Connecticut Administrative Code
Title 19 - Public Health and Safety
13-B
Chapter II - ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
On-Site Sewage Disposal Systems with Design Flows of 5,000 Gallons per Day or Less and Non-Discharging Toilet Systems
Section 19-13-B103e - Procedures and conditions for the issuance of permits and approvals
Universal Citation: CT Reg of State Agencies 19-13-B103e
Current through September 9, 2024
No subsurface sewage disposal system shall be constructed, altered, repaired or extended without an approval to construct issued in accordance with this section. No discharge shall be initiated to a subsurface sewage disposal system without a discharge permit issued in accordance with this section. Such permits and approvals shall be issued and administered by the local director of health.
(a) No permit or approval shall be issued:
(1) For
any subsurface sewage system which is designed to discharge or overflow any
sewage or treated effluent to any watercourse;
(2) For any new subsurface sewage disposal
system until it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the local director of
health that there is a public water supply available or a satisfactory location
for a water supply well complying with Sections
19-13-B51a through
19-13-B51m of the
Public Health Code;
(3) For any new
subsurface sewage disposal system where the soil conditions in the area of the
leaching system are unsuitable for sewage disposal purposes at the time of the
site investigation made pursuant to this section. Unsuitable conditions occur
where the existing soil is impervious, or where there is less than four feet
depth of suitable existing soil over ledge rock, two feet of which is naturally
occurring soil, or where there is less than 18 inches depth of suitable
existing soil over impervious soil, or where the ground water level is less
than 18 inches below the surface of the ground for a duration of one month or
longer during the wettest season of the year;
(4) For any new subsurface sewage disposal
system where the surrounding naturally occurring soil cannot adequately absorb
or disperse the expected volume of sewage effluent without overflow, breakout
or detrimental effect on ground or surface water.
(b) Approval of agents by commissioner of health services.
(1) A local
director of health shall authorize only persons approved by the Commissioner of
Health Services to investigate, inspect and approve plans relating to
subsurface sewage disposal systems.
(2) The Commissioner of Health Services shall
approve agents of the local director of health whose qualifications to
investigate, inspect and approve plans relating to subsurface sewage disposal
systems have been established by attending training courses and passing
examinations given by the Department of Health Services, as follows:
(A) Agents who have attended training courses
and passed examinations relative to Sections
19-13-B100,
19-13-B103 and 19-13-B104 of the Public Health Code and the Technical Standards
shall be approved to investigate, inspect and approve all plans for subsurface
sewage disposal systems except those prepared by a professional engineer
registered in the State of Connecticut pursuant to Sections
19-13-B103d(c)
or (e).
(B) Agents who have
attended training courses and passed examinations relative to the engineering
design of subsurface sewage disposal systems shall be approved to investigate,
inspect and approve plans for such systems prepared by a professional engineer
registered in the State of Connecticut pursuant to Section
19-13-B103d(e).
(c) Application for permit or approval.
(1) No
investigation, inspection or approval of a subsurface sewage disposal system
shall be made, or permit issued without an application by the owner in
accordance with the following requirements.
(2) Applications for permits shall:
(A) Be on forms identical to Form #1 in the
Technical Standards; or
(B) Be on
forms prepared by the local director of health and deemed by the Commissioner
of Health Services as equivalent to Form #1 in the Technical Standards;
and
(C) Have attached a plot plan
of the lot, which shall be a surveyor's plan if available or one prepared from
information on the deed or land records.
(3) All the requested information shall be
provided. If the information is not provided, it shall be indicated why it is
not available or the application may be determined incomplete, and be
rejected.
(d) Site investigation.
(1) The local director
of health or a professional engineer registered in the State of Connecticut
representing the applicant shall make an investigation of the site proposed for
the subsurface sewage disposal system and report the findings and
recommendations of the investigation on a form identical to Form #2 in the
Technical Standards to include:
(A) A record
of soil test location, measures and observations.
(B) Soil percolation results.
(C) Observations of ground water and ledge
rock.
(D) A conclusion as to the
suitability of the site for subsurface sewage disposal.
(E) Special requirements for design of the
system, or further testing which shall be in accordance with the most recent
edition of the Technical Standards.
(2) Prior to the site investigation, the
applicant shall:
(A) Provide for the digging
of a suitable number of percolation test holes and deep observation pits in the
area of the proposed leaching system and extending at least four feet below the
bottom of the proposed leaching system, at the direction of the local director
of health;
(B) Provide water for
performing the percolation tests;
(C) If required by the local director of
health, locate by field stakes or markers the sewage disposal system, house,
well or property lines.
(3) The site investigation shall be made
within ten working days of application unless otherwise required by subsection
19-13-B103d(e).
(4) The local director of health shall:
(A) Assure the accuracy of the findings of
soil tests and deep observation pits; and
(B) When the maximum ground water level is in
doubt the local director of health shall investigate pursuant to Section
19-13-B103d(e).
(5) The size of the leaching
system shall be based on the results of soil percolation tests made in the area
of the proposed leaching system or on other methods of determining the soil
absorption capacity in accordance with the Technical Standards.
(6) In areas of special concern, or for
leaching systems with a design sewage flow of 2,000 gallons per day or greater,
the local director of health may require from the applicant whatever further
testing or data necessary to assure that the sewage disposal system will
function properly. Further testing may be required prior to or subsequent to
issuance of the approval to construct. Such tests may include permeability
tests, sieve analysis or compaction tests of natural soil or fill materials,
and the installation of ground water level monitoring wells, or pipes, as well
as additional observation pits and soil percolation tests.
(e) Submission of plan.
(1) Every plan for a subsurface sewage
disposal system shall be submitted to the local director of health.
(2) Every plan for a subsurface sewage
disposal system shall include all information necessary to assure compliance
with the requirements of Section
19-13-B103d
of these regulations, and contain as a minimum the following information: the
location of the house sewer, the location and size of the septic tank, the
location and description of the leaching system, property lines, building
locations, watercourses, ground and surface water drains, nearby wells and
water service lines.
(3) Where
required by the local director of health under subsections
19-13-B103d(c)
and (e) of these regulations, the plan shall be prepared by a professional
engineer, registered in the State of Connecticut, and shall be forwarded by the
local director to the Commissioner of Health Services, together with his
comments and recommendations.
(4)
No plan shall be submitted directly by the applicant or engineer to the
Commissioner of Health Services, unless requested by the local director of
health.
(f) Approval to construct.
(1) Upon
determination that the subsurface sewage disposal system has been designed in
compliance with the requirements of Section
19-13-B103d
of these regulations, the local director of health shall issue an approval to
construct. Approvals to construct shall be valid for a period of one year from
the date of their issuance and shall terminate and expire upon a failure to
start construction within that period. Approvals to construct may be renewed
for an additional one year period by the local director of health upon a
demonstration of reasonable cause for the failure to start construction within
the one year period.
(2) Each
subsurface sewage disposal system shall be constructed by a person licensed
pursuant to Section
20-341
of the General Statutes. Such person shall notify the local director of health
at least twenty-four hours prior to commencement of construction.
(3) The Commissioner of Health Services shall
approve in accordance with Subsection
19-13-B103d(c)
plans for a subsurface sewage disposal system to serve a building, the design
sewage flow from which is two thousand gallons a day or greater prior to
issuance of an approval to construct by the local director of health.
(4) Approval to construct a subsurface sewage
disposal system in an area of special concern shall not be issued until twenty
days following submission of the plans to the Commissioner of Health Services
in accordance with subsection
19-13-B103d(e),
unless earlier approved by the Commissioner.
(g) Inspection.
(1) The local director of health shall
inspect all subsurface sewage disposal systems for compliance with Subsection
19-13-B103d
and the approved plans for construction prior to covering and at such other
times as deemed necessary.
(2)
After construction, and prior to covering, the subsurface sewage disposal
system installer shall notify the local director of health the site is prepared
for inspection. Such inspection shall take place as soon thereafter as
feasible, but not later than two (2) working days after receipt of the request
unless the owner agrees to an extension.
(3) A final inspection report shall be
prepared by the local director of health on forms deemed by the Commissioner of
Health Services as equivalent to Form #3 in the Technical Standards.
(4) A record plan of the sewage disposal
system, as built, shall be required by the local director of health.
(h) Permit to discharge.
(1) Upon determination that
the subsurface sewage disposal system has been installed in compliance with the
requirements of Section
19-13-B103d
of these regulations and the approved plans, the local director of health shall
issue a permit to discharge. A copy of such permit shall be sent to the local
building official. No permit to discharge shall be issued until all required
forms are completed and an approved as-built plan or record drawing is
received.
(2) Any permit to
discharge issued by the Commissioner of Health Services or a local director of
health for a household or small commercial subsurface sewage disposal system
with a capacity of five thousand gallons per day or less shall be deemed
equivalent to a permit issued under Subsection 25-54i(b) of the Connecticut
General Statutes. Such permits shall:
(A)
specify the manner, nature and volume of discharge;
(B) require proper operation and maintenance
of any pollution abatement facility required by such permit;
(C) be subject to such other requirements and
restrictions as the commissioner deems necessary to comply fully with the
purposes of this chapter and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act;
and
(D) be issued on forms approved
by the Commissioner of Health Services.
(3) The local director of health shall record
the granting of an exception from any requirement of Section
19-13-B103d
on the permit to discharge.
(i) Enforcement.
(1) A permit to discharge to a subsurface
sewage disposal system shall not be construed to permit any sewage overflow,
nuisance, or similar condition or the maintenance thereof.
(2) If such a condition is found to exist,
the permit to discharge may be revoked, suspended, modified or otherwise
limited and any such condition is subject to an order to abate the condition
pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Section 19-79.
(j) Records. Copies of completed applications, investigation reports, review and inspection forms and as-built plans or record drawings of each sewage disposal system, certified as complying with this Section, shall be kept in the files of the town or health district for a minimum of ten years.
(k) Rights of applicant.
(1) All site
investigations, inspections, review of plans and issuance of permits or
approvals by the local director of health shall be made without unreasonable
delay.
(2) When requested in
writing by the applicant, the local director of health shall designate in
writing within 20 working days the requirement(s) of Section
19-13-B103d
or 19-13-B103e of these regulations which prevents such investigation,
inspection, review, permit or approval.
(3) Any final decision of the local director
of health made in regard to these sections shall be made in writing and sent to
the applicant. Any decision adverse to the applicant or which limits the
application shall set forth the facts and conclusions upon which the decision
is based. Such written decision shal be deemed equivalent to an order, and may
be appealed pursuant to Section 19-103 of the General Statutes.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Connecticut may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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