CNLR 803/96 - Sanitation Regulations under the Public Health Act

CONSOLIDATED NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR REGULATION 803/96 Sanitation Regulations under the Public Health Act (O.C. 96-442) Amended by: 99/96 34/97 50/97 6/10 CONSOLIDATED NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR REGULATION 803/96 Sanitation Regulations under the Public Health Act (O.C. 96-442) Under the authority of section 11 of the Public Health Act and the Subordinate Legislation Revision and Consolidation Act, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council makes the following regulations . REGULATIONS Analysis 1. Short title 2. Definitions 3. Nuisance 4. Sewage disposal 5. Standards 6. Sewage system construction 7. Alternate system 8. Inspector power 9. Temporary sewage systems 10. Waste on property 11. Manure and other discharge 12. Water supply 13. Repeal Schedule Short title 1. These regulations may be cited as the Sanitation Regulations . CNR 803/96 s1 Back to Top Definitions 2. In these regulations (a) "approved" means approved by an inspector; (b) "certificate of approval" means an initial certificate or letter issued by an inspector permitting the installation of a sewage system and a water supply system; (c) "controlling agency" means a provincial or municipal government department, division of that department or other agency authorized by that department which has jurisdiction over development within a defined geographical area; (d) "department" means the department presided over by the minister; (e) "existing development" means a dwelling, cottage or other building, serviced with a private sewage disposal system, which has existed on a building site, on or before April 16, 1985; (f) "final approval certificate" means a certificate or letter issued by an inspector verifying that a sewage system or a water supply has been installed in accordance with recommendations of an inspector and these regulations; (g) "inspector" means an officer of the department designated as an inspector by the minister; (h) "minister" means the minister appointed under the Executive Council Act to administer the Public Health Act ; (i) [repealed by 50/97 s1] (j) "nuisance" means a thing or condition of things which is or may become injurious or dangerous to public health or which may hinder the prevention or suppression of disease; (k) "ocean" means a body of salt water with regular tidal action and nonrestricted tidal flow; (l) "person" includes a corporate body, partnership, association, or other business entity; (m) "professional engineer" means an engineer registered under the Engineers and Geoscientists Act ; (n) "septic tank" means a water tight covered receptacle in which sewage is converted into sewage effluent by containing and ensuring the anaerobic digestion of all solid waste and does not include a siphon or pumping chamber; (o) "sewage" means human wastes emitted from a building or premises where people work, live or frequent and includes wastes from ablutions, culinary activities and laundering, and may include certain industrial wastes; (p) "sewage effluent" means sewage, partially or completely treated, flowing out of a reservoir, basin, septic tank or treatment plant; (q) "sewage system" means a sewage disposal system designed, constructed or installed to service a private dwelling or a commercial or other building with a daily sewage flow of less than 4,546 litres; (r) "subsurface disposal system" means a system of pipes laid in shallow trenches or pits backfilled with graded stone and top soil for disposal of sewage effluent, where treatment is carried out primarily by aerobic activity; (s) "water supply system" means a system of supplying water which is designed, constructed or installed to service a private dwelling or a commercial or other building and shall include water systems not governed by a municipal council, local service district or local water committee; and (t) "working capacity" means the volume of liquid that a septic tank is capable of holding from the invert of the outlet to the tank bottom while in its working position. CNR 803/96 s2 ; 50/97 s1 Back to Top Nuisance 3. A person shall not create, permit or maintain a nuisance. CNR 803/96 s3 Back to Top Sewage disposal 4. (1) A person shall not throw out, deposit or bury excreta from human bodies whether solid or liquid, or dispose of those substances other than in an approved sewage system or other approved means of disposal. (2) A building or premises where people work, live or frequent shall have an approved means for the disposal of sewage. (3) A person shall not install or cause to be installed a sewage system or portion of a sewage system unless the person installing or causing the installation of that system has received a certificate of approval from an inspector and, where required, approval has been obtained from all controlling agencies. (4) A person applying for a certificate of approval shall submit an application in the form required by the minister to the inspector. (5) Upon receipt of an application for a certificate of approval, the inspector shall perform an assessment of the site and provide written recommendations to the controlling agency. (6) A certificate of approval shall not be issued or renewed where the proposed sewage system does not conform to the requirements of the Public Health Act and regulations made under that Act. (7) A certificate of approval shall expire 24 months from the date of issue and if the installation of a sewage system has not been completed or commenced on expiration of the certificate of approval the inspector may renew the certificate of approval for not more than 12 months. (8) A deviation from the terms or conditions of a certificate of approval shall make it null and void. (9) A person shall not cover a sewage system, or cause it to be covered, without having first obtained a final approval certificate. (10) Where a sewage system has been covered without a final approval certificate, an inspector may, at the expense of the applicant, require it to be uncovered for inspection. (11) An applicant shall ensure that the installer of the sewage system is aware of and follows all requirements of a certificate of approval issued or renewed under these regulations. (12) An applicant shall ensure that a final approval certificate is obtained from the inspector in respect of the installed sewage system. CNR 803/96 s4 ; 50/97 s2 Back to Top Standards 5. (1) All sewage systems shall be installed and operated in accordance with the separation distances outlined in the Schedule. (2) A sewage system or a part of it shall not emit, discharge or deposit sewage or effluent onto the surface of the ground except where the