§ 71.62. Individual and community onlot sewage systems.
(a) Official plans and official plan revisions proposing individual and community onlot sewage systems shall evaluate general site suitability to establish their use as a feasible alternative, as specified in subsection (b).
(b) When an official plan or revision proposes the renovation of sewage effluent by means of a subsurface absorption area or a spray irrigation system, the following shall be provided:
(1) Anticipated raw waste characteristics of the sewage. Where industrial wastes as defined in the Clean Streams Law are expected to be present in the raw sewage, § 72.25(g)(2) (relating to issuance of permits) applies.
(2) Documentation that the soils and geology of the proposed site are generally suitable for the installation of the systems including:
(i) Soils mapping as per the United States Soil Conservation Service mapping or the equivalent.
(ii) Contour lines as per the United States Geologic Survey Topographic mapping or site determined contour lines.
(iii) Soil profiles as described in Chapter 73 (relating to standards for onlot sewage treatment facilities) shall be performed to insure that an adequate area with suitable soils is available in the area of the proposed system. These profiles shall be approximately equally distributed among the various soils mapped in the area. For the purpose of this section, each change of slope or change in erosion characteristic specified as part of the soil classification system of the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service will be equivalent to a change in soil type.
(iv) A sufficient number of percolation tests to confirm that the general percolation rate for each soil type in the area where systems are to be installed is within acceptable limits as described in Chapter 73. For the purpose of this section, each change of slope or change in erosion characteristic specified as part of the soil classification system of the United States Soil Conservation Service will be equivalent to a change in soil type.
(c) This chapter does not preclude the use of individual and community onlot sewage systems using subsurface soil absorption areas on lots less than 1 acre in size or the use of large volume onlot sewage systems. Because of the potential for the creation of a public health hazard or pollution of the waters of this Commonwealth from high density use, improper system siting or inadequate maintenance of individual and community onlot systems, particular attention shall be given in official plans and revisions to the technical and institutional feasibility of using the systems.
(1) Additional permeability testing is required when an official plan or revision proposes the use of a large volume onlot sewage system or a community onlot system with a sewage flow in excess of 10,000 gpd, and may be required for other onlot system proposals where the total absorption area is greater than 5,000 square feet or where soil profiles or geology reveal slowly permeable conditions below the depth at which the percolation test was performed. Sufficient testing shall be conducted to:
(i) Determine the permeability of an identified restrictive soil, geologic or hydraulic layer.
(ii) Determine the vertical rate and the horizontal rate of flow in or above the restrictive layers in inches per hour.
(iii) Determine the application rate required as derived from the information contained in subparagraphs (i) and (ii). When this application rate is more stringent than that derived from percolation testing, as contained in Chapter 73, the more stringent rate shall be used to size the system.
(iv) Determine the impact of the system on groundwater mounding.
(2) A preliminary hydrogeologic evaluation is required when the use of subsurface soil absorption areas is proposed and one of the following exists:
(i) A large volume onlot sewage system will be used.
(ii) A subdivision of more than 50 equivalent dwelling units with a density of more than one equivalent dwelling unit per acre is proposed.
(iii) The Department has documented that the quality of water supplies within 1/4 mile of the proposed site exceed five parts per million (ppm) nitrate-nitrogen.
(iv) The Department has determined that known geological conditions for the proposed site may contribute to the potential for groundwater pollution from the systems.
(3) A preliminary hydrogeologic evaluation shall include as a minimum, in map and narrative report form:
(i) The topographic location of the proposed systems in relation to groundwater or surface water flow, or both.
(ii) Estimated wastewater dispersion plume using an average daily flow of 262.5 gallons per equivalent dwelling unit per day or other flow supported by documentation.
(iii) Identification and location of existing and potential groundwater uses in the estimated area of impacted groundwater.
(4) Detailed hydrogeologic studies may be required by the Department when the preliminary hydrogeologic evaluation identifies a potential for a conflict between the proposal and existing or potential future uses of groundwater in the area. Detailed hydrogeologic studies shall identify constituents of the sewage which may pollute groundwater and shall evaluate methods for preventing the pollution of the waters of this Commonwealth. A detailed hydrogeologic study shall be submitted using the Department’s sewage facilities planning module.
(d) Municipalities shall evaluate and implement options for establishing an institutional framework to assure the proper operation and maintenance of these systems under the act and this part.
Authority The provisions of this § 71.62 amended under section 9 of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act (35 P. S. § 750.9); The Clean Streams Law (35 P. S. § § 691.1—691.1001); and section 1920-A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 510-20).
Source The provisions of this § 71.62 adopted August 13, 1971, effective August 14, 1971, 1 Pa.B. 1649; amended April 28, 1972, effective May 15, 1972, 2 Pa.B. 753; amended September 28, 1973, effective October 15, 1973, 3 Pa.B. 2176; amended August 30, 1974, effective September 16, 1974, 4 Pa.B. 1805; amended February 28, 1975, effective March 17, 1975, 5 Pa.B. 374; reserved January 9, 1987, effective January 10, 1987, 17 Pa.B. 172; amended June 9, 1989, effective June 10, 1989, 19 Pa.B. 2429; amended November 7, 1997, effective November 8, 1997, 27 Pa.B. 5877. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (228202) to (228203) and (206589) to (206590).
Notes of Decisions Dispersion Plume Information
The Environmental Hearing Board correctly held that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) did not violate its regulations by failing to require a dispersion plume for the individual property owner’s subdivision, where the DEP did not interpret its regulation to require maps for every system, and it accepted dispersion plume information in narrative form for systems which generate less than 400 gpd sewage. Oley Township v. Department of Environmental Protection, 710 A.2d 1228 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1998).
Cross References This section cited in 25 Pa. Code § 71.55 (relating to exceptions to the requirement to revise the official plan for new land development).
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