Code of Maine Rules
10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
144 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - GENERAL
Chapter 241 - SUBSURFACE WASTEWATER DISPOSAL RULE
Section 144-241-1 - PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS

Universal Citation: 10 ME Code Rules ยง 144-241-1

Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024

A. Purpose. This rule governs the siting, design, construction and inspection requirements for subsurface wastewater disposal systems in Maine, in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of residents and visitors within the State.

B. Definitions. The definitions in this rule supplement the definitions in the applicable statutes.

1. Abutter means the owner of a property that is contiguous to or bordering another property. For purposes of this rule, "abutter" is further defined to include that a property owner whose property is separated by a right of way and/or within setback requirements between a subsurface wastewater disposal field and a potable water supply.

2. ACOE means the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

3. Adjacent wetlands means any swamps, bogs, freshwater meadows, marshes, floodplains, tidal flats, aquatic beds, beaches or reefs that may be impacted by soil disturbance activities caused by the installation, maintenance or replacement of a subsurface wastewater system. See "work adjacent to wetlands and waterbodies/courses".

4. Advanced Treatment Device/System means an advanced wastewater treatment device/system that reduces the effluent strength of discharges but may require additional treatment by other system components, to meet the standards in accordance with Section 17(E)(6) of this rule for approval by the Department. Advanced Treatment Device/System does not include proprietary devices for use in disposal fields.

5. Advanced Tertiary Treatment Device/System means an advanced wastewater treatment device/system determined to reliably and consistently discharge wastewater that is sufficiently treated to require no further treatment in either a septic tank or disposal field, in accordance with Section 17(E)(6) of this rule for approval by the Department.

6. Aerobic means a condition in which molecular oxygen is a part of the environment.

7. Aerobic Treatment Unit means a device to treat domestic wastewater utilizing electric, mechanical, or biological processes.

8. Alteration means any change in the physical configuration of an existing system or any of its component parts. This includes the replacement, modification, installation, addition, or removal of system components, or increase in size, capacity, type, or number of one or more components. The term "alter" must be construed accordingly.

9. Alternative toilet means a device intended for other than temporary use, excluding a water closet or other fixture, located inside a structure, designed to treat or store human waste only. Examples include pit privies and vault toilets.

10. Anaerobic means a condition in which molecular oxygen is absent from the environment.

11. Applicant means the person who signs and submits an application, or on whose behalf an application is signed and submitted, for permit to construct, install, or alter a subsurface wastewater system.

12. Application for disposal system permit means the subsurface wastewater disposal system permit application, also known as HHE-200 Form.

13. Backfill means soil material that is suitable for use beneath and beside the disposal field, including the fill extension.

14. Bedrock means a solid and continuous body of rock, with or without fracture, or a weathered or broken body of rock fragments overlying a solid body of rock.

15. Bedroom means any room within a dwelling unit that primarily serves as sleeping quarters.

16. Bedroom (detached) means any room in an accessory structure with no kitchen, kitchen appliances or fixtures generally found in a kitchen (like stove, microwave, hot plate, sink, etc.) and that primarily serves as sleeping quarters in accordance with Section 5 of this rule.

17. Berm means a flat strip of land, raised bank, or terrace bordering a river, canal, or subsurface wastewater system.

18. Biochemical Oxygen Demand: (also BOD or BOD5) means the relative oxygen requirement of organic matter in wastewater, determined by a standardized laboratory test. When followed by the numeral 5, a five-day incubation period for the test is indicated.

19. Black wastewater means wastewater derived from plumbing fixtures or drains that receive excreta-supplemented wastewater.

20. BOD means Biochemical Oxygen Demand, defined in Section 1(B)(18) of this rule.

21. Building drain means the part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system that receives the discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage pipes inside the walls of a building and conveys it to the building sewer. The building drain extends to a point two feet outside the building wall.

22. Building sewer means the part of the plumbing system that extends from the end of the building drain and conveys its discharge to a public sewer, septic tank and disposal field, or other point of disposal.

23. Bunkhouse means an accessory building that has no plumbing and is intended to function as temporary sleeping accommodations for guests of the property owner of a single- family dwelling.

24. Certificate of approval means a document signed by the LPI verifying that a system has been installed in compliance with the disposal system permit application and this rule or the actual permitted HHE-200 form that has been signed off by the LPI.

25. Chroma means a color notation which indicates strength or departure from a neutral of the same lightness.

26. Clay means a particle size category consisting of mineral particles that are smaller than 0.002 millimeters in equivalent spherical diameter; also means a soil texture class having more than 40% clay, less than 45% sand, and less than 40% silt.

27. Coastal sand dune means sand and gravel deposits within a marine beach system including, but not limited to the following: beach berms, frontal dunes, dune ridges, back dunes, and other sand and gravel areas deposited by wave or wind action. Coastal sand dune systems may extend into coastal wetlands.