system is designed so that properly treated effluent is discharged into the soil. (3) Sewage or effluent shall not emit, discharge, seep, leak or otherwise escape from the sewage system or a part of that system into a piped water supply, well water supply, a freshwater watercourse or surface water. (4) Sewage or effluent shall not emit, discharge, seep, leak or otherwise escape from the sewage system or a part of the system other than from a place or part of the sewage system where the system is designed or intended to discharge sewage or effluent. (5) A sewage system or part of a sewage system shall not emit, discharge, deposit or allow the emission, discharge or deposit of micro-organisms of intestinal origin into the natural environment in a manner that may be a hazard to health. (6) A gas shall not emit, discharge or otherwise escape from a sewage system into a building or structure except in the manner in which the sewage system was designed or intended to emit or discharge gas. (7) Connections shall not be made to the sewage system from non-sewage waste water sources. (8) Sewage effluent from a septic tank shall be discharged into an approved (a) on-site subsurface disposal system; or (b) a pipeline to the ocean. (9) A sewage system which does not function as designed and which is not corrected by the applicant shall be considered to be a malfunctioning system. (10) A person shall not operate a malfunctioning sewage system. CNR 803/96 s5 Back to Top Sewage system construction 6. (1) A person shall not manufacture, prefabricate, sell or offer for sale in the province septic tanks or other appurtenances which have a working capacity of less than 2,300 litres except where design specifications and assessment data approved by a professional engineer in consultation with the department support the environmentally safe use of a smaller septic tank. (2) Effective December 31, 1997 , septic tanks shall be constructed in accordance with the Canadian Standards Association Standard CAN/ CSA - B66 - M90, as updated. CNR 803/96 s6 ; 99/96 ; 34/97 Back to Top Alternate system 7. (1) For the purpose of this section, "alternate sewage systems" means any plumbed sewage system utilizing secondary or tertiary treatment processes or a system where effluent is discharged other than to a conventional disposal field, seepage pit or ocean pipeline. (2) Alternate sewage systems may be approved, where, in the opinion of an inspector, a system as described in section 5 cannot be used or is not practical. (3) An application for an alternate sewage system shall be accompanied by (a) assessment data including water table monitoring, percolation test, soil profile and grain size analysis data; and (b) design specifications and blueprints for the proposed alternate sewage system. (4) Assessment data and design specifications under subsection (3) shall be compiled by a professional engineer or engineering firm. (5) Notwithstanding subsection (2), the minister may issue a permit for an experimental or prototype sewage system. (6) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a sewage discharge pipeline to the ocean is not permitted as an alternate sewage system except for septic tank effluent lines referred to in paragraph 5(8)(b). 50/97 s3 Back to Top Inspector power 8. These regulations shall not prohibit an inspector from reducing minimum standards to reduce or eliminate a nuisance arising from an existing development. CNR 803/96 s8 Back to Top Temporary sewage systems 9. (1) Where a contract has been awarded respecting a building lot which is to be serviced by a municipal sewage system, a permit for the installation of a temporary sewage system may be issued. (2) A permit issued under subsection (1) shall be subject to (a) sections 5 and 6; and (b) conditions specified by the inspector, and when public sewage services are available for the building lot for which the permit was issued, the owner of that building lot shall immediately discontinue use of the temporary sewage system and connect any building on that lot to the public sewage system. (3) Temporary sewage systems for large gatherings of people shall be provided in the manner required by the inspector. CNR 803/96 s9 Back to Top Waste on property 10. (1) An owner, occupier, or user of property shall keep that property free from the accumulation of rubbish, waste material, debris or other material which, because of its character, condition or improper storage, may cause the breeding or collection of flies, mosquitoes or rodents or which, in another manner, is or may become a nuisance. (2) An owner, occupier or user of a property shall not dispose of waste material to or from that property, except in accordance with the Waste Material Disposal Act . CNR 803/96 s10 Back to Top Manure and other discharge 11. A person shall not spread stable or other manure, fish or fish offal, or discharge waste on land situated less than 75 meters from the source of a supply of water used for drinking purposes when the draining of the land is towards the water supply. CNR 803/96 s11 Back to Top Water supply 12. (1) A water supply system intended to be used as a source of water for human consumption shall be located, designed, constructed and maintained as specified by the inspector. (2) A person applying for a certificate of approval shall apply to the inspector in the form required by the minister. (3) Upon receipt of an application for a certificate of approval, the inspector shall perform an assessment of the site and provide written recommendations to the applicant. (4) A certificate of approval shall not be issued or renewed where the proposed water supply system does not conform to the requirements of the Public Health Act and these regulations. (5) A certificate of approval shall expire 24 months from the date of issue. (6) If the installation of a water supply system has not been completed or commenced on expiration of the certificate of approval the inspector may renew the certificate of approval for not more than 12 months. CNR 803/96 s12 Back to Top Repeal 13. The Department of Health (Garbage Collection) Regulations, Newfoundland Regulation 112/78, the Department of Health (Sewage Disposal System) Regulations, 1985, Newfoundland Regulation 101/85, and the Public Health (Sanitation) Regulations, 1991, Newfoundland Regulation 85/91, are repealed. Back to Top Schedule 1. Septic Tanks - The minimum set back requirements shall be: Dug well .......... 30 metres Drilled well ...... 16 metres Surface water .. 30 metres 2. Disposal Areas - The minimum set back requirements shall be: Dug well .......... 30 metres Drilled well ...... 16 metres Surface water .. 30 metres 6/10 s1 ©Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer