[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health
of the Town of Williamstown 4-5-1999. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Whereas floor drains in industrial and commercial facilities are often tied to a system leading to a leaching structure (e.g. dry well, cesspool, leach field) or a septic system; and poor management practices and accidental and/or intentional discharges may lead petroleum and other toxic or hazardous materials into these drainage systems in facilities managing these products; and improper maintenance or inappropriate use of these systems may allow the passage of contaminants or pollutants entering the drain to discharge from the leaching structure or septic system to the ground; and discharges of hazardous wastes and other pollutants to floor drains leading to leaching structures and septic systems have repeatedly threatened surface and ground water quality throughout Massachusetts; and surface and ground water resources in the Town of Williamstown contribute to the town's drinking water supplies; the Town of Williamstown adopts the following regulation, under its authority as specified in § 142-2, as a preventative measure for the purposes of: preserving and protecting the Town of Williamstown's drinking water resources from discharges of pollutants to the ground via floor drains; and minimizing the threat of economic losses to the town due to such discharges.
A.Â
The Town of Williamstown Board of Health adopts the
following regulation pursuant to authorization granted by MGL c. 111,
§§ 31 and 122.
B.Â
The chapter shall apply, as specified herein, to all
applicable facilities, existing and new, within Well Protection Zone
II of the Town of Williamstown.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following
words and phrases have the following meanings:
The Williamstown Board of Health or its designated agent.
The Williamstown Board of Health.
A public or private establishment where the principal use
is the supply, sale and/or manufacture of services, products or information,
including, but not limited to: manufacturing, processing or other
industrial operations; service or retail establishments; printing
or publishing establishments; research and development facilities;
small or large quantity generators of hazardous waste; laboratories;
hospitals.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
The accidental or intentional disposal, deposit, injection,
dumping, spilling, leaking, incineration or placing of toxic or hazardous
material or waste upon or into any land or water so that such hazardous
waste or any constituent thereof may enter the land or waters of the
commonwealth. Discharge includes, without limitation, leakage of such
materials from failed or discarded containers or storage systems and
disposal of such materials into any on-site leaching structure or
sewage disposal system.
An intended drainage point on a floor constructed to be otherwise
impervious which serves as the point of entry into any subsurface
drainage, treatment, disposal, containment or other plumbing system.
Any subsurface structure through which a fluid that is introduced
will pass and enter the environment, including, but not limited to,
dry wells, leaching catch basins, cesspools, leach fields and oil/water
separators that are not watertight.
A device designed and installed so as to separate and retain
petroleum-based oil or grease, flammable wastes, as well as sand and
particles from normal wastes, while permitting normal sewage or liquid
wastes to discharge into the drainage system by gravity. Other common
names for such systems include MDC traps, gasoline and sand traps,
grit and oil separators, grease traps and interceptors.
Any substance or mixture of physical, chemical or infectious
characteristics posing a significant, actual or potential hazard to
water supplies or other hazards to human health if such substance
or mixture were discharged to land or water of the Town of Williamstown.
Toxic or hazardous materials include, without limitation, synthetic
organic chemicals, petroleum products, heavy metals, radioactive or
infectious wastes, acids and alkalis, and all substances defined as
"toxic or hazardous" under MGL c. 21C and 21E or Massachusetts Hazardous
Waste regulations (310 CMR 30.000), and also include such products
as solvents, thinners and pesticides in quantities greater than normal
household use.
The handling, generation, treatment, storage or management
of toxic or hazardous materials.
That area defined by the Roman Numeral "II" in the "Green
River Well and Stetson Road Wellfield Zone II Map," attached as Appendix
A.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the
Inspection Services Office and may be examined there during regular
business hours.
With the exception of discharges that have received
(or have applied for and will receive) a Department issued permit
prior to the effective date of this chapter, no floor drains shall
be allowed to discharge, with or without pretreatment (such as an
oil/water separator), to the ground, a leaching structure or septic
system in any industrial or commercial facility if such floor drain
is located in either:
A.Â
The owner of a facility in operation prior to the effective date of this chapter with a prohibited (as defined under § 142-4) floor drain system shall:
(1)Â
Disconnect and plug all applicable inlets to and outlets
from (where possible) applicable leaching structures, oil/water separators
and/or septic systems.
(2)Â
Remove all existing sludge in oil/water separators,
septic systems and, where accessible, leaching structures. Any sludge
determined to be a hazardous waste shall be disposed of in accordance
with state hazardous waste regulations (310 CMR 30.000). Remedial
activity involving any excavation and/or soil or groundwater sampling
must be performed in accordance with appropriate Department policies.
(3)Â
Alter the floor drain system so that the floor drain
shall be either:
(a)Â
Connected to a holding tank that meets all applicable
requirements of Department policies and regulations, with hauling
records submitted to the Williamstown Board of Health at the time
of hauling;
(b)Â
Connected to a municipal sanitary sewer line,
if available, with all applicable Department and local permits; or
(c)Â
Permanently sealed.
B.Â
Compliance with all provisions of this chapter must
be accomplished in a manner consistent with Massachusetts Plumbing,
Building and Fire Code requirements.
C.Â
Upon complying with one of the options listed under
§ 142-5(A)(3), the owner/operator of the facility shall
notify the Department of the closure of said system by filing the
Department's UIC Notification Form (which may be obtained by calling
413-784-1100 or 617-292-5770) with the Department and sending a copy
to the Williamstown Board of Health, in compliance with Department
requirements.
The effective date of this chapter is the date
posted on the front page of the chapter, which shall be identical
to the date of adoption of the chapter.[1]
A.Â
Existing facilities.
(1)Â
Owners/operators of a facility affected by this chapter
shall comply with all of its provisions within 120 days of the effective
date.
(2)Â
All applicable discharges to the leaching structures
and septic systems shall be discontinued immediately through temporary
isolation or sealing of the floor drain.
B.Â
New facilities.
(1)Â
As of the effective date of the chapter, all new construction
and/or applicable change of use within the Town of Williamstown shall
comply with the provisions of this chapter.
(2)Â
Certification of conformance with the provisions of
this chapter by the Board of Health shall be required prior to issuance
of construction and occupancy permits.
[1]
Editor's Note: See chapter history.
[Amended 10-7-2019]
Whoever, himself or by his servant or agent or as the servant or agent of any other person or firm or corporation, violates any of the provisions of this chapter is subject to a fine as stated in Chapter 146, Local Fines, of the Code of the Town of Williamstown. Each day of violation, after written notice, is a separate violation.
[Added 2-7-2011[1]]
A.Â
Any person
or persons aggrieved by any order issued under this chapter may appeal
by filing a written petition for hearing to the Board of Health, which
must be received within 10 days after the day the order was served.
B.Â
The hearing
shall be commenced not later than 14 days after the receipt of a petition.
C.Â
At the
hearing the petitioner and other affected parties shall be given an
opportunity to be heard, to present witnesses or documentary evidence,
and to show why an order should be modified or withdrawn. Failure
to hold a hearing within the time period specified herein shall not
affect the validity of any order.
D.Â
The Board
of Health shall sustain, modify, or withdraw the order and shall inform
the petitioner.
E.Â
Any person
aggrieved by the decision of the Board of Health may seek relief therefrom
in any court of competent jurisdiction, as provided by the laws of
this commonwealth.
Each provision of this chapter shall be construed
as separate to the end that if any provision or sentence, clause or
phrase thereof shall be held invalid for any reason, the remainder
of that section and all other sections shall continue in full force
and effect.
