For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ABS. Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene.
APPROVED SEPTIC SYSTEM. A permitted septic system installed in accordance with state regulation and county ordinance which has been inspected and signed by the Health Officer or his or her designee.
ASTM. American Society for Testing and Materials.
BARRIER MATERIAL. A geotextile fabric with an effective opening size no smaller than 0.20 millimeters and no larger than 0.85 millimeters.
BOARD OF HEALTH. The Howard County Board of Health.
COUNTY. Howard County, Indiana.
DISTRIBUTION BOX. A structure designed to distribute effluent by gravity from a septic tank equally into the pipes of an absorption system connected thereto.
DOSING TANK. A concrete tank used in series behind a septic tank used to store liquids in amounts equivalent to the amount to be handled by the absorption field. The dosing chamber is served by a properly sized pump which will “dose” the effluent to the absorption field.
DRAINAGEWAY. The channel portion of the landscape in which surface water or rainwater runoff gathers intermittently to flow to a lower elevation.
DWELLING. Any house or place used or intended to be used as a place of seasonal or permanent human habitation or for sleeping for one or two families.
FILL. Soil transported and deposited by man as well as soil recently transported and deposited by natural erosion forces. Fill is evidenced by one or more of the following:
(1) No soil horizons or indistinct soil horizons.
(2) Depositional stratification.
(3) Presence of a soil horizon which has been covered.
(4) Materials in a horizon such as cinders or construction debris.
(5) Position in the landscape.
FOUNDATION DRAIN. That portion of a residential drainage system provided to drain only ground water from outside of the foundation of the house or from under the basement floor.
HEALTH OFFICER. The Howard County Health Officer, his or her assistant, or his or her designees, having responsibility for the enforcement of this chapter.
LIMITING LAYER. Any soil horizon with a loading rate less than 0.25 gallons per day per square foot, or greater than 0.75 gallons per day per square foot.
LOADING RATE. The allowable rate of application of septic tank effluent to the soil. It is expressed in gallons per day per square foot.
NEW SEPTIC SYSTEM. Any system proposed for new dwelling construction.
OWNER. The owner of a dwelling or his or her agent.
PERSON. The term includes any individual, partnership, copartnership, firm, company, corpora- tion, association, trust, estate or any other legal entity, including but not limited to its or their successors or assigns or agents.
PVC. Polyvinyl chloride.
REPAIR. The term includes any alteration, addition or replacement of any portion of an existing septic system.
RESIDENTIAL DRAIN. The horizontal piping in a house drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste and drainage pipes inside the walls of the house and conveys the same to the residential sewer.
RESIDENTIAL SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM. All equipment and devices necessary for proper conduction, collection, storage, treatment and on-site disposal of sewage from a one or two family dwelling. Included within but not limited to the scope of this definition are residential sewers, septic tanks, soil absorption systems, temporary sewage holding tanks and sanitary vault privies.
RESIDENTIAL SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEM FAILURE. A residential sewage disposal system which exhibits one or more of the following, and is therefore considered a health hazard:
(1) The system refuses to accept sewage at the rate of design application, thereby interfering with the normal use of residential plumbing fixtures.
(2) Effluent discharge exceeds the absorptive capacity of the soil, resulting in ponding, seepage or other discharge of the effluent to the ground surface or surface waters.
(3) Effluent is discharged from the system causing contamination of a potable water supply, ground water or surface waters.
SANITARY SEWER. A sewer or system of sewers which convey sewage away from the lot on which it originates to a waste water treatment facility owned and operated by an incorporated city or town, conservancy district, regional sewer district or private utility.
SDR. Means standard dimension ratio.
SEPTIC TANK. A water-tight structure into which sewage is discharged for settling and solids digestion.
SEWAGE. All water-carried waste derived from ordinary living processes.
SLOPING SITE. Any portion of the proposed area designated for the septic system with greater than a 2% slope.
SLUDGE. The digested or partially digested solid material accumulated in a septic tank.
SOIL ABSORPTION. A process which utilizes the soil to treat and dispose of effluent from a septic tank.
SOIL ABSORPTION SYSTEM. Pipes laid level in a system of trenches or elevated beds into which the effluent from the septic tank is discharged for soil absorption. The term may also be referred to as residential septic system, residential sewage disposal system, absorption system or leach field
SOIL HORIZON. A layer of soil or soil material approximately parallel to the land surface and differing from adjacent genetically related layers in physical, chemical and biological properties or characteristics such as color, structure, texture, consistency, kinds and numbers of organisms present, and degree of acidity or alkalinity.
SOIL MAPPING SYMBOLS. Those symbols used by the Soil Conservation Service in mapping the soil series in the county based on the limitations of the soil described as “slight, moderate, and severe.”
SOIL PROFILE ANALYSIS. The observation and evaluation of the physical characteristics of the soil horizons or layers to a depth of at least five feet or, if shallower, to a layer which cannot be readily penetrated.
SOIL SCIENTIST. A registered professional in the field of soil science holding a baccalaureate degree with a major in agronomy, soils or a closely related field of science who is proficient in the application of the principles of pedology to soil classification, investigation, education and consultation and on the effect of measured, observed and inferred soil properties and their use.
UNSANITARY CONDITION. Any condition that may transmit, generate or promote disease.
WATER TABLE and SEASONAL HIGH WATER TABLE. Means the upper surface of the ground water or that level below which the soil is saturated with water.
(BCC Ord. 1993-34, passed 11-1-93)