[Adopted 5-29-1997; amended in its entirety 9-28-2010]
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, 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.
No sewage or waste disposal works shall be installed, constructed,
altered, repaired within the Town of Ashland until a permit has been
obtained from the Board of Health. Said permits shall expire 2 years
after date of issue, with one two-year renewal upon expiration of
the original two-year permit.
Where such a permit is required for a Priority Development Site (PDS), as defined by Section 10.0 of the Zoning Bylaws, an application therefor shall be submitted simultaneously with any other permit application(s) required by the Code of the Town of Ashland, including the Zoning Bylaws, 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, and a decision thereon shall be rendered no later than one hundred eighty (180) days from said date of submittal. All soil testing required by § 303-7 shall be completed prior to submittal of such application.
No permit may be issued and no construction may begin until
a plan for the subsurface disposal facility, or alteration thereof,
has been submitted to and approved by the Board of Health or its agent.
The design and preparation of all new disposal facilities and all
major repairs shall be done under the direction of a registered professional
engineer or registered sanitarian and all plans shall bear his/her
stamp. The design shall be in strict accordance with the requirements
of these regulations. Four plans must be submitted in duplicate, contain
a locus, and be drawn to a scale not less than 30 feet to the inch.
The following must be on each plan:
A.
All lot lines indicating dimensions and location of street. Additionally,
distances to any off-site septic system, well, watercourse, wetlands
or structures which are within 120 feet of the system or which may
affect or be affected by the proposed system must be indicated.
B.
The location of structures proposed on the lot.
C.
All parts of the subsurface sewage disposal system including but
not limited to the septic tank, manholes, distribution box, and connecting
pipes, must be shown along with the location of the primary and reserve
leaching facility.
D.
Location of any on-site well.
E.
Location of each test pit and percolation test.
F.
Soil logs of deep test pits and water table elevation measured at
the time of the yearly high water.
G.
Profile of the subsurface sewage disposal system, showing the elevations
of the proposed basement floor, garage floor, septic tank, inverts
at both ends of all pipes, and existing and final grades in the area
of the system.
H.
A typical cross-section of the leaching area to a width of 10 feet
to each side of the actual area. This cross-section must show the
elevation of the distribution pipes, ground surface, bottom of leaching
trenches, field or pit, any ledge, impervious material and the seasonal
high water table.
I.
Any perimeter drains, previously existing groundwater interceptor
drains, swale, etc., significant to the successful functioning of
the proposed system.
J.
The bench mark. Said bench mark shall be on the lot, and within 50
feet of the leaching facility.
A.
To ensure site suitability, the Ashland Board of Health requires
no less than three deep observation holes. Additional deep hole observation
holes may be required at the discretion of the Board or its agent.
Two stabilized percolation rates are required. The nine-to-six-inch
drop is to be uniform and observed by the agent. The percolation test
is to be resoaked until a stable percolation rate is obtained. The
percolation test will be conducted for other specifications as required
by 310 CMR 15.00 Minimum Requirements for the Subsurface Disposal
of Sanitary Sewage, hereinafter to be referred to as Title 5.
B.
Each test hole utilized for groundwater observation shall have a
perforated monitor pipe placed in the test hole for groundwater observation.
The pipe shall be kept in place until appropriate groundwater determinations
have been made by the Board of Health or its agent. Mottling, as allowed
by Title 5 shall also be utilized in conjunction with seasonal groundwater
determination.
It shall be the responsibility of the installer of any subsurface
sewage system within the Town of Ashland to arrange for the inspections
by the Board of Health or its agent of:
An as-built plan shall be required showing the exact location
of an on-site sewage disposal system after each system has been installed.
The as-built plan shall be submitted on a new plot plan signed by
a registered sanitarian, civil, or sanitary engineer. There shall
be included a certification by said sanitarian or engineer that the
system, including final grading, has been constructed in accordance
with the approved plan and with the terms of the permit. This plan
shall be submitted to the Board of Health before the final inspection.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued prior to receipt of the
as-built plans. Said as-built plans shall remain on file at the Board
of Health office.
For houses with five or less bedrooms, a septic tank with a
capacity of 1,500 gallons is required. For houses with greater than
five bedrooms, a determination of septic tank capacity shall be made
by the Board of Health. Septic tanks shall be designed as required
Title 5 for the provisions of a garbage disposal.