28. Coastal shoreland zone means the area described and defined in 38 MRS §435, which include those areas within 250 feet of the normal high-water line of any saltwater body or within 250 feet of the upland edge of a coastal wetland (defined in 38 MRS §436-A(1)), except as otherwise provided in 38 MRS §438-A(2).

29. CMR means an abbreviation for Code of Maine Rules. For example, 10-144 CMR 241 (9) identifies Section 9 of Chapter 241 of the Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Rule within the Department.

30. Component means any individual part of a subsurface wastewater disposal system.

31. Construct means to build, install, fabricate, or put together on a site one or more components of a system.

32. Contour means an imaginary line of constant elevation on the ground surface. The corresponding line on a map is called a "contour line".

33. Creek means Water Course as defined in Section 1(B) of this rule.

34. Curtain drain means a trench to intercept laterally moving ground water and divert it away from a disposal field.

35. Department means the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

36. Design flow means the wastewater flow that may reasonably be expected to be discharged from a residential, commercial, or institutional facility on any day of operation as determined in Section 5.

37. Differential organic matter accumulation means a condition where organic matter accumulates in a subsoil horizon in a splotchy or blotchy appearance as compared to organic streaking.

38. Disposal area means the combination of the disposal field, shoulders and fill extensions.

39. Disposal field means an individual subsurface wastewater disposal system component, consisting of a closed excavation made within soil, or fill material to contain disposal field stone and distribution pipes, or approved proprietary devices for the disposal of septic tank effluent. The excavation is typically in the form of trenches or beds with either stone or proprietary devices included in the design.

40. Disposal field, engineered means a disposal field, or series of fields, which is a component of an engineered system.

41. Disposal field, lined means a disposal field designed with a filtration envelope or layer of backfill placed directly beneath and adjacent to the field. Typically used in profile 6 and 11 soils.

42. Disposal field, peat means a disposal field utilizing peat that is designed and installed in accordance with Section 11.

43. Disposal field, primitive means Primitive disposal field as defined in Section 1(B) of this rule.

44. Disposal field, separated laundry means Separated laundry disposal field as defined in Section 1(B) of this rule.

45. Disposal field, trench means a disposal field utilizing disposal field stone in which each run of distribution pipe is separated by either native soil or fill, and which is sized and designed in accordance with Section 5(F).

46. Disposal field stone means gravel or crushed stone which is clean and free of dust, ashes or clay, and meeting the requirements prescribed in Section 12.

47. Disposal field infiltration area means the total disposal field infiltration area available to accept the septic tank effluent. The infiltration area includes the bottom and side wall below the invert of the distribution piping.

48. Disposal field infiltration area, effective means the standard stone filled disposal field infiltration area or the equivalent various "approved" proprietary disposal devices.

49. Disposal system means Subsurface wastewater disposal system, as defined in Section 1(B) of this rule.

50. Disposal system permit means written authorization issued by the LPI to construct a specific system. This authorization is attached to the application for disposal system permit.

51. Distribution box means a device that receives septic tank effluent and distributes such effluent in equal portions to two or more disposal fields or distribution pipes within a disposal field.

52. Distribution network means two or more interconnected distribution pipes.

53. Distribution pipe means a perforated pipe or one of several perforated pipes used to carry and distribute septic tank effluent throughout the disposal field.

54. Diversion box means a device that permits alternating use of two or more disposal fields or the diversion of septic tank effluent.

55. Diversion ditch means a ditch to intercept and divert surface water runoff around and away from a subsurface wastewater disposal system.

56. Domestic wastewater means any wastewater produced by ordinary household or living uses, including liquid waste containing animal or vegetable matter in suspension or solution, or the water-carried waste from the discharge of water closets, laundry tubs, washing machines, sinks, dishwashers, or other source of water-carried wastes of human origin. See domestic wastewater and wastewater.

57. Dosing tank means watertight receptacle located between the septic tank and disposal field equipped with a pump or siphon, used to store and deliver doses of septic tank effluent to the disposal field.

58. Drainage area means an area from which the surface runoff is carried away by a single watercourse.

59. Drainage ditch means a natural or manmade ditch receiving and diverting surface runoff or subsurface water that does not meet the definition of a waterbody/course. This definition does not include diversion of a naturally occurring water body.

60. Drop box means a wastewater distribution device where the elevation of the incoming distribution line is higher than that of the outgoing distribution line.

61. Drop manhole means a manhole installed in a sewer where the elevation of the incoming sewer is considerably above that of the outgoing sewer.

62. Dwelling unit means any structure or portion of a structure, permanent or temporary in nature, used or proposed to be used as a residence seasonally or throughout the year.

63. Effluent line (gravity) means the pipe(s) used to convey septic tank effluent from the tank to the disposal field(s), including non-perforated pipes going from a distribution box or other flow-splitting device to a disposal field or multiple disposal fields.

64. Elevation reference point means an easily-identifiable point or object of constant elevation for establishing the relative elevation of observation holes and elevation of the components of the system.

