As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Health Officer of Harford County or the Health Officer's
designee.
[Amended by Bill No. 14-10]
Definitions are incorporated herein by reference.
All persons, firms or corporations who construct
dwellings, stores, offices, factories or any other buildings which
will have human occupancy or any additions to existing buildings shall,
in the absence of a public sanitary sewer, be required to install
or to have installed a private waste disposal system or add to the
existing system in accordance with the following specifications, as
stated herein, prior to issuance of a use and occupancy permit.
On and after the effective date of this chapter,
any person planning to install a private waste disposal system or
make additions to or alterations to an existing system shall obtain
a sanitary construction permit before starting work on such system
from the approving authority. The sanitary construction permit shall
be issued to the licensed septic installer responsible for the work
on the disposal system.
[Amended by Bill No. 14-10]
To obtain such a permit, the licensed septic installer or licensed
plumber must make an application for an on-site sewage disposal permit.
At the request of the approving authority, a site plan must be provided
showing the location of all structures, percolation test locations,
wells on the site and within 100 feet of the property line, and contours.
Construction plans may be required for innovative and alternative
on-site sewage disposal systems.
The approving authority shall have the right
to refuse any permit for the installation of a private sewage disposal
system if the plans, soil percolation test or other such pertinent
data are not in accordance with the requirements as herein set forth.
The approving authority may refuse to issue any permit to a licensed
septic installer if that installer's work on other disposal systems
has been deemed unsatisfactory.
No private waste disposal system shall be constructed
on a property reasonably accessible to an existing public sanitary
sewer. A private waste disposal system found to be malfunctioning
where public sanitary sewer is available shall be abandoned and the
building's sewer connected to the public sanitary sewer. A private
waste disposal system required to be abandoned shall be properly abandoned
in compliance with the procedures promulgated by the Health Department.
All new work and such portions of existing systems
as may be affected by new work or any changes shall be inspected by
the approving authority or his representative to ensure compliance
with all the requirements of this regulation and to assure that the
installation and construction of the disposal system is in accordance
with the approved plans. Advance notice is required in order to receive
the necessary inspection, and the inspection shall be made within
24 hours during the normal workweek unless otherwise noted on the
sanitary construction permit.
[Amended by Bill No. 14-10]
Upon final inspection and approval, each installer or plumber
shall be responsible to backfill the private sewage disposal system
within 24 hours. No system will be backfilled or covered until the
approving authority has approved the system. Any part of an installation
which has been covered prior to final approval shall be uncovered
upon order of the approving authority.
All new work and such portions of existing systems
as may be affected by new work or any changes or additions shall be
performed by a Harford County master licensed plumber and/or a licensed
septic installer. A homeowner may be permitted to do his own work,
according to the requirements of this chapter, at the private home
where he resides or plans to reside, provided that such work shall
be inspected and approved by the approving authority. The approving
authority may refuse to issue permits for any Harford County master
licensed plumber, licensed septic installer or owner, who has violated
the provisions of this chapter until the violation has been corrected
or resolved.
Any person failing to complete the construction of a private waste disposal system to the satisfaction of the approving authority shall be liable for the penalty outlined in § 216-26 of this chapter.
Building contractors, licensed septic installers
and plumbers shall be jointly and severally responsible for compliance
with these regulations with any person for whom such installations
are being made.
After the initial installation of a private
individual waste disposal system, the property owner shall be responsible
for maintenance of the system. When a private waste disposal system
is found to be malfunctioning and public sewerage is not available,
the property owner or his agent shall, upon notification from the
approving authority be responsible for all required corrective procedures
and repairs to the system within a time period specified by the approving
authority In cases where waste disposal systems other than septic
tank systems are installed, a service contract shall be required by
the approving authority and a service contract shall be maintained
for the life of the system. The requirements shall be set according
to the system and/or model to be used.
[Amended by Bill No. 17-013]
Private waste disposal systems shall not be installed in fill material, one-hundred-year-floodplain areas or on slopes in excess of a grade of 20%. Unless a prior waiver is issued by the Health Department, no portion of a private waste disposal system will be covered by driveways, swimming pools, building additions or any other permanent structures, except that sewer lines of approved materials may be placed under driveways without a waiver. (See § 216-18A.)
Due to the variability of soil conditions, water
tables and individual use experience, approval of a private waste
disposal system does not in any manner give or imply a guaranty that
the system will operate satisfactorily for any set period of time.
