Current through Register No. 49, December 5, 2024
Section Sep 602.01 - Definitions(a) "Approved plans and specifications" means the approved plan, the construction approval, the operational approval, and the maintenance pamphlet, "You and Your Septic Systems", published by the department of environmental services.(b) "Bed" means the portion of an effluent disposal area that contains the leach lines, exclusive of any fill extensions.(c) "Cesspool" means an underground pit into which is discharged raw or partially- treated sewage or other essentially untreated wastes and from which the liquid seeps or leaches into the surround soil. The term includes cesspit and effluent disposal cesspool.(d) "Commercial" means any use that is not solely residential as defined in Env-Wq 1002.59.(e) "Construction approval" means written approval for construction of a proposed individual sewage disposal system.(f) "Conventional pipe and stone system" means an individual sewage disposal system in which effluent is dispersed through small-diameter pipe that is perforated only on the lower half and that lies within a bed of septic stone.(g) "Deficiency" means the quality or state of being defective or of lacking some necessary quality or element.(h) "Department of environmental services (DES)" means the New Hampshire department of environmental services, located at 29 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301.(i) "Department staff" means an employee or agent of DES who is authorized by the department to review and discuss preliminary plans for subdivision or ISDS, or both, to advise on modifications, and to approve plans for subdivisions or ISDS, or both, and installations of ISDS for the department.(j) "Design intent" means a statement of actual bottom elevation of the bed in relation to an established reference elevation on site, in accordance with Env-Wq 1003.06(a)-(g).(k) "Distribution box (D-Box)" means a box that is designed to insure equal distribution of effluent to the leach line and the bottom of each outlet line from the distribution box is the same height within the box.(l) "Domicile" means that place where an individual has his or her true, fixed, and permanent home and principal establishment, and to which, whenever he or she is absent, he or she has the intention of returning. An individual might have more than one residence, but has only one domicile.(m) "Drainage swale" means a vegetated area where waters flow to such a limited extent that neither channels nor wetlands vegetation develop.(n) "Dry well" means an effluent disposal area constructed as a covered, underground pit with an open-jointed or perforated lining and surrounded with septic stone, into which effluent is discharged for final disposal into the surrounding soil.(o) "Effluent" means the liquid component of sewage after solids have settled out.(p) "Effluent disposal area (EDA)" means an area designed for the final disposal of effluent, including the bed and any required fill extensions, in which effluent is dispersed using leach lines or dry wells.(q) "Expansion" means an increase in the design flow, based on Env-Wq 1008.03, over the existing design flow for an existing structure or an increase in the size of the footprint or ridgeline of an existing or former structure.(r) "Failure" means "failure" as defined in RSA 485-A:2, IV, namely "the condition produced when a subsurface sewage or waste disposal system does not properly contain or treat sewage or causes the discharge of sewage on the ground surface or directly into surface waters, or the effluent disposal area is located in the seasonal high groundwater table."(s) "Fair" means a system is in middle age which might be ponded at the bottom.(t) "Free of fines" means free of small particles such as silts or clay.(u) "Gallons per day (GPD)" means the standard measure of water or wastewater flow in a 24-hour period.(v) "Good" means a system which shows little or no ponding in the EDA bottom, in system types where the EDA bottom is observable.(w) "Gray water" means residential wastewater other than from a urinal or a toilet.(x) "Grease trap" means a tank or series of tanks into which wastewater that contains grease is discharged, where grease floats to the water's surface and is retained while the water below is discharged.(y) "Holding tank" means a sealed tank with no outlet to a dry well or other effluent disposal area and which stores septage or other wastes until the wastes can be pumped out and hauled to an approved disposal site. A holding tank is not an individual sewage disposal system as defined in Env-Wq 1002.36.