65. Engineer means Professional Engineer as defined in Section 1(B) of this rule.

66. Engineered system means System, Engineered as defined in Section 1(B) of this rule.

67. Equivalent spherical diameter means the diameter of a sphere that has a volume equal to the volume of the particle.

68. Expansion means the enlargement or change in use of a structure using an existing subsurface wastewater disposal system that brings the total structure into a classification that requires larger subsurface wastewater disposal system components pursuant to this rule.

69. Experimental system means System, Experimental, as defined in Section 1(B) of this rule.

70. Factor, limiting means Horizon, limiting, as defined in Section 1(B) of this rule.

71. Failure or Failing System means System Malfunctioning as defined in Section 1(B) of this rule.

72. Fill extension means the filled area beyond the edge of the disposal area shoulder.

73. Fill material means any soil, rock, or other material placed within an excavation or over the surface of the ground.

74. Finish grade means the surface of the ground after completion of final grading.

75. Flood plain, coastal and estuary means the land area within the V-Zone indicated by the Federal Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) or below the 10-year storm surge elevation, whichever is more restrictive. The 10-year storm surge elevation in Maine is approximately the 8-foot National Geodetic Vertical Datum. For additional information see https://msc.fema.gov/portal/home.

76. Flood plain, riverine means the land area within the 10-year flood zone indicated by Federal Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) or other sources acceptable to the Department in the absence of Federal Insurance Rate Maps. For additional information see https://msc.fema.gov/portal/home.

77. Gpd means gallons per day.

78. Gravel means a rounded or semi-rounded rock fragment that is between 2 millimeters and 3 inches in diameter.

79. Grey wastewater means that portion of the wastewater generated within a residential, commercial, or institutional facility that does not include discharges from water closets and urinals.

80. Greywater means Grey Wastewater as defined in Section 1(B) of this rule.

81. Grease interceptor means a device in which the grease in wastewater leaving a structure is intercepted, congealed by cooling, accumulated, and stored for pump-out and disposal.

82. Grease trap means a device designed to retain grease from a single plumbing fixture.

83. Great pond means any inland body of water that, in a natural state, has a surface area in excess of 10 acres and any inland body of water artificially formed or increased that has a surface area in excess of 30 acres.

84. Ground water means water below the land surface in a zone of soil saturation.

85. Ground water aquifer means a rock or gravel formation that contains significant recoverable quantities of water that is likely to provide drinking water supplies.

86. Ground water table means the upper surface of a zone of saturation.

87. H-10 wheel load means a wheel loading configuration, as defined by the American Association of State Highway Officials for a standardized 16,000 pound per-axle vehicle.

88. H-20 wheel load means a wheel loading configuration, as defined by the American Association of State Highway Officials for a standardized 32,000 pound-per-axle vehicle truck.

89. Hazardous waste means any chemical substance or material, whether gas, solid, or liquid, that is designated as hazardous by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the United States Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. (See 40 CFR Part 261).

90. HHE-200 means Subsurface Wastewater Disposal System Application. The form used by licensed site evaluators for designing septic systems, as prescribed by the Department.

91. HHE-204 means Variance Request. The form attached to an HHE-200 Form for all systems requiring a variance.

92. HHE-220: means Application for Engineered Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Systems for all engineered subsurface wastewater disposal systems.

93. HHE-233 means Holding Tank Application. The application/agreement form for holding tanks which is required for all holding tank requests.

94. HHE-234 means Notice of Intent to Install a Subsurface Wastewater Disposal System. This form is used to record a system design with the County Registry of Deeds.

95. HHE-236 means Application for Variance to the Minimum Lot Size Law Requirements. This form is to be filed with all pertinent data for requests for waivers to the Minimum Lot Size Law.

96. HHE-238A means Statement of Compliance. A form to be used by a homeowner or homeowner's agent to obtain a written statement from the disposal system installer, regarding installation compliance.

97. HHE-300 means Holding Tank Deed Covenant. A form to be filed at the County Registry of Deeds when a residential structure is to be served by a holding tank.

98. HHE-304 means Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Variance Deed Covenant. A form which may be required for any property which obtains additional points for lot size prior to the final approval of a First-Time System Variance. The form would require filing at the County Registry of Deeds.

99. Holding tank means a closed, watertight structure designed and used to receive and store wastewater or septic tank effluent. A holding tank does not discharge wastewater or septic tank effluent to surface or groundwater or onto the surface of the ground. Holding tanks are designed and constructed to facilitate ultimate disposal of wastewater at another site.

100. Horizon, limiting means any soil horizon or combination of soil horizons, within the soil profile or any parent material below the soil profile, that limits the ability of the soil to provide treatment or disposal of septic tank effluent. Limiting horizons include bedrock, hydraulically restrictive soil horizons and parent material, excessively coarse soil horizons and parent material, and the seasonal groundwater table.

101. Horizon, soil means a layer within a soil profile differing from the soil above or below it in one or more soil morphological characteristics. The characteristics of the layer include the color, texture, rock-fragment content, and consistence of each parent soil material.

