Current through Register No. 13, March 27, 2025
(a) Subject to (h), below, anyone filing an
application for approval of an ISDS who wishes to obtain a waiver of one or
more specific requirements established in this chapter shall request the waiver
as set forth in this section.
(b) A
request for a waiver, including a request for an encroachment waiver as defined
by
RSA 485-A:2,
III-a, shall be submitted to the department
with the application or as soon thereafter as the need for the waiver becomes
known.
(c) Each request for a
waiver shall include the following information on a waiver request form
obtained from the department:
(1) Information
to identify the applicant, the applicant's agent, if any, the ISDS owner if
other than the applicant, and the property owner, if other than the applicant,
as specified in Env-Wq 1003.12(a);
(2) The location at which the ISDS to which
the waiver request is proposed to be installed, as specified in Env-Wq
1003.12(d);
(3) The total number of
waiver requests being submitted with the application; and
(4) For each waiver:
a. The part and section number and the
specific language of the rule for which a waiver is being sought;
b. A full explanation of why a waiver is
being sought, including a description of the operational and economic
consequences of complying with the established requirement;
c. If the waiver is needed to allow an
existing legal use to continue, documentation that the use is legal, for
example the approval number of the prior state approval for the ISDS;
d. A full explanation of the alternatives for
which a waiver is sought, if any, with backup calculations and data for
support; and
e. A full explanation
of how the grant of the waiver is consistent with the criteria specified in
(f), below.
(d) The applicant, the applicant's agent, the
ISDS owner, and the property owner, if other than the applicant or ISDS owner,
shall sign and date each waiver request, provided that if the request is filed
electronically, the applicant's agent shall file a pdf of the certification
required by (e), below, that has been signed by the applicant, the ISDS owner,
and the property owner.
(e) Each
signature provided pursuant to (d), above, shall constitute certification by
the signer that:
(1) The information
contained in or otherwise submitted with the waiver request is true, complete,
and not misleading to the best of the signer's knowledge and belief;
and
(2) The signer understands
that:
a. The submission of false, incomplete,
or misleading information constitutes grounds for the department to:
1. Deny the waiver request and the
application to which it relates;
2.
Revoke any waiver or approval that is granted based on the
information;
3. If the signer is a
permitted designer, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the designer's permit;
and
4. If the signer is a
professional engineer, refer the matter to the joint board of licensure and
certification established by
RSA
310-A:1; and
b. The signer is subject to the penalties
specified in New Hampshire law for falsification in official matters, currently
RSA 641.
(f)
The department shall grant a waiver only if it determines that:
(1) Granting a waiver will be consistent with
the intent of RSA 485-A and these rules;
(2) If the requested waiver is to an on-site
well, the reduced distance is consistent with reductions allowed by rules
adopted by the Water Well Board;
(3) The requested waiver is not to surface
water, very poorly drained soils, or an off-lot well installed prior to July 1,
1989, unless the waiver is needed to allow an existing legal use to continue;
and
(4) A waiver is necessary to:
a. Allow an existing legal use to
continue;
b. Accommodate an
expansion of an existing use, subject to (j), below;
c. Allow an undeveloped lot of record to be
used for a 2-bedroom residence; or
d. Approve plans to replace an ISDS in
failure.
(g)
Each waiver granted shall:
(1) Be part of the
written approval of the application;
(2) Include such conditions as are necessary
to ensure the criteria in (f), above, are met;
(3) Expire with the approval; and
(4) Be transferable with the
approval.
(h) If a
waiver is denied and the denial causes the application to not be approvable,
the denial of the waiver shall be in writing as part of the denial of the
application.
(i) As specified in
RSA
485-A:41, IV, no waiver of
rules relating to site loading or set-back distances to groundwater or surface
waters, sometimes also called separation distances, shall be allowed for an
ISDS on a lot created after September 1, 1989.
(j) No waivers to requirements in these rules
for tank size, bed size, or EDA setbacks to very poorly drained soils, surface
waters, or off-lot wells installed prior to July 1, 1989 shall be allowed to
accommodate any expansion of an existing use or conversion to full-time
occupancy.
(k) If the full extent
of a set-back cannot be met due to lot size or other limitations and a waiver
is obtained pursuant to this section, the set-back reduced by the waiver shall
be as close to the specified distance as possible.