(z) "Increase the load on a sewage disposal system," as used in RSA 485-A:38, means: (1) In an existing residential building, adding bedrooms or converting existing rooms to additional bedrooms;(2) Converting from seasonal to full-time use or occupancy, as specified in Env-Wq 1004.23(b);(3) Converting from residential use only to residential plus commercial use or commercial use only; or(4) Changing or adding to an existing commercial use so as to increase the flow as calculated using Env-Wq 1008.03.(aa) "Individual sewage disposal system (ISDS)," also known as the septic system, means any wastewater disposal or treatment system, other than a system regulated under Env-Wq 700, which receives sewage or other wastes, or both, including septic tank leach field systems, privies or dry pit toilets, and incinerator-type toilets such as gas-operated, electric, fossil- fueled or any combination thereof. The term does not include "cesspool".(ab) "Innovative/Alternative waste treatment" means "innovative /alternative waste treatment" as defined in RSA 485-A:2, XXI. The term includes ISDS that incorporate technology approved by DES pursuant to Env-Wq 1024.(ac) "Inspection" means an overview by DES or by DES's designee of the effluent disposal system to ensure that the installed system is in compliance with the approved plans and specifications.(ad) "Installation" means to establish or construct an effluent disposal system in a indicated place.(ae) "Invert" means the bottom of any structure, for example, the invert of a pipe is the bottom of the pipe.(af) "Large disposal system" means an individual sewage disposal system which is designed for a flow of more than 2,500 gallons of sewage per day.(ag) "Leach line" means the component of an individual sewage disposal system, other than a dry well, which actually disperses effluent, such as a large- diameter graveless pipe, a chamber, a small-diameter perforated pipe, or some other technology approved pursuant to Env-Wq 1024.(ah) "Manufactured housing park (MHP)" means "manufactured housing park" as defined in RSA 205-A:1,II, namely "any parcel of land under single or common ownership or control which contains, or is designed, laid out or adapted to accommodate 2 or more manufactured houses." The term does not include premises used solely for storage or display manufactured housing.(ai) "Operational approval" means written approval to cover and use or operate the constructed ISDS, which is issued only after inspection by DES staff under RSA 485-A:29, I.(aj) "Permitted designer" means an individual who holds a current authorization under RSA 485-A:35, I, to design an ISDS.(ak) "Permitted installer" means an individual who holds a current authorization under RSA 485-A:36, I, to install an ISDS.(al) "Poor" means a system that is nearing the end of its useful life under the current load, but is not yet failing.(am) "Probing" means the digging into the EDA by means of hand tools such as a metal probe, auger, soil spade, or similar tool.(an) "Recreational campground" means a parcel of land on which 2 or more campsites are occupied or are intended for temporary occupancy for recreational dwelling purposes only, and not for permanent year-round residency. The term does not include recreation camps as defined in RSA 485- A:23.(ao) "Septic tank" means a settling unit designed to remove substantially all settleable solids.(ap) "Small disposal system" means an individual sewage disposal system, which disposes up the and including 2500 gallons of sewage per day.(aq) "Standard dimension ratio (SDR)" means the ratio of pipe diameter to pipe wall thickness.(ar) "Surface water of the state" means perennial and seasonal streams, lakes, ponds and tidal waters within the jurisdiction of the state, including all streams, lakes, or ponds bordering on the state, marshes, water courses, and other bodies of water, natural or artificial.(as) "Trench" means an effluent disposal system in which the leach lines are separated by a specific amount of soil constructed either of stone and pipe or where other EDA components are used in trench configuration.(at) "Trench system" means an individual sewage disposal system in which the leach lines are separated by a vertical barrier of soil.(au) "Watercourse" means a channel providing for the conveyance of water, whether natural or artificial, which is scoured, indicating periods of concentrated flow. The term does not include drainage swales and areas of poorly drained soils as defined in Env-Wq 1002.51 in which no scour channel exists.(av) "Wetland" means "wetlands" as defined in RSA 482-A:2, X, namely, "an area that is inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal conditions does support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions." The term include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.N.H. Admin. Code § Sep 602.01