(A) New and repaired individual mechanical sewage treatment systems shall be approved/permitted by the Health Authority provided they meet the following specifications:
(1) Approval for coverage under NPDES Permit, if required.
(2) A site inspection of the property is conducted by this Department prior to permitting.
(3) A trash tank or compartment is installed prior to the aeration tank;
(4) An aeration chamber which has sufficient capacity to treat a minimum of 500 gallons per day of domestic sewage for a four bedroom home and an additional 150 gallons per day for each additional bedroom;
(5) A final settling compartment with sludge return facilities of sufficient size to settle the effluent from the aeration chamber;
(6) A subsurface sand filter having an area of at least 100 square feet per bedroom with a minimum of 300 square feet and having an effective sand depth of 24 inches. The filter sand shall have an effective size of one-half to two millimeters and a uniformity coefficient of not greater than three and one-half. It shall be clean and free of clay and silt. Approved alternative technology may be considered for use on the place of an approved sand filter at the discretion of the Health Authority.
(7) A chlorine contact chamber which will provide a holding time of at least 30 minutes based on two and one half times the average flow and chlorinator which will provide a chlorine residual in the final effluent in accordance with appropriate regulation or discharge permits. The chlorine contact chamber shall be easily accessible and shall extend at least two inches above the ground surface. Alternative disinfection systems approved by IDPH may also be permitted.
(B) A clearly labeled warning light or buzzer must be provided that warns the owner of the failure of any electrical or mechanical component of the system and must be in accordance with IDPH requirements.
(C) The owner is required to obtain and maintain a service contract to be in effect at all times with copies being supplied to the Health Authority to assure that proper service and maintenance of the mechanical system shall be on a continuing basis. Renewal of the service contract is mandatory or the replacement with another service contract. All renewal notices or certificates and termination notices must be supplied to the Health Authority. The service contract for maintenance must be in accordance with IDPH and other applicable regulations and must include at least the following items:
(1) Routine inspection of the unit at least every six months or as required by other applicable regulations; and
(2) Provisions for emergency services within 24 hours of notification that the mechanical unit is not properly functioning.
(D) No person shall discharge effluent from an existing individual mechanical sewage treatment system or discharging aerobic system not required to be covered under NPDES Permit without a valid County Health Department (WCHD) permit to discharge. The owner is required to obtain an annual WCHD permit to discharge any individual mechanical sewage treatment system with a final effluent. The WCHD permit application must be accompanied by an annual fee as delineated in Appendix A, payable to the County Health Department and must be received prior to January 15 of each year. Unpaid fees will be turned over to collections or turned over to the State’s Attorney for violation of this chapter. Those surface discharging private sewage disposal systems that require coverage under a general or individual NPDES permit must also be in compliance with Section 905.115 - NPDES Permit Compliance of the Illinois Department of Public Health Private Sewage Disposal Code.
(E) Buried sand filters and aerobic treatment plants listed by NSF for Class I effluent shall be discharged to one of the following.
(1) A receiving stream, lake or pond which provided greater than a five to one dilution of the effluent. A discharge within ten feet of the above shall be considered to be a discharge to the receiving body of water. Discharges to a lake or pond shall be limited to two discharges per surface acre of water. More than two discharges may occur per individual surface acre of water, however, the total number of discharges to total surface acres of water shall not exceed a ratio of two to one. An example of this is as follows: In a 20-acre lake, several discharges may enter the lake in a one-half acre cove, however, the total discharges entering the lake would be limited to 40. Where discharges are not equally distributed around a lake or pond, the Health Authority shall be consulted to assure that nuisance conditions are not created.
(2) To the ground surface where the discharge points of sewage disposal systems with surface discharges are maintained at 235 feet apart and the effluent does not pond or create a public nuisance.
(F) If the final discharge location of the effluent from a buried sand filter or aerobic treatment plant listed as a Class I by NSF, or any system that discharges will discharge according to division (E)(2) above and leave the property, then an effluent receiving trench or bed shall be installed prior to discharge. Effluent receiving trenches or beds shall be designed in accordance with §51.05(K)(1) through (12) except for the following criteria.
(1) The effluent receiving trench shall be designed at three gallons per square foot of trench bottom area based on the daily design flow of the system. An example of this is as follows: A three-bedroom home equals 600 gallons per day, 600 gallons per day divided by three gallons per square foot per day equals 200 square feet of effluent receiving trench. (600 gpd. divided by three gallons/sq. ft./day = 200 square feet).
(2) Effluent receiving trenches or beds shall not be greater than 36 inches below the ground surface and shall have a maximum earth cover of six inches.
(3) They shall be designed so the entire trench or bed is completely filled with effluent prior to the discharge and the invert of the overflow line is at least one inch below the invert of the outlet of the aerobic treatment plant or sand filter unless the effluent is pumped.
(G) The owner(s) of a new, repaired, renovated or replaced WCHD permitted surface discharging private sewage disposal system that is required to obtain an NPDES permit shall comply with all requirements and effluent limitations of the NPDES permit issued for the surface discharging private sewage disposal system.
(1) WCHD permitted surface discharging private sewage disposal systems that are not required to obtain an NPDES permit shall not exceed the following effluent standards:
(a) The system shall comply with NSF International/ANSI Standard 40, § 8.5.2.1.1 for carbonaceous five-day biochemical oxygen demand (CBODs) and § 8.5.2.1.2 for total suspended solids (TSS).
(b) No effluent shall contain settleable solids.
(c) Color, odor and turbidity shall be reduced to below discernable levels.
(d) No effluent shall contain floating debris, visible oil, grease, scum or sludge solids.
(e) Fecal coliform bacteria concentration shall not exceed 400 organisms per 100 ml (milliliter).
(2) Samples shall be analyzed in accordance with the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.
(H) Aerobic treatment plants and accessory tanks, lift stations, sample ports, and disinfection units that are no longer in use shall be completely pumped. The floor and walls shall be cracked or crumbled so the tank or tanks will not hold water, and the tank(s) shall be filled with sand or soil. If the tank(s) is removed from the ground, the excavation shall be filled with soil. Tank abandonment activities must be inspected by the Health Authority, and the applicable fee (see Appendix A) shall be submitted for each tank abandonment inspection.
(1980 Code, §51.08) (Sup. Rec. Bk. , pp. 261—267, adopted 6-14-1976) (Res. 87-74, passed 7-16-1987; Res. 07-412, adopted 10-18-2007; Ord. 11-74, passed 2-17-2011; Ord. 14-279, passed 10-16-2014; Ord. 16-235, passed 8-18-2016) Penalty, see § 51.99