§4211. Plumbing regulations

1.  Municipal ordinances.  Municipalities may enact ordinances under their home rule authority that are more restrictive than rules governing plumbing or subsurface wastewater disposal systems adopted by the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation and the Department of Health and Human Services, respectively. Either department may provide technical assistance to municipalities in the development of ordinances under this subchapter, pertaining to their respective rules. The municipality shall enforce any such ordinance.

[PL 1999, c. 228, §1 (AMD); PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6 (REV).]

2.  State rules.  A municipal ordinance may not be less restrictive than the rules of the department relating to subsurface wastewater disposal systems as adopted under Title 22, section 42. The rules of the department relating to all subsurface wastewater disposal systems have full force and effect, provided that, to the extent that a municipality has enacted more restrictive ordinances, the provisions of those ordinances prevail.

[PL 1999, c. 228, §2 (AMD).]

3.  Subsurface waste water disposal system.  No person may erect a structure that requires a subsurface waste water disposal system until documentation has been provided to the municipal officers that the disposal system can be constructed in compliance with rules adopted under Title 22, section 42, and this section.

A. For the purposes of this section, "expansion" means the enlargement or change in use of a structure using an existing subsurface waste water disposal system that brings the total structure into a classification that requires larger subsurface waste water disposal system components under rules adopted pursuant to Title 22, section 42, and this section.   [PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. C, §106 (NEW); PL 1989, c. 6 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 9, §2 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. C, §§8, 10 (AMD).]

B. No person may expand a structure using a subsurface waste water disposal system until documentation is provided to the municipal officers and a notice of the documentation is recorded in the appropriate registry of deeds that, in the event of a future malfunction of the system, the disposal system can be replaced and enlarged to comply with the rules adopted under Title 22, section 42, and any municipal ordinances governing subsurface waste water disposal systems. No requirement of these rules and ordinances may be waived for an expanded structure.

(1) The department shall prescribe the form of the notice to be recorded in the registry of deeds. The notice must include a site plan showing:

(a) The exact location of the replacement system;

(b) The approximate location of lot lines; and

(c) The exact location of existing wells serving the lot on which the replacement system will be located and those located on abutting lots.

(2) The person seeking to expand a structure shall send copies of the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all owners of abutting lots and to a public drinking water supplier if the lot with the structure that is being expanded is within its source water protection area.

(3) After the notice required by this paragraph is recorded, no abutting landowner may install a well on that landowner's property in a location which would prevent the installation of the replacement septic system. The owner of the lot on which the replacement system will be installed may not erect any structure on the proposed site of the replacement system or conduct any other activity which would prevent the use of the designated site for the replacement system.   [PL 1999, c. 761, §6 (AMD).]

[PL 1999, c. 761, §6 (AMD).]

4.  Enforcement and penalty.  Any person who violates this section must be penalized in accordance with section 4452. The municipality or the department may seek to enjoin violations of this section.

[PL 2007, c. 695, Pt. A, §35 (AMD).]

5.  Permit fees.  The following permit fees may be charged.

A. A plumbing permit fee not to exceed $10 per internal fixture may be charged.   [PL 2009, c. 589, §9 (AMD).]

B. [PL 1999, c. 228, §3 (RP).]

C. A minimum fee, not to exceed $40, may be charged for all internal plumbing permits combined.   [PL 2009, c. 589, §9 (AMD).]

D. A nonengineered subsurface wastewater disposal system fee not to exceed $250 may be charged, and a surcharge of $15 must be charged. The surcharge must be paid by the municipality to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit the amount to the Water Quality Improvement Fund established under Title 38, section 424-B.   [PL 2009, c. 589, §9 (AMD).]

[PL 2009, c. 589, §9 (AMD).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1987, c. 737, §§A2,C106 (NEW). PL 1989, c. 6 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 9, §2 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 104, §§C8,10 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 404, §§C1,2 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 611, §1 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 106, §1 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 228, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 761, §6 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 689, §B6 (REV). PL 2007, c. 695, Pt. A, §35 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 213, Pt. FFFF, §1 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 589, §9 (AMD).