* Horizon, A: a surface soil mineral horizon characterized by a highly humified organic matter content intimately mixed with the mineral fraction. The A Horizon may have properties resulting from cultivation, pasturing or similar kinds of disturbance.

* Horizon, B: the horizon usually below the A or E Horizon that is generally a horizon of maximum accumulation (illuviation) of iron, aluminum, or organic matter. A dark reddish brown to a yellowish-brown color may be evident in the more developed horizons.

[RIGHT ARROW] Subordinate Distinction "h" (Bh): alluvial accumulations of organic matter. This symbol is used with "B" to indicate the accumulation of dispersible organic matter - and to a lesser extent, sesquioxide complexes (iron and aluminum compounds).

[RIGHT ARROW] Subordinate Distinction 's" (Bs): illuvial accumulation of iron, aluminum and organic matter. This symbol is used with "B" and may also be combined with "h" as "Bhs".

* Horizon, C: soil horizons that have been very little affected by the soil forming process. Most are mineral, but C horizons can also be found in organic soils. They can be either like or unlike the soil material above them.

* Horizon, E:a layer of maximum leaching (eluviation) of iron, aluminum, and organic matter. The E horizon is usually lighter in color than the overlying or underlying horizons. An E Horizon is commonly near the surface below an A Horizon and above a B Horizon.

* Horizon, O: a Layer usually found on top of the mineral soil material comprised entirely or mostly of organic matter in various stages of decomposition. O horizons may contain small percentages of mineral matter, generally comprising less than half of its weight.

102. Horizontal reference point means any stationary, easily identifiable point to which horizontal dimensions can be related.

103. Hue means a soil color notation which indicates its relation to red, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

104. Hydrology means the science dealing with the properties, distribution, and circulation of water.

105. In-law apartment means a small one-bedroom dwelling unit with a kitchen, which is attached to or carved out of a single-family dwelling unit and intended for occupancy..

106. Install means to assemble, put in place, or connect components of a system in a manner that permits their use by the occupants of the structure served.

107. Invert means the floor, bottom, or lowest portion of the internal cross section of a closed conduit, used with reference to pipes or fittings conveying wastewater or septic tank effluent.

109. Limited operation hunting camp means a structure or group of structures established to lodge sportspersons for the specific purpose of hunting or fishing for a period not to exceed four consecutive weeks.

110. Local plumbing inspector means also L.P.I. or LPI. An inspector appointed by the municipality and certified by the State with the responsibilities delineated by 30-A MRS § 4221, 4451, and this rule.

111. LUPC means the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Land Use Planning Commission.

112. Marginal or Failing Site See Section 14(I).

113. Mottling means a color pattern observed in soil consisting of blotches or spots of contrasting color. The term "mottle" refers to an individual blotch or spot and describes a redoximorphic feature.

114. Multi-family dwelling unit means a structure or realty improvement intended for two or more attached dwelling units.

115. No practical alternative means that due to site conditions, lot configuration, or other constraints, the replacement, repair or alteration of an existing system, in full compliance with this rule, is not achievable without the employment of extraordinary measures or cost.

116. NOAA means The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

117. Normal high-water line - coastal, estuary, and tidal means the shoreline at the spring tide elevation, during the maximum spring tide level as identified in tide tables published by NOAA, or as designated by municipalities within shoreland zones or by equivalent UPC districts, whichever is more stringent. NOTE: Adjacent to tidal waters, setbacks are measured from the upland edge of the "coastal wetland."

118. Normal high-water line - non-tidal waters means the line which is apparent from visible markings, changes in the character of soils due to prolonged action of the water or changes in vegetation, and which distinguishes between predominantly aquatic and predominantly terrestrial land. Areas contiguous with rivers and great ponds that support non-forested wetland vegetation and hydric soils and that are at the same or lower elevation as the water level of the river or great pond during the period of normal high-water are considered part of the river or great pond.

119. NRPA means the Natural Resource Protection Act, 38 MRS Chapter 3, Subchapter 1, Article 5-A, (§§480-Aet seq.).

120. Nuisance means any source of filth, odor, or probable cause of sickness.

121. Observation hole means a test pit, test boring, or probe made into the ground to observe and classify soil conditions.

122. Original ground slope (in percentage) means the ground slope measured by the difference in elevation between the original ground at the proposed disposal field and the original ground at a protected resource (wetland or waterbody/ course) or other site feature, divided by the horizontal distance between the disposal field and protected resource or other site feature.

123. Original ground surface means the pre-existing level of the ground surface in an area of disturbed ground.

124. Other components means the devices, other than pipe, that receive wastewater, including lift stations, distribution boxes, sealed vault privies, underdrain pre-filters, grease interceptors, and drop boxes.

125. Oxidized rhizospheres means the yellowish-red zones around roots and rhizomes of some plants that grow in frequently saturated soils.

