is to promote the health and welfare for the
residents of the Town of Old Saybrook by requiring pump-out inspection and
maintenance of said on-site sewage disposal systems at least once every five-
(5) years. To this end the Town of
1.
Enforcing the State and Town Health Codes.
2.
Alerting property owners of existing or potential problems with their
systems, while any damage to such systems and cost of repairs or upgrade are
minimized.
3.
Developing town-wide-on-site inspection data, which
may be used by the Water Pollution Control Authority in a wastewater management
plan for the entire Town.
4.
Educating property owners about proper care and maintenance procedures
to follow for on-site sewage disposal systems.
5.
Requiring repairs to any existing problems discovered.
6.
Aggressively enforcing provisions of Section 19-13-B100a and any
subsequent revisions of the Public Health Code.
7.
Promoting the use of alternate technology systems approved by the State
of Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) where available and
appropriate under the Health Code. Note: This Ordinance shall apply to all
on-site sewage disposal systems within the Town of
Sections 19-13-B103a through 19-13-B103f and Section
19-13-B100a of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, and all
amendments including technical standards thereto hereinafter adopted, are
hereby Incorporated by reference in this ordinance and made part hereof. Said
Sections are hereinafter referred to as the Public Health Code. However, no
on-site sewerage disposal system in existence prior to
An on-site sewage disposal system shall be deemed to
be a malfunctioning system if sewage is allowed to discharge or
The Director of Health shall have the right of entry
to any land in the Town of
No residential building, residential institution, or
non-residential building shall be constructed in the town, and no existing
on-site sewerage disposal system for any such existing building shall be
reconstructed, repaired, expanded upon or otherwise modified unless and until
the owner of such building has applied for and received approval of a Permit to
Construct the sewage system for such building from the Director of Health. All
facilities meeting the requirement of the Ordinance for a Permit to Construct approval
shall be filed with the Director of Health and shall be accompanied by a
sufficient plan, as may be required by the Director of Health, of the proposed
sewerage system and such fees as may be set in accordance with Section X1V of
this Ordinance. Exception: For properties on which the estimated daily waste
water
All on-site sewage disposal systems, with a design capacity
under 5,000 gallons per day, constructed after the effective date of the
Ordinance shall be designed and constructed in accordance with all requirements
of the Public Health Code, subject to exceptions which may be granted in
accordance with the provisions of Section 19-13-B103d of said Code.
No Installation shall begin until the Director of
Health has approved a Permit to Construct.
A. It shall be unlawful for any owner
or occupant of any building served by an on-site sewage disposal system to
discharge sewage into a sewage disposal system unless a Discharge Permit
authorizing said discharge has been obtained from the Director of Health.
B. Initially, a Discharge Permit
shall be issued following an on-site inspection of the on-site sewage disposal
system by the Director of Health, which an inspection does not disclose any
malfunction of the system. Said permit shall be valid for a period of five (5)
years from the date of issue unless sooner revoked due to a malfunction
disclosed by an inspection by the Director of Health. When the malfunctioning
system has been repaired and inspected by the Director of Health, a valid
Discharge Permit shall be re-issued.
C. The Discharge Permit for any
system observed to be malfunctioning as defined in Section III shall be subject
to revocation by the Director of Health. Notice of revocation of the Discharge
Permit shall be forwarded to the building Official. The Director of Health
shall also issue notice to the owner of the property via Certified Mail.
A. No Discharge Permit shall be
renewed unless the following conditions have been satisfied:
1. The owners or occupants of
the building shall have the system inspected and pumped out by a septic tank
cleaner properly licensed by the State of
2. The owner, occupant or
contracted septic tank cleaner is required to inform the Director of Health as
least 24 hours prior to the pump-out except in case of emergency.
3. The inspection and cleaning
must be performed not later than 30 days after the expiration date of the
existing Discharge Permit.
4. The Director of Health shall
have the right to observe the inspection and cleaning at his discretion, and to
perform such tests as the Director of Health deem appropriate to determine
whether or not said system is malfunctioning.
5. The inspection and cleaning
of the on-site sewage disposal system must disclose no malfunction. Any
malfunction noted must be repaired within 60 days or the Director of Health may
issue a temporary Permit for Discharge for a period not to exceed six (6)
months.
B. The Director of Health shall
have the authority to waive the inspection and cleaning of the septic tank if
he determines that inspection and cleaning are not necessary because of limited
use or because of a recent cleaning or inspection of the system.
C. The owners or occupants of
any building shall be entitled to have the Discharge Permit renewed at any time
prior to the expiration of the existing Discharge Permit, provided that the
septic tank is cleaned and a field inspection of the septic system is performed
by the Director of Health at the time of said cleaning, and the field test
performed disclosed no malfunction.
