(1) Treatment required. All sewage generated in unsewered areas shall be treated and disbursed by an approved SSTS or a system permitted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
(2) Administration. This chapter shall be administered by the City of Lino Lakes Building Department. The term
DEPARTMENT
, where used in this chapter, shall mean the City of Lino Lakes Building Department.
(3) Compliance. No person shall cause or permit the location, construction, alteration, extension, conversion, operation, or maintenance of a subsurface sewage treatment system, except in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(4) Conditions. Violation of any condition imposed by the city on a license, permit, or variance issued under this chapter shall be deemed a violation of this chapter and subject to the penalty provisions set forth herein.
(5) Site evaluation, system design, construction, inspection, and servicing. Site evaluation, system design, construction, inspection, and system servicing shall be performed by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency listed SSTS businesses or qualified employees of local governments or persons exempt from licensing in Minn. Rule 7083.0700. For lots platted after January 23, 1996, a design shall evaluate and locate space for a minimum of two soil treatment areas.
(6) Inspection. No part of an individual sewage treatment system shall be covered until it has been inspected and approved by the Department. If any part of the system is covered before being inspected and approved as provided herein, it shall be uncovered upon the direction of the Department. The Department shall cause such inspections as are necessary to determine compliance with this chapter. It shall be the responsibility of the permittee to notify the Department that the system is ready for inspection. If the integrity of the system is threatened by adverse weather if left open and the Department is unable to conduct an inspection, the permittee may, after receiving written permission from the Department, document compliance with this chapter by photographic means that show said compliance and submit that evidence to the Department prior to final approval being sought.
(7) Compliance inspection and certificate of compliance required. An SSTS compliance inspection and a certificate of compliance are required prior to the issuance of a building permit:
(a) For a new or replacement SSTS.
(b) When altering an existing structure to add a bedroom.
(c) When a parcel having an existing system undergoes development, subdivision, or split.
(8) Imminent public health and safety threat, failing system, and surface discharge.
(a) The owner of an SSTS that poses an imminent threat to public health and safety shall immediately abate the threat according to instructions by the Department and be brought into compliance with this chapter in accordance with a schedule established by the Department, which schedule shall not exceed ten months.
(b) A failing system, including an SSTS that is not protective of groundwater, shall be brought into compliance within 24 months after receiving notice from the Department.
(c) An SSTS discharging raw or partially treated wastewater to ground surface or surface water is prohibited unless permitted under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System.
(9) Septic tank maintenance. The owner of a sewage tank, or tanks, shall regularly, but not less frequently than every three years, inspect the tank(s) and measure the accumulations of sludge and scum. If the system is pumped, measurement is not needed. The owner shall remove and sanitarily dispose of septage whenever the top of the sludge layer is less than 12 inches below the bottom of the outlet baffle or transfer hole, or the bottom of the scum layer is less than three inches above the bottom of the outlet baffle or transfer hold. Removal of septage shall include complete removal of scum and sludge. Pumping permits are required prior to pumping of tank(s).
(10) Non-complying systems. Existing systems that are non-complying but are not an imminent health or safety threat, failing, or discharging to surface may continue in use so long as the use is not changed or expanded. If the use changes or is expanded, the non-complying elements of the existing system must be brought into compliance.
(11) Non-complying work. New individual sewage treatment system construction that is non-compliant, or other work on a system that is non-complying, must be brought into compliance with this chapter in accordance with a schedule established by the Department, which schedule shall not exceed seven days unless the Department finds extenuating circumstances.
(12) Change in use. A certificate of compliance may be voided if, subsequent to the issuance of the certificate, the use of the premises or condition of the system has changed or been altered.
(13) Variances—setback reduction. Where conditions prevent the construction, alteration, and/or repair of an individual sewage treatment system on an existing developed parcel of real property, the Department may reduce property line and building setbacks and system sizing requirements provided said reduction does not endanger or unreasonably infringe on adjacent properties.
(14) Floodplain. An SSTS shall not be located in a floodway or floodplain. Location within the flood fringe is permitted provided that the design complies with this chapter and all of the rules and statutes incorporated herein by reference.
(15) Class V injection wells. All owners of a new or replacement SSTS that are considered to be Class V injection wells, as defined in C.F.R. Title 40, Part 144, are required by federal law to submit SSTS inventory information to the Environmental Protection Agency.
(Ord. 08-13, passed 8-26-2013)