126. Parallel Distribution means a method of distributing wastewater from a treatment tank equally between multiple rows of distribution piping or media at the same time.

127. Perennial Stream means a major water course depicted as blue lines on the most recent 7.5-minute USGS topographic map or, if not available, the most recent 15-minute USGS topographic map.

128. Person means an individual or his heirs, executor, administrator, assign, or agents; a firm, corporation, association, organization, municipal or quasi-municipal corporation, or government agency. Singular includes plural and male includes female.

129. Pit privy means an alternative toilet, consisting of a permanent structure placed over an excavation where human waste is deposited.

130. Potable water means water that is free from pollution, contamination, harmful minerals, or ineffective agents and is satisfactory for human consumption.

131. Primitive disposal field means a minimal disposal field designed specifically to treat grey wastewater, originating from a non-pressurized water supply.

132. Primitive system see definition of System, primitive in Section 1(B) of this rule.

133. Principal dwelling or year-round residence means a residence that is used as principal or year round residence as determined by consideration of factors including but is not limited to, (1) the listing of that residence as an occupant's legal residence for the purpose of either voting, filing a state tax return, or automobile registration; or (2) occupancy of that dwelling for a period exceeding 7 months in any calendar year. (30-A MRS §4201).

134. Private water supply, non-potable means a drilled well, dug well, well point, spring, or any interconnected combination thereof, used to supply water for any purposes other than human drinking, cooking, bathing, or laundering, to a residential or commercial structure.

135. Private water supply, potable means a drilled well, dug well, well point, spring, or any interconnected combination thereof, designated by its owner to supply water for human drinking, cooking, bathing, or laundering to a residential or commercial structure, that does not meet the definition of a public water system.

136. Probe means a penetration into the ground usually to only determine depth to refusal or bedrock. Typical methods include the use of a steel rod or bar.

137. Professional Engineer means a person licensed to practice Professional Engineering in Maine, pursuant to 32 MRS, Chapter 19.

138. Proprietary disposal device means a device utilized in disposal fields as an alternative to a disposal field with a bedding of stone and one or more distribution pipes.

139. Public sewer means a municipal or quasi-municipal sewerage system.

140. Public sewer connection means the plumbing hookup from a building for the purpose of disposing waste to a municipal, quasi-municipal, or town's waste sanitary system. See Section 8 of this rule.

141. Pump Tank means a watertight vessel receiving either untreated or treated domestic wastewater for transport to a disposal area by mechanical means.

142. Realty improvement means any new residential, commercial, or industrial structure, or other premises, including but not limited to condominiums, garden apartments, town houses, mobile homes, stores, office buildings, restaurants, and hotels, not served by an approved public sewer, the useful occupancy of which will require the installation or construction of systems. Each dwelling unit in a proposed multiple-family dwelling unit, or each commercial unit in a commercial structure, must be construed to be a separate realty improvement.

143. Recreation/Sporting Camp means a structure or group of structures licensed by the Department's Health Inspection Program and established to feed and lodge sportspersons for the specific purpose of hunting, fishing, or other wilderness recreational activities. These camps have the potential to operate year-round with a variety of use patterns.

144. Redoximorphic features means a soil color patterns caused by alternating saturated and unsaturated soil conditions, also known as drainage mottles. When saturation occurs while soil temperatures are above biological zero (41°F), iron and manganese will become reduced and exhibit subdued shades such as greys, greens, or blues. When unsaturated conditions occur, oxygen combines with iron and manganese to develop brighter soil colors such as yellow and reddish brown. Soils that experience seasonally fluctuating water tables usually exhibit alternating streaks, spots, or blotches of bright oxidized colors with reduced dull, or subdued, colors. The longer a soil is saturated and in an anaerobic condition, the greater is the percentage of color that will be subdued. Soils that are never or rarely exposed to free oxygen are considered totally reduced or gleyed.

145. Repair means fixing, mending, or replacing pumps, siphons, or accessory equipment, for the clearance of a stoppage, or to seal a leak in the septic tank, holding tank, pump tank, or building sewer.

146. Replacement system means System, replacement in Section 1(B) of this rule.

147. Residence means Dwelling unit and Realty improvement as defined in Section 1(B) of this rule.

148. River means a wide natural free-flowing stream of water that flows into an ocean or other large body of water. Also, see definition for Normal high-water line " riverine, stream, lake and pond.

149. Rock fragments mean unattached and unsorted pieces of rock contained within the soil that are at least 2 millimeters in equivalent spherical diameter.

150. Sand means a particle-size category consisting of mineral particles that are between 0.05 and 2 millimeters in equivalent spherical diameter. Sand is also described as a soil textural class having 85 percent or more sand, along with a maximum of 15 percent silt and clay. The percentage of silt may not be more than 15 times the percentage of clay.

151. Saturated means a condition in which all easily drained voids between the soil particles are temporarily or permanently filled with water.

152. Scum means a mass of wastewater solids floating on the surface of the wastewater and buoyed up by entrained gas, grease, or other substances. The term 'scum layer" must be construed accordingly.