All septic tanks, cesspools,
pools and similar receptacles serving sewage disposal systems located within
the Town of
Any subsidy paid by the Town
of Old Saybrook for the disposal of septage or grease
from any on-site system pumped out within the Town shall be limited to the
subsidy required for the disposal of the contents of the septic tank or grease
trap servicing that property once per calendar year. Any fees required for the
disposal of septage or grease shall be borne totally
by the owner of the property for any additional pump-outs required during a
one-year period following the initial pump-out.
Nothing in this Ordinance
shall be construed to absolve any property owner or operator from complying
with the conditions of any Permit to Discharge issued by either the State of
Connecticut Department of Public Health or the Department of Environmental
Protection for on-site sewage disposal.
A.
The Old Saybrook Water Pollution Control Authority in conjunction with
the Old Saybrook Environmental Health Department shall develop a map of the
Town so as to facilitate an orderly procedure for collecting data regarding the
inspection and cleaning of septic systems on a regular basis and to allow for
the issuance of Discharge Permits and Pump-out Permits.
B.
Each area of the Town will be scheduled to have maintenance performed
as determined by the Water Pollution Control Authority and the Director of
Health. The intent is to phase in over several years a town-wide program for
managing all maintenance of on-site sewage disposal systems and of system
pump-outs.
C.
The owner or occupants will be mailed a notice of the scheduled
maintenance period established for his area of town. The owner, occupant, or
contracted septic tank cleaner shall obtain a Pump-Out Permit and Liquid Waste
Disposal Ticket which is to be filled out by the septic tank cleaner and
returned to the Old Saybrook Environmental Health Department for use by the
Water Pollution Control Authority after the disposal of sewage.
D.
The owner or occupants may choose any septic tank cleaner to pump-out
and inspect the system, provided that the selected septic tank cleaner holds a
current valid license issued by the State of
E.
Any Septic tank cleaner planning to pump out any system in the Town of
A. Enforcement of this ordinance and of the
Public Health Code shall be the responsibility of the Director of Health of the
Town of
B. If an
on-site system is determined by the Director of Health to be malfunctioning, or
if scheduled maintenance of the system provided for in Section IX of this
Ordinance is not performed, the following actions shall be taken by the
Director of Health:
1. The Discharge Permit shall be revoked and
the owner of the premised served by said on-site system shall be given notice
of said revocation and of the violation occurring and shall be ordered to
immediately abate the condition(s) cited in the notice.
2. The Director of Health shall cause the
Notice of Violation and a copy of the Abatement Order to be recorded on the Old
Saybrook Health Department Records. Notification shall be forwarded to the
Building Official of the Town. When the Abatement Order has been fully complied
with a new Discharge Permit shall be issued.
3. The Director of Health shall have the
right to seek judicial relief to enforce his orders for the abatement of any
violations of the provisions of the Public Health Code or of this Ordinance.
Any
property owner who has been issued a Notice of Violation and Abatement Order by
the Director of Health shall have the right to appeal said Notice of Violation
and Abatement Order to the Commissioner of Health Services of the State of
SECTION XIII. FINES AND PENALTIES
Fines
and penalties shall be imposed in accordance with Section 19a-230 of the
Connecticut General Statues.
The
Water Pollution Control Authority is hereby authorized to establish fees which
shall be in writing and shall be effective upon majority vote of the Water
Pollution Control Authority following a public hearing, of which legal notice
has been published in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town of
Old Saybrook not less than five (5) days prior to such hearing, and upon
subsequent publication of notice of such adoption in a newspaper having general
circulation in the Town of Old Saybrook.
The Director of Health is hereby authorized to issue
a Temporary Discharge Permit allowing the discharge of sewage into a subsurface
sewage disposal system, which is in violation of the provisions of this
ordinance. Said Temporary Discharge Permit shall not be issued unless the
Director of Health makes a finding that the use of said malfunctioning system
will not be detrimental to the health and welfare of the residents of the Town
of
The Water Pollution Control Authority shall continue
and further accomplish its public information program which shall include, but
not be limited to, a simple explanation of the use, operation and maintenance
of an on-site sewage disposal system, the advantages of water saving devices,
and requirements of the Public Health Code and Town ordinances.
The Water Pollution Control Authority is authorized
to adopt rules and regulations and any amendments thereto, to put this
ordinance into effect. Such rules and regulations, and any amendments thereto
shall be in writing and shall be effective upon majority vote of the Water
Pollution Control Authority following a public hearing held by the Water
Pollution Control Authority, of which legal notice thereof has been published
in a newspaper having general circulation in the Town of Old Saybrook not less
than five (5) days prior to such hearing, and upon subsequent publication of
notice of such adoption in a newspaper having general circulation in the Town
of Old Saybrook.
Upon ratification by an Old Saybrook Town Meeting,
this Ordinance will become effective fifteen (15) days following the
publication in a newspaper having general circulation in the Town of
AMENDED ORDINANCE # 75
ADOPTED AT A
PUBLISHED on
AMENDED ORDINANCE # 75 becomes effective