2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 25 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT (§§ 25-1-101 — 25-59-106) › ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL (§§ 25-6.5-101 — 25-18.9-105) › Article 10 - ON-SITE WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS ACT (§§ 25-10-101 — 25-10-113) › Section 25-10-106 - Basic rules for local administration

(1)
Local boards of health or the commission, as appropriate, shall adopt rules under section
25-10-104
that govern all aspects of the application for and issuance of permits, the inspection and supervision of installed systems, the issuance of cease-and-desist orders, the maintenance and cleaning of systems, and the disposal of waste material. The rules must, at a minimum, include provisions regarding:
(a)
Procedures by which a person may apply for a permit for an on-site wastewater treatment system. The permit application must be in writing and must include any information, data, plans, specifications, statements, and commitments as required by the local board of health to carry out the purposes of this article.
(b)
Review of the application and inspection of the proposed site by the local public health agency;
(c)
Specification of studies to be performed and reports to be made by the applicant and the circumstances under which the studies or reports may be required by the local public health agency;
(d)
Determination on behalf of the local public health agency by an environmental health specialist or a professional engineer after review of the application, site inspection, test results, and other required information, whether the proposed system complies with the requirements of this article and the rules adopted under this article;
(e)
Issuance of a permit by the health officer or the health officer's designated representative if the proposed system is determined to be in compliance with this article and the rules adopted under this article;
(f)
Review by the local board of health, upon request of an applicant, of applications denied by the local public health agency;
(g)
The circumstances under which all applications are subject to mandatory review by the local public health agency to determine whether a permit shall issue;
(h)
Final inspection of a system to be made by the local public health agency or its designated professional engineer after construction, installation, alteration, or repair work under a permit has been completed, but before the system is placed in use, to determine that the work has been performed in accordance with the permit and that the system is in compliance with this article and the rules adopted under this article;
(i)
Inspection of operating systems at reasonable times, and upon reasonable notice to the occupant of the property, to determine if the system is functioning in compliance with this article and the rules adopted under this article. Officials of the local public health agency are permitted to enter upon private property for purposes of conducting such inspections.
(j)
Issuance of a repair permit to the owner or occupant of property on which a system is not in compliance. An owner or occupant shall apply to the local public health agency for a repair permit within two business days after receiving notice from the local public health agency that the system is not functioning in compliance with this article or the rules adopted under this article or otherwise constitutes a nuisance or hazard to public health or water quality. The permit shall provide for a reasonable period of time within which the owner or occupant must make repairs, at the end of which period the local public health agency shall inspect the system to ensure that it is functioning properly. Concurrently with the issuance of a repair permit, the local public health agency may authorize the continued use of a malfunctioning system on an emergency basis for a period not to exceed the period stated in the repair permit. The period of emergency use may be extended, for good cause shown, if, through no fault of the owner or occupant, repairs may not be completed in the period stated in the repair permit and only if the owner or occupant will continue to make repairs to the system.
(k)
(I)
Issuance of an order to cease and desist from the use of any on-site wastewater treatment system or sewage treatment works that is found by the health officer not to be in compliance with this article or the rules adopted under this article or that otherwise constitutes a nuisance or a hazard to public health or water quality. Such an order may be issued only after a hearing is conducted by the health officer not less than forty-eight hours after written notice of the hearing is given to the owner or occupant of the property on which the system is located and at which the owner or occupant may be present, with counsel, and be heard. The order must require that the owner or occupant bring the system into compliance or eliminate the nuisance or hazard within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed thirty days, or thereafter cease and desist from the use of the system. A cease-and-desist order issued by the health officer is reviewable in the district court for the county in which the system is located and upon a petition filed no later than ten days after the order is issued.
(II)
For the purposes of this paragraph (k), any system or sewage treatment works that does not comply with any statute or rule of this title constitutes a nuisance.
(III)
For the purposes of this paragraph (k), a sewage treatment works does not include any sewage treatment facility with a discharge permit issued pursuant to section
25-8-501
.
(l)
Reasonable periodic collection and testing by the local public health agency of effluent samples from on-site wastewater treatment systems for which monitoring of effluent is necessary in order to ensure compliance with this article or the rules adopted under this article. The sampling may be required not more than two times a year, except when required by the health officer in conjunction with action taken pursuant to paragraph (k) of this subsection (1). The local public health agency may charge a fee not to exceed actual costs, plus locally established mileage reimbursement rates for each mile traveled from the principal office of the local public health agency to the site of the system and return, for each sample collected and tested, and payment of such charges may be stated in the permit for the system as a condition for its continued use. Any owner or occupant of property on which an on-site wastewater treatment system is located may request the local public health agency to collect and test an effluent sample from the system. The local public health agency may, at its option, perform such collection and testing services, and is entitled to charge a fee not to exceed actual costs, plus locally established mileage reimbursement rates for each mile traveled from the principal office of the local public health agency to the site of the system and return, for each sample collected and tested.
(m)
At the option of the local board of health, maintenance and cleaning schedules and practices adequate to ensure proper functioning of various types of on-site wastewater treatment systems. The local board of health may additionally require proof of proper maintenance and cleaning, in compliance with the schedule and practices adopted under this subsection (1), to be submitted periodically to the local public health agency by the owner of the system.
(n)
Disposal of septage at a site and in a manner that does not create a hazard to the public health, a nuisance, or an undue risk of pollution.
L. 97: Entire article amended with relocations, p. 128, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2001: (1)(k) amended, p. 304, § 1, effective April 9. L. 2004: (1)(c), (1)(e), and (1)(h) amended, p. 1313, § 62, effective May 28. L. 2010: (1)(f) amended, (HB 10-1422), ch. 419, p. 2105, §122, effective August 11. L. 2012: Entire article amended, (HB 12-1126), ch. 137, p. 487, § 1, effective August 8.