153. Seasonal conversion permit means a written authorization issued by the LPI to allow the conversion of a seasonal dwelling unit located in a shoreland area of major waterbodies/courses to year-round use.

154. Seasonal dwelling unit means a dwelling which existed on December 31, 1981, and which was not used as a principal or year-round residence during the period from 1977 to 1981.

155. Seasonal groundwater table means the upper limit of seasonal groundwater. This zone may be determined by identification of redoximorphic features (soil drainage mottling), or by monitoring.

156. Separate laundry disposal field means a separate disposal field sized to handle the laundry wastewater from single-family dwelling units.

157. Septage means all sludge, scum, liquid, or any other material removed from a septic tank or disposal field.

158. Septic tank means a watertight receptacle that receives the discharge of untreated wastewater. It is designed and installed so as to permit settling of settle-able solids from the liquid, retention of the scum, partial digestion of the organic matter, and discharge of the liquid portion into a disposal field.

159. Septic tank effluent means primary treated wastewater discharged through the outlet of a septic tank and/or an approved sand, peat, or similar filter.

160. Septic tank filter means a device designed to keep solids and grease in a septic tank.

161. Serial distribution means a method of distributing septic tank effluent between or within a series of disposal fields, so that each successive disposal field receives septic tank effluent only after the preceding disposal fields have become full to the bottom of the invert.

162. Setback distance means the shortest horizontal distance between a component of a system and certain site features or structures.

163. Shoreland zone/area of major waterbodies/courses means all land area within 250 feet horizontal distance of the normal high-water line or upland edge of any great pond, river, salt water body, coastal wetland, non-forested wetlands greater than 10 acres or within 75 feet horizontal distance of the normal high-water line of a stream, or designated as Municipal Shoreland Zoning or an equivalent LUPC district.

164. Short Term Rental means any building, cottage, cabin or other habitable structure that is rented for lodging purposes for a period of time that does not exceed 30 continuous days.

165. Shoulder means the filled area beyond the edge of the disposal field., sometimes also referred to as a berm.

166. Significant wildlife habitat means seabird nesting islands, significant vernal pool habitat, high and moderate value waterfowl and wading bird habitat, including nesting and feeding areas, and shorebird nesting feeding and staging areas.

167. Silt means particle size category consisting of mineral particles that are between 0.002 and 0.05 millimeters in equivalent spherical diameter. It also means a soil textural class having 80 percent or more of silt and 12 percent or less of clay.

168. Single-family dwelling unit means a structure or realty improvement intended for single-family use, including an attached or incorporated in-law apartment.

169. Site evaluation means the practice of investigating, evaluating, and reporting the basic soil and site conditions which apply to wastewater treatment and disposal along with a system design in compliance with this rule.

170. Sludge means thick, soft and wet mud or similar viscous mixture of wastewater liquids and solids that settle to the bottom of a septic tank. These solids are relatively resistant to biological decomposition and collect in the septic tank over a period of time. The term 'sludge layer" must be construed accordingly.

171. Soil means the outermost surface layer of the earth. It is made up of individual soil bodies, each with its own individual characteristics. In places, soil has been modified or even made by people. It contains living matter and is capable of supporting plants out-of-doors.

172. Soil color means the soil color and Munsell color designation determined by comparison of the moist soil with color chips contained in a Munsell soil color book.

173. Soil consistence means the resistance, in place, of a soil horizon to penetration by a soil probe.

174. Soil horizon means Horizon, soil as defined in Section 1(B) of this rule.

175. Soil profile means a vertical cross section of the undisturbed soil showing the characteristic soil horizontal layers or soil horizons that have formed as a result of the combined effects of parent material, topography, climate, biological activity, and time.

176. Soil saturation means the state in which all the pores in the soil are filled with water. Water will flow from saturated soils into an observation hole.

177. Soil texture means the relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay.

178. Stone means a rock fragment that is rounded or semi-rounded in shape and greater than 10 inches in diameter.

179. Stormwater buffer zone means a vegetated, non-lawn area or areas located down gradient from a project that serves to store and remove pollutants from stormwater runoff flowing from a project, as defined in Appendix F, Stormwater Management Rules, 06-096 CMR 500).

180. Stormwater treatment structures means structures that provide some form of stormwater quality treatment through physical, chemical, or biological treatment processes. These structures include stormwater infiltration systems or basins, detention basins, wet ponds, retention ponds, soil filters, under-drained swales, under-drained outlets, and similar structures.

181. Stream means a major water course from the outlet of a great pond or the confluence of two perennial streams depicted as blue lines on the most recent edition of a United States Geological Survey 7.5 minute topographical map or, if not available, a 15-minute topographic map, to the point where the stream becomes a river or enters another water body or wetland (consistent with the DEP Shoreland Zoning definition).

