Current through Supplement No. 394, October, 2024
Section 62-03.1-03-01 - General provisions1. All sewage treatment systems shall be constructed, added to, or altered in accordance with this chapter. When a public or noncommunity sewerage system is deemed available to a premise used for human occupancy if such premise is within two hundred feet [60.96 meters], the approving authority shall require that sewage be discharged into that system.2. Where public or noncommunity sewage treatment systems are not available and construction of an individual sewage treatment system is contemplated for a building of human occupancy or use or addition to, or alteration of any existing sewage treatment system, the master plumber or sewer and water contractor, or septic system installer, previous to beginning any construction may be required to make application to the local or district health units for a written permit to make the desired installation.3. "Sewage treatment" under this section means all private methods of collecting and disposing of domestic sewage including septic tanks, privies, chemical toilets, and any others.4. All domestic sewage shall be disposed of by an approved method of collection, treatment, and effluent discharge. Domestic sewage or sewage effluent shall not be disposed of in any manner that will cause pollution of the ground surface, ground water, bathing area, lake, pond, watercourse, or create a nuisance. It shall not be discharged into any abandoned or unused well, or into any crevice, sink hole, or other opening either natural or artificial in a rock formation.5. Where water under pressure is not available, all human body wastes shall be disposed of by depositing them in approved privies, chemical toilets, or such other installations acceptable to the administrative authority.6. Water-carried sewage from bathrooms, kitchens, laundry fixtures, and other household plumbing shall pass through a septic or other approved sedimentation tank prior to its discharge into the soil or into an alternative system. Where underground disposal for treatment is not feasible, consideration will be given to special methods of collection and disposal.7. The building contractor, owner, plumbing contractor, or disposal system installer are jointly responsible for compliance with this chapter.8. Abandoned disposal systems, septic tanks, pumping and other chambers, and seepage beds shall be disconnected from the buildings. The tanks and chambers shall be pumped out and filled with earth.9. No property shall be improved in excess of its capacity to properly absorb sewage effluent in the quantities and by the means provided in this code.10. When there is insufficient lot area or improper soil conditions for adequate sewage treatment for the building or land use proposed, and the administrative authority so finds, no building permit shall be issued and no private sewage treatment shall be permitted. Where space or soil conditions are critical, no building permit shall be issued until engineering data and test reports satisfactory to the administrative authority have been submitted and approved or a private sewage treatment system complying with the provisions of this article has first been designed.11. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the administrative authority from requiring compliance with higher requirements than those contained herein where such higher requirements are essential to maintain a safe and sanitary condition.12. "Administrative authority" under this section means the North Dakota state department of health, district health units, or county or city health departments that have expertise in onsite sewage treatment systems, or individual official, board, department, or agency established and authorized by a state, county, city, or other political subdivision created by law to administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter.13. "Continuing education" under this section means a structured, professionally presented curriculum dealing with onsite sewage treatment systems sanctioned wholly or in part by the administrative authority.14. "Installer" under this section means an individual or contractor that engages in the construction of onsite sewage treatment systems. Homeowners who work on their own systems are not included in this definition.15. "Mottled soil" under this section means soil from a soil boring which is marked with spots of contrasting colors. Any soil having spots of contrasting colors is considered to be mottled.16. "Sewage treatment" under this section means all private methods of collecting and disposing of domestic sewage including septic tanks, privies, chemical toilets, and any others.17. A "chamber or pump chamber" under this section means a watertight receptacle for receiving effluent from the septic tank which will be used for placement of an effluent grade pump to distribute that effluent to the treatment area.18. "Noncommunity" under this section means a collector system for sewage disposal serving a group of homes which uses lagoons or other collective methods of disposal and treatment which are not otherwise regulated by the environmental protection agency or state regulations.N.D. Admin Code 62-03.1-03-01