(A) General. Approval for a Replacement Onsite Wastewater Treatment System shall be granted when the requirements of this section are met.
(3) Primary soil treatment area. The primary soil treatment area of the proposed onsite wastewater treatment system, of the type specified by the soil evaluation, is designed in an adequately sized area of suitable soils for the proposed flow, the assigned loading rates and required separation distance between the wastewater application point and the limiting layer.
(4) Land slope. The land slope of the primary soil treatment area does not exceed 25%.
(5) Floodplain elevation.
(a) The wastewater application point of Type 3, 4 or 5 systems, or Illinois raised filter bed systems, shall not be located below the base flood elevation.
(b) The existing grade over Type 1, 2 and drip distribution systems shall not be located below the base flood elevation.
(6) Existing components. Components not proposed for replacement shall:
(a) Be inspected by a Lake County licensed onsite wastewater treatment system installation contractor to determine if the component in question is in sound condition and can be expected to function as designed and originally installed. The installation contractor performing the inspection shall submit a report of the inspection that indicates that the component in question is in sound condition and can be expected to function as designed and originally installed.
(7) Setback requirements. All components of the primary system and the reserve soil treatment area, if proposed, comply with the setback distances established by Appendix D.
(B) Compliance impossible.
(1) Site plan approval conditions. A site plan for the construction of a Replacement Onsite Wastewater Treatment System to correct a failing onsite wastewater treatment system may be approved when the requirements of subsection (A) above cannot be met when the Health Officer determines that the proposal:
(a) Is in substantial and reasonable compliance with these requirements; and
(b) Is protective of the health of the public and the natural resources of the County of Lake.
(2) Restrictions. The Health Officer may place restrictions upon the use of the system to reduce flow and/or manage the risk of domestic sewage on the ground surface, entering a limiting layer and/or discharging to a surface water resource. Such restrictions shall be recorded as a covenant with the property at the Lake County Recorder of Deeds Office and shall run with the land.
(3) System design approval criteria. When considering the approval of a site plan for the construction of a Replacement Onsite Wastewater Treatment System when compliance with the requirements of subsection (A) above is impossible, the Health Officer shall apply the criteria described in this section, and shall issue approval when the requirements of this section are met. Emphasis shall be for treatment and dispersal of wastewater onsite. Site accessibility, available space, local regulations, and/or existing structural conditions may preclude some actions.
(a) When site conditions preclude the ability to meet the requirements of subsections (A)(3), (A)(4), (A)(5) and (A)(7) above, the following improvements shall be considered:
1. Addition of a pretreatment component certified to produce Class I effluent to compensate for reduced setback distances and undersized soil treatment components.
2. Addition of a pretreatment component certified to produce Class I effluent to recover function of a previously malfunctioning soil treatment component.
(b) When existing soil conditions fail to meet the requirements of subsections (A)(3) or (A)(5) above, the following improvements shall be considered, in descending order of desirability, when supplemented by a pretreatment component certified to produce Class I effluent:
1. The elevation of the grade, raised by importing sand fill as a filter media to overcome the soil limitation subject to an approved site development plan and compensatory storage requirements, when applicable. The application point of the soil treatment component shall be located to create an unsaturated soil treatment zone below the wastewater application point.
2. A bottomless media filter subject to: appropriate loading rates of the filter and dispersal soil; acceptable application point (above saturated elevation) elevation of the bottom of the media; and the presence of permeable subsoil which will accept the effluent directly from the filter or from imported permeable soil under the filter, subject to an approved site development plan and compensatory storage requirements, when applicable.
3. The wastewater stream separated into gray water and black water with treatment and dispersal requirements commensurate with the strength of the wastewater such that black water shall receive the higher degree of treatment.
4. A holding tank(s) to supplement the existing onsite wastewater treatment system on properties lacking any area for a soil treatment component as follows:
a. At the lowest invert elevation of the system to capture wastewater unable to be absorbed by an upstream soil treatment system.
b. As a separate zone for alternating use and/or separated flows.
5. Discharge of effluent to an effluent receiving trench with an overflow invert elevation at or above the top of the gravel/media in the receiving trench. The discharge from the effluent receiving trench shall meet the requirements of § 171.222.
6. A surface discharging onsite wastewater treatment system meeting the requirements of § 171.222.
(C) System design approval criteria; performance-based proposals. As an alternative to meeting the requirements of subsections (A) and (B)(3) above, the Health Officer shall consider the approval of a site plan to install an onsite wastewater treatment system when the proposal clearly and convincingly establishes that the requirements of subsections (B)(1)(a) and (B)(1)(b) and § 171.101 are met. In approving such a proposal, and in addition to any restrictions stipulated in subsection (B) above, the Health Officer may require, as a condition of the approval, routine and ongoing monitoring, inspection and/or sampling of the treated wastewater to confirm that the onsite wastewater treatment system is performing as designed, and in accordance with § 171.101. Any such conditions shall be recorded as a covenant with the property at the Lake County Recorder of Deeds Office and shall run with the land.
(Ord. [Bd of Health Ord., Art. V], passed 11-12-1996; Ord. [Bd of Health Ord., Art. V], passed 11-12-2013; Ord. 17-0605, passed 6-13- 2017; Ord. 24-1005, passed 8-13-2024)