182. Structure means anything constructed or erected with a fixed location on or in the ground or attached to something having a fixed location on or in the ground, including, but not limited to, buildings and mobile homes. A structure is anything built for support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, goods or property of any kind, exclusive of fences and poles, wiring and other aerial equipment normally associated with service drops. The term includes structures temporarily or permanently located.

183. Subsurface wastewater disposal system or system means any system designed to dispose of waste or wastewater on or beneath the surface of the earth; including, but not limited to, the following: septic tanks; disposal fields; legally existing, nonconforming cesspools; holding tanks; pretreatment filter, piping, or any other fixture, mechanism, or apparatus used for those purposes; does not include any discharge system licensed under 38 MRS §414, any surface wastewater disposal system, or any municipal or quasi-municipal sewer or wastewater treatment system.

184. Sustained slope means an original ground slope that is maintained for 90 percent of the measured area.

185. System cleaner means any solid or liquid material intended or used primarily for the purpose of cleaning, treating, degreasing, unclogging, disinfecting, or deodorizing any part of a system. System cleaners do not include those liquid or solid products intended or used primarily for manual cleaning, scouring, treating, deodorizing, or disinfecting the surfaces of common plumbing fixtures.

186. System, engineered means any subsurface wastewater disposal system designed, installed, and operated as a single unit to treat and dispose of 2,000 gallons of wastewater per day or more; or any system designed to dispose of wastewater with a combined BOD5 and total suspended solids concentration greater than 1,400 mg/L.

187. System, experimental means any subsurface wastewater disposal system, including components thereof, designed upon unproven concepts; processes otherwise untried in Maine; or field applications of processes developed under controlled research conditions.

188. System, first time means the first system designed to serve a specific structure; a new system.

189. System, legally existing means a subsurface wastewater disposal system that was either installed prior to July 1, 1974 or was permitted on or after July 1, 1974, in accordance with a design permitted by the LPI.

190. System, limited means a system that consists of a grey wastewater disposal field to handle water supplied from elevated storage tanks or cisterns of no more than 1,000 gallons capacity, and portable pumps, among other non-conventional pressurized water supplies, and an alternative toilet.

191. System, malfunctioning means a system that is not operating or is not functioning properly, based on the following indicators: ponding or outbreak of wastewater or septic tank effluent onto the surface of the ground; seepage of wastewater or septic tank effluent into parts of buildings below ground; back-up of wastewater into the building being served that is not caused by a physical blockage of the internal plumbing; and contamination of nearby water wells and waterbodies/courses.

192. System, multi-user means a disposal system designed to serve three or more parcels with structures under individual and separate ownership, when the disposal systems are not under common ownership.

193. System, non-conforming means a system that does not conform to the location, design, construction, or installation requirements in this rule.

194. System, non-engineered complete means any system designed, installed, and operated as a single unit to treat and dispose of less than 2,000 gallons of wastewater per day; or any system designed to dispose of wastewater with a combined BOD5 and total suspended solids concentration less than 1,400 mg/L, including one disposal field and one septic tank.

195. System, primitive means any disposal system consisting of a grey-water disposal field designed to only handle hand-carried or hand-pumped water with an alternative toilet.

196. System, replacement means a system designed to replace an existing system, an overboard discharge, a malfunctioning system, or any legally existing, nonconforming subsurface wastewater disposal system, without any increase in design flow, except as allowed in Section 10.

197. Test boring means the drilling of a narrow observation hole into the ground such that soil strata or horizons can only be observed and measured by the extraction of soil samples. Typical methods include the use of a hand-auger or bucket auger.

198. Temporary portable toilet: means a prefabricated toilet designed for temporary use, typically at social functions, work sites, and outdoor gatherings.

199. Test pit means an observation hole dug into the ground such that soil strata or horizons at the sides of the hole are easily observed and measured in place. Typical methods include the use of a hand shovel or backhoe.

200. Tidal Waters means a water body other than a watercourse, inland lake, or pond, which is affected by the rise and fall of water levels caused by the combined effects of the rotation of the earth and the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun.

201. Tributary Stream means a minor water course, including brooks and creeks.

202. Total Suspended Solids (also, TSS) means a dry-weight measurement of particulates suspended in a sample of water or wastewater.

203. TSS means Total Suspended Solids in Section 1(B) of this rule.

204. Unit means Dwelling unit in Section 1(B) of this rule.

205. Unorganized area: or Unorganized Territory means an area subject to the jurisdiction of the Maine Land Use Planning Commission under 12 MRS, Chapter 106-A.

206. U.S.G.S. means United States Geological Survey.

207. Value means the relative lightness or intensity of a color; one of the three variables of soil color defined within the Munsell system of classification.

208. Variance means written authorization that permits some act or condition not otherwise permitted by this rule.

209. Vault privy means an alternative toilet that retains human waste in a sealed vault.

210. Vernal pool means a natural, temporary-to-semi-permanent body of water, also known as a seasonal forest pool, occurring in a shallow depression that typically fills during the spring or fall and may dry during the summer. Vernal pools have no permanent inlet and no viable populations or predatory fish and may provide the primary breeding habitat for wood frogs, spotted salamanders, blue-spotted salamanders, and fairy shrimp, as well as valuable habitat for other plants and wildlife, including rare, threatened, and endangered species.

