[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health of the Town of Ashland 11-17-1992; amended
in its entirety 9-28-2010. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
The following regulations are promulgated by the Ashland Board
of Health in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 111,
Section 31.
If any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
of these regulations shall be judged to be invalid for any reason,
that decision shall not affect any other portion of these regulations
which shall remain in full force and effect; and to this end, the
provisions of these regulations are hereby declared severable.
A.
The applicant shall submit a letter of intent, in person or by certified
mail, to the Board of Health not less than thirty (30) days prior
to the date upon which said applicant files or intends to file an
application with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
(hereinafter "DEP") for issuance of any permits, licenses, approvals,
or permissions necessary for the design, review, installation, and/or
operation of a Small Wastewater Treatment Plant (hereinafter "SWWTP").
B.
The said Letter of Intent shall include the location of the site
of the proposed plant and development to be served, including assessor's
map reference, the maximum number of dwelling units or maximum square
footage of building space designed to be served by such plant and
the buildings to be served thereby, along with any other description
of the overall project which will aid the Board of Health in determining
the general suitability of the site, the adequacy of the SWWTP, and
the probable impact the project may have on the area of the town proximate
to the proposed plant and the Town of Ashland as a whole.
A.
Following the receipt of the Letter of Intent and at the time of
submission of an application to the DEP for the SWWTP, the applicant
shall file with the Board of Health a copy of the complete application
as filed with the DEP, including any data on the site, the proposed
plant, and the development to be served thereby.
B.
No formal action shall be taken by the Board of Health on a preliminary
application, until such time as the application has been reviewed
and finally acted upon by the DEP. For the purpose of this section,
review and final action by the DEP shall be deemed to be the issuance
by DEP of any and all permits, licenses, and approvals necessary to
construct and operate said plant. However, the Board of Health may
meet with the DEP and/or Applicant in an advisory capacity to assure
the design review and decisions by the DEP are compatible with the
needs and concerns of the Town and the Board of Health.
C.
If, during the review and permitting process by the DEP, the Applicant
is required to produce and submit any further data, studies, information,
detail, or documentation to DEP, a copy thereof shall also be submitted,
at the same time, to the Board of Health. Such further information
shall be included in the file for use by the Board of Health in its
review and consideration of the application.
A preliminary application shall be deemed to be complete and
become a final application on the date that the Board of Health receives
a certified copy of the permits, licenses, and approvals as issued
by the DEP for the construction and operation of said plant.
A.
Within forty-five (45) days of its receipt of a final application
for the construction of a SWWTP, the Board of Health shall hold a
public hearing thereon. Notice of said hearing shall be given not
less than fourteen (14) days prior to the date of such hearing, by
posting a notice thereof at Town Hall and by publishing said notice
in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town. Said notice shall
include a description sufficient to identify the proposed project
and the location of the development and the plant.
B.
The public hearing may be adjourned to a time or times certain, but
such adjournment shall not exceed a total of an additional forty-five
(45) days from the date of the commencement of the public hearing.
C.
At said hearing, the Board of Health shall describe the proposal
publicly and shall allow the Applicant to make a presentation of the
proposal. Following such presentation, the Board of Health shall take
testimony from the public; which testimony shall be considered by
the Board during its deliberation on the application.
Within forty-five (45) days following the close of the public
hearing, the Board of Health shall act on a final application. The
Board of Health may approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove
such application based on the applicants satisfying the Board of the
following items:
A.
That the system as proposed and designed will adequately serve the
development to be connected thereto.
B.
That adequate safeguards are provided to assure the safe, reliable,
and effective operation, repair, replacement, and ongoing maintenance
of the SWWTP, at no cost to the Town of Ashland, and that no liability
shall be created for the Town of Ashland.
C.
That any persons, firms, or entities which will own, operate, or
directly or indirectly benefit, financially or otherwise, from the
operation of the proposed SWWTP, are, in the opinion of the Board
of Health, adequately committed, trained, financed, and legally bound
to assure the safe, reliable, and effective operation, repair, replacement,
and ongoing maintenance of the SWWTP; and
D.
That adequate provisions are made to afford the Board of Health a
right of entry to periodically inspect the plant and that any documentation
concerning testing of the treatment process and quality of discharge
will be also provided to the Board.
E.
That in the discretion of the Board of Health, the applicant has
satisfied the Board that the public health, environment, and financial
security of the Town of Ashland and its individual taxpayers and inhabitants
will be protected and served by the operation of said SWWTP.
If construction of a SWWTP is proposed at a Priority Development Site (PDS), as defined by Section 10.0 of the Zoning By-laws, a final application therefor, as per § 307-5, shall be submitted no later than thirty (30) days following the date of submittal of any other permit application(s) required by the Code of the Town of Ashland, including the Zoning By-laws, relating to the use or development of the PDS or the buildings and/or structures located thereon, and not otherwise exempted by G.L. c. 43D. Waiver of said deadline for submittal of a final application shall be authorized where, despite an applicant's diligent efforts to obtain from the DEP any and all permits, licenses and approvals necessary to construct and operate the SWWTP, the DEP has not finally acted upon the applicant's timely request(s) for the same. Nothing herein shall relieve an applicant of its obligations to submit a letter of intent and a preliminary application to the Board pursuant to §§ 307-3 and 307-4, respectively.
