This chapter is adopted pursuant to the authorization in §§ 59.70(1),
59.70(5), 145.20, 145.245, 145.13, 145.19, Wis. Stats. and Chs. SPS
382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387 and 391, Wis. Adm. Code.
(1)Â
This chapter is adopted to promote and protect public health and
safety by assuring the proper siting, design, installation, inspection
and management of POWTS and nonplumbing sanitation systems.
(2)Â
In order to achieve these purposes, it is the intent of this chapter
to include, but not be limited to, the following methods and strategies:
(a)Â
Develop a sanitary permit program that continues to ensure public
health, safety and welfare to the residents and visitors of Oneida
County.
(b)Â
Maintain and improve the inspection and enforcement process
for new system installation.
(c)Â
Improve the maintenance and tracking program for systems previously
installed as well as new systems installed each successive year.
(d)Â
Allow municipal ownership of a private sewage system servicing
multiple structures on different parcels.
(1)Â
Oneida County has over 1,127 lakes and other water bodies within
its boundaries. It has a large amount of vacation properties that
are used on an intermittent basis.
(2)Â
The land area of Oneida County includes 791,347 acres and 68,096
acres of surface water. The soil in Oneida County is predominately
sandy or loamy, which has moderate to very rapid permeability, but
poor treatment capabilities (Soil Survey, Oneida County, Wisconsin,
February 1993).
(3)Â
Water supplies in Oneida County are predominately drawn from sand
and gravel aquifers, which are replenished from precipitation and
drainage. Water seeping from private sewage systems help fill these
same aquifers that property owners and visitors use for drinking water
supplies (Soil Survey, Oneida County, Wisconsin, February 1993).
(1)Â
Should any section, clause, provision or portion of this chapter
be adjudged unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction,
the remainder of this chapter shall not be affected thereby.
(2)Â
This chapter shall not create a liability on the part of or a cause
of action against the County or any employee thereof for any private
sewage system or nonplumbing sanitation system which may not function
as designed. There shall be no liability or warranty for any site
which is approved or denied. The issuance of a sanitary permit and
the final inspection of such a system does not warrant the system's
function, nor is there a guarantee that the system is free of defects
or that all aspects of the system comply to Wisconsin Statute or Administrative
Code requirements.
The provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements
and shall be liberally construed in favor of the County and shall
not be deemed a limitation or repeal of any other power granted by
the Wisconsin Statutes and related administrative codes.
The following terms shall have the meanings indicated in this
section.
See "structure."
A private on-site wastewater treatment system consisting
of a septic tank and an in-ground soil absorption component with gravity
distribution of effluent.
A permit issued by the Department for the reconnection of
a private on-site wastewater treatment system or for the installation
of a nonplumbing sanitation system, pursuant to §§ 59.70
and 145.04, Wis. Stats..
The Oneida County Planning and Zoning Department.
The discharge of sewage into surface water or groundwater.
The introduction of sewage into zones of saturation which adversely
affects the operation of the nonplumbing system.
The discharge of sewage to a drain tile or into zones of bedrock.
The discharge of sewage to the surface of the ground.
A watertight receptacle for the collection and holding of
wastewater.
The act of occupying a structure as a dwelling or sleeping
place, whether intermittently or as a principal residence.
The County Planning and Zoning Department shall act as the
County issuing agent and is hereby assigned the duties of administering
the POWTS program.
An on-site wastewater treatment system with a subsurface
discharge that is designed to treat wastewater from residential buildings
that contain the equivalent of more than 85 bedrooms. For those systems
with a subsurface discharge that treat wastewater from other types
of occupancies (nonresidential), a large on-site sewage system means
a system with a daily effluent application rate of greater than 8,000
gallons per day (gpd). The design wastewater flow for these systems
is 150% of the daily effluent application (12,000 gpd).
A minor repair to a private on-site wastewater treatment
system includes the replacement or repair of any of the following:
A modification in wastewater flow or contaminant load shall
be considered to occur:
In public buildings, facilities or places of employment, when
there is a proposed change in occupancy of the structure; or the proposed
modification affects either the type or number of plumbing appliances,
fixtures or devices discharging to the system; and
In dwellings, when there is an increase or decrease in the number
of bedrooms.
Sanitation systems and devices within the scope of SPS 391,
Wis. Adm. Code, which are alternatives to water-carried waste plumbing
fixtures and drain systems, including, but not limited to, incinerating
toilets, composting toilets and privies.
Occupying a building that is serviced by a POWTS for less
than 120 calendar days per year.
[Added 5-21-2019 by Res. No. 53-2019, effective 6-13-2019]
Pertains to and is the purpose for which a building is used
or intended to be used. A change of occupancy is not intended to include
a change of tenants or proprietors.
A person licensed by the state as a master plumber or master-plumber-restricted
service.
A private on-site wastewater treatment system has the same
meaning given under § 145.01(12), Wis. Stats.
A self-contained portable unit that includes fixtures, incorporating
holding tank facilities, designed to contain human excrement.
An enclosed nonportable toilet into which non-water-carried
human wastes are deposited.
A privy with a subsurface storage chamber which is not watertight.
A privy with a subsurface storage chamber that is watertight.
The construction which takes place after a structure is demolished
or damaged to the extent of 50% of its current equalized assessed
value.
A mobile home when fully expanded that contains 400 square
feet or less of living space, and which is built and used, or intended
to be used, primarily for temporary human habitation or recreational
living quarters, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning
and electrical systems contained in the recreational vehicle. A recreational
vehicle includes a motor home, park model, truck camper, travel trailer
and camping trailer.
A type of sanitary holding tank used to collect and hold
wastewater discharges generated by an individual camping trailer or
recreational vehicle.
A County sanitary permit, a state sanitary permit, or both.
An anaerobic treatment tank.
A wetland of two acres or more on the Wisconsin Wetland Inventory
Map within 1,000 feet of the ordinary high water mark of navigable
waters of a wetland less than two acres but are located in whole or
in part within 200 feet of a navigable lake or stream.
An application submitted for the purpose of requesting County
verification of a soil and site evaluation report.
The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services.
A permit issued by the Department or the Department of Safety
and Professional Services for the installation or modification of
a private sewage system, pursuant to § 145.19, Wis. Stats..
Anything for support, shelter, or enclosure of persons on
property, including but not limited to any building, dwelling, manufactured
building, manufactured home, mobile homes, house trailer, recreational
vehicle, boathouse, or deck.