211. Vernal pool, significant means vernal pools that are not man-made where their significance is determined by the number and type of pool-breeding amphibian egg masses in a pool, or the presence of fairy shrimp, or use by threatened or endangered species, as specified in Section 9(B) of the Significant Wildlife Habitat Rules (06-096 CMR ch 335).

212. Wastewater means any domestic wastewater, or other wastewater from commercial, industrial, or residential sources which has constituents similar to that of domestic wastewater. This term specifically excludes hazardous or toxic wastes and materials or wastewater from agricultural operations. See also, definition of domestic wastewater.

213. Wastewater discharge license means wastewater discharge license issued by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection under 38 MRS §414.

214. Wastewater ejector means a device to elevate and/or pump untreated wastewater to a public sewer, septic tank, or other means of disposal.

215. Water body means a natural or artificial ground surface depression with standing or flowing water in excess of 250 square feet.

216. Water course means a natural ground surface channel created by action of surface water and characterized by the lack of upland vegetation or the presence of aquatic vegetation and by the presence of a bed devoid of top soil, containing waterborne deposits or exposed soil, parent material or bedrock. A water course usually discharges into a larger water body and has a defined channel, a bed, banks and a high-water mark and includes, but is not limited to, rivers, streams, tributary streams, perennial streams, brooks and creeks.

217. Water body/course, major means any great pond, outlet of a great pond or other water course depicted in blue on a United States Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5-minute map or a 15-minute map, if a 7.5-minute map is not compiled. Refer to the following website: https://www.maine.gov/mhpc/programs/project-review/topographic-quad-maps

The term Major Water Body/Course includes, but is not limited to, the following:

a. Tidal waters;

b. Coastal wetlands;

c. Great ponds;

d. Rivers;

e. Streams and outlets of great ponds; perennial streams; and

g. Non " Forested wetlands of 10 acres in size or more. The wetland can be smaller than 10 acres, if it is adjacent to a pond (any pond, not just great ponds), such that the total area of the pond and wetland are equal to or greater than 10 acres in size.

218. Water body/course, minor means any flowing, impounded, or subsurface water body or water course that is not depicted on a USGS map. Minor water body/courses do not include man-made ditches, except where a ditch is dug or a conduit (culvert or bridge) is installed as a diversion to a natural water course. This term includes, but is not limited to, the following:
a. Water bodies less than 10 acres in size, including adjacent non-forested wetlands;

b. A water course from the point where it first becomes a water course to the point where the water course becomes a major water body/course; and

c. Wetlands containing or consisting of 20,000 square feet or greater, but less than 10 acres of open water, aquatic, emergent marsh vegetation or peatlands dominated by shrubs, sedges and sphagnum moss.

219. Well, public water system means a well supplying water to a public water system regulated by the Department's Maine CDC Drinking Water Program. A public water system furnishes water to at least 25 individuals at least 60 days a year, or has at least 15 service connections, or bottles water for sale, in accordance with 10-144 CMR ch 231.

220. Wetland, coastal means all tidal and sub-tidal lands; all areas with vegetation present that is tolerant of salt water and occurs primarily in a salt water or estuarine habitat; and any swamp, marsh, bog, beach, flat or contiguous lowland that is subject to tidal action during the highest tide level for the year in which the activity is proposed as identified in tide tables published by the National Ocean Service. Coastal wetlands may include portions of coastal sand dunes.

221. Wetland, forested means a freshwater wetland dominated by woody vegetation that is six meters tall or taller.

222. Wetland, floodplain means lands adjacent to a river, stream or brook that are inundated with floodwater during a 100-year flood event and that, under normal circumstances, support a prevalence of wetland vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soils.

223. Wetland, freshwater means freshwater swamps, marshes, bogs, or similar areas that have a predominance of hydric soils and that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and for a duration sufficient to support, and which under normal circumstances, do support, a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soils. A freshwater wetland may contain inclusions of land that do not conform to the requirements of this definition.

224. Wetland, Special Significance: Wetland of Special Significance (Permit by Rule Standards) means all coastal wetlands and Great Ponds and freshwater wetlands, where the wetland is:
a. Within Municipal Shoreland Zoning or equivalent LUPC zone or district;

b. Containing at least 20,000 square feet (in total) of the following: aquatic vegetation, emergent marsh vegetation, or open water, unless the wetlands are the result of constructed ponds less than 10 acres in size which are not fed or drained by flowing waters;

c. Inundated with floodwater during a 100-year flood event;

d. Containing peatlands that are dominated by shrubs, sedges and sphagnum moss; and/or

e. Within 25 feet of a stream channel.

225. Work commenced means work that has started when any construction directly associated with the system's or system component's installation has begun.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Maine 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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