Leaching area dimensions shall comply with the standards set
forth in Title 5 with the exception that provisions for a garbage
disposal unit shall be included in all calculations, whether or not
such a garbage disposal unit is actually installed. The Board of Health
strongly recommends that garbage disposal units not be installed for
subsurface sewage disposal systems. Additionally, the following requirements
shall be enforced:
A.
Fill material for systems constructed in fill shall consist of select
on-site or imported soil material. The fill material shall be comprised
of clean granular sand, free from organic matter and deleterious substances.
Mixtures and layers of different classes of soil shall not be used.
The fill shall not contain any material larger than two inches. A
sieve analysis, using a #4 sieve, shall be performed on a representative
sample of the fill. Up to 45% by weight of the fill sample may be
retained on the #4 sieve. Sieve analyses also shall be performed on
the fraction of the fill sample passing the #4 sieve, such analyses
must demonstrate that the material meets each of the following specifications:
B.
|
SIEVE SIZE
|
EFFECTIVE PARTICLE SIZE
|
PERCENT THAT MUST PASS SIEVE
| |
|---|---|---|---|
|
#4
|
4.75 mm
|
100%
| |
|
#50
|
0.30 mm
|
10% to 100%
| |
|
#100
|
0.15 mm
|
0% to 20%
| |
|
#200
|
0.075 mm
|
0% to 5%
|
C.
The Title 5 requirement for a plot of the sieve analyses shown on
the graph noted in Title 5 is to be provided with the sieve test results.
D.
The in place clean granular fill material is to be tested to determine
if it meets these requirements.
There shall be a minimum of 12 inches of 3/4 inch to 1 and 1/2
inch double washed stone under all leached lines. Leach pits/galleries
must be encased (sidewalls) in a minimum of 2 feet and a maximum of
4 feet of 3/4 inch to 1 and 1/2 inch double washed stone. All pits
and galleries must have a minimum of 6 inches of 3/4 inch to 1 and
1/2 inch double washed stone under the precast unit.
There shall be a minimum distance of 10 feet (wall to wall)
between trenches. The expansion area is to be designed between trenches.
Title 5 specifications shall be utilized for leaching pits.
The term "wetlands and waterbodies" shall be the same as that
in Title 5. The minimum distance between wetlands and waterbodies
and all components of the subsurface disposal system shall be 75 feet.
Subsurface (interceptor) drains are not permitted except for
repair of existing systems.
The minimum distance between swimming pools and leaching facilities
shall be:
The deep hole observation season shall be from the 15th of December
through the 30th of April of each year with extensions to be granted
by the Board of Health when the levels of groundwater permit. Monitor
pipes (PVC perforated pipe or equivalent) shall be placed into each
deep hole and monitored the 22nd through 29th during the months of
December through April to determine groundwater levels — not
adjusted.
The design requirements for full-service restaurants will be
twice what is required under Title 5. This includes the size of the
septic tanks, grease traps, and the leaching facility. Furthermore,
alternating pumps must be provided and the effluent must be discharged
to two separate disposal areas of equal size. Alarms must be provided
in accordance with Title 5.
Any business or residence that proposes an expansion or a change
of use that would increase the effluent discharge from the building
will be required to install a subsurface disposal system that complies
with the existing state and local regulations. Any change in the foundations
for a structure serviced by a subsurface disposal system shall be
reviewed by the Board or its agent prior to the issuance of a building
permit. A Title 5 location plan as required by 310 CMR 15.301(5) shall
be required if as-built plans of the septic system do not exist.
No provision of these regulations may be varied except by a
vote of the Board of Health. Such variances will be granted only when
the Board believes it to be in the interest of protecting the public
health. Neither financial hardship nor past practices are adequate
reasons for the granting of variances.
A.
New Construction. No person shall utilize a system for the subsurface
sewage disposal of sewage permitted under these regulations until
a Certificate of Compliance has been issued by the Ashland Board of
Health or its agent.
B.
Repair of system. Any use or occupancy, which was not discontinued
during the process of the repair of an existing system, shall be disconnected
within seven days after the completion of the repair unless a Certificate
of Compliance is issued by the Ashland Board of Health or its agent.
C.
Additions and alterations. Any use or occupancy of an existing structure
which was not discontinued during the process of building an addition
or making an alteration to the structure, either of which required
changes to the subsurface disposal system, shall be discontinued within
seven days after the completion of the repair unless a Certificate
of Compliance is issued by the Ashland Board of Health or its agent.
A.
General. Unless otherwise provided herein, whoever violates any of
these rules and regulations shall be punished as provided in the General
Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
All former rules and regulations are hereby repealed.
