Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 511 - RULES OF GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH › Chapter 511-3 - ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH HAZARDS › Subject 511-3-1 - ON-SITE SEWAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS › Rule 511-3-1-.02 - Definitions

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(a)
"Absorption Field"
means a configuration of absorption trenches
				installed in a portion of
land and used for the absorption and final
				treatment of sewage.
(b)
"Absorption Line"
means a pipe line of perforated pipe laid in an
				absorption trench to serve as a conduit for sewage effluent.
(c)
"Absorption Trench"
means an
				excavation in which an absorption line is laid.
(d)
"Absorption Trench Bottom and Side
				Wall Area"
means the total interface of bottom and side soil area with
				undisturbed soils of all absorption trenches in an absorption field and
				occurring horizontally and downward from the point of distribution into the
				soil, expressed in square feet.
(e)
"Aggregate"
means washed
				gravel or washed stone meeting the Georgia Department of Transportation
				standards for hardness or other materials approved by the Department that shall
				be one half inch (1/2") to two inches (2") in diameter.
(f)
"Alternative On-Site Sewage
				Management System"
means an approved on-site sewage management system
				which differs in design or operation from the conventional or chamber septic
				tank system or privy.
(g)
"Approved" or "Approval"
means compliance with applicable specifications
				or criteria developed or accepted by the Department.
(h)
"Auxiliary System"
means a
				system to serve a portion of a residence, a pool house, or other adjunct
				facility.
(i)
"Bedroom"
means any room that is intended primarily for sleeping
				purposes, as shown on the building plan.
(j)
"Black Water"
means
				wastewater generated by fixtures or appliances that come into direct contact
				with human excreta or solid organic matter, such as toilets, urinals, bidets,
				kitchen sinks and garbage disposals.
(k)
"Building Drain"
means that
				part of the lowest piping of a building drainage system inside the walls of a
				building, which receives the discharge from soil, waste or other drainage
				systems and conveys the discharge to the building sewer.
(l)
"Building Sewer"
means that
				part of the horizontal piping of a building drainage system beyond the building
				drain which receives the discharge from the building drain and conveys it to a
				public sewer, private sewer, on-site sewage management system or other
				disposal.
(m)
"Central
				On-Site Sewage Management System"
means an on-site sewage management
				system serving more than one building, business, residence or other facility
				designed or used for human occupancy or congregation on an individual lot or
				single parcel of land.
(n)
"Chamber Septic Tank System" means
a septic tank with a chamber system
				as defined in definition (o) below.
(o)
"Chamber System"
means a
				system of chambers with each chamber being a molded polyolefin plastic, arch
				shaped, hollow structure with an exposed bottom area and solid top and louvered
				sidewall for infiltration of effluent into adjoining bottom and sidewall soil
				areas. Chambers may be of different sizes and configurations to obtain desired
				surface areas.
(p)
"Conventional System"
means a traditionally used system that is composed
				of perforated pipe surrounded by gravel or stone masking for the infiltration
				of effluent into adjoining bottom and side wall areas.
(q)
"Conventional Septic Tank
				System"
means any septic tank and conventional system as defined in (p),
				but does not include alternative or experimental systems.
(r)
"County Board of Health"
means a County Board of Health organized pursuant to O.C.G.A. §
									31-3-1
et
				seq.
(s)
"Department" or "DPH"
means the Georgia Department of Public
				Health.
(t)
"Distribution
				Device"
means a watertight structure which receives sewage effluent from
				a septic tank, dosing tank, or other sewage retention device and distributes it
				in equal portions to two or more absorption lines.
(u)
"Dosing Tank"
means an
				approved watertight tank, located after a septic tank or other sewage retention
				device, to receive and retain sewage effluent, and so equipped as to discharge
				sewage effluent intermittently to a distribution device, either by pump or by
				siphon.
(v)
"Experimental
				On-Site Sewage Management System"
means any on-site sewage management
				system proposed for testing and observation, and provisionally approved for
				such purposes by the Department, but which has not been fully proven under
				field use.
(w)
"Failure" or
				"failed"
meansthe on-site sewage system constitutes a health hazard by
				reason of inadequate treatment or disposal of sewage.
(x)
"Filter"
means an approved
				device that removes solids or other materials from the effluent that could
				cause failure of an on-site sewage management system.
(y)
"Flood Plain"
means a
				generally flat plain or depression susceptible to being flooded from any
				source, including small and intermittent water courses and coastal areas
				subject to intermittent tidal action.
(z)
"Gray Water"
means
				wastewater generated by water-using fixtures and appliances that does not come
				into direct contact with human excreta or solid organic matter.
(aa)
"Grease Trap"
means a
				device in which the grease content of sewage is intercepted and congealed, and
				from which grease may be skimmed or otherwise removed for proper
				disposal.
(bb)
"Hardscape"
means any area devoted to a landscape made up of hard
				wearing materials such as stone, concrete, decking and other similar
				construction materials.
(cc)
"Individual Water Supply System"
means a non-public system of piping,
				pumps, tanks or other facilities, utilizing groundwater to supply a single
				family dwelling.
(dd)
"Lot"
means a portion of a subdivision, or any other parcel of land,
				intended as a unit for transfer of ownership, or for development, or both. It
				does not include any part of the right-of-way of a street or road.
(ee)
"Manual for On-Site Sewage
				Management Systems"
means the most current version of the technical
				handbook adopted and periodically updated by the Department in the
				implementation of this Chapter.
(ff)
"Mobile Home Park"
means a
				parcel of land developed for subsequent rental, lease, or placement of two or
				more mobile homes.
(gg)
"On-Site Sewage Management System"
means a sewage management system
				other than a public or community sewage treatment system serving one or more
				buildings, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, residences, or other facilities
				designed or used for human occupancy or congregation. Such term shall include,
				without limitation, conventional and chamber septic tank systems, privies, and
				experimental and alternative on-site management systems which are designed to
				be physically incapable of a surface discharge of effluent.
(hh)
"Percolation Coefficient"
means the ratio of trench bottom area to percolation time, expressed as the
				allowable rate of sewage application in gallons per square foot per
				day.
(ii)
"Percolation
				Rate"
means the time, expressed in minutes per inch, required for water
				to seep into saturated soil at a constant rate.
(jj)
"Percolation Test"
means
				the method used to measure the percolation rate of water into soil as described
				in the
Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems
.
(kk)
"Person"
means any
				individual, partnership, corporation, association, and bodies both political
				and corporate.
(ll)
"Physical
				Development"
means the alteration or improvement of real property,
				including site preparation, erection of any structure or road, well
				construction, or installation of on-site sewage management systems.
(mm)
"Privy"
means a structure
				and necessary appurtenances used for the sanitary disposal or storage of human
				wastes without the aid of water carriage. It does not include chemical,
				composting, portable or incinerator toilets.
(nn)
"Public Water Supply System"
means a system for the provision of piped water to the public for human
				consumption, if such system has at least fifteen service connections, or
				regularly serves an average of at least twenty-five individuals daily, at least
				sixty days out of the year.
(oo)
"Septage"
means a waste
				that is a fluid mixture of partially treated or untreated sewage solids,
				liquids, and sludge of human or domestic waste, present in or pumped from
				septic tanks, malfunctioning on-site sewage management systems, grease traps,
				or privies.
(pp)
"Sewage
				Treatment System"
is a system that provides primary treatment and
				disposal, including absorption field components, devices, and appurtenances
				intended to be used for disposal of sewage by soil absorption. It does not
				include a conventional or chamber septic tank system. The system shall be
				designed to be physically incapable of a surface discharge of
				effluent.
(qq)
"Septic
				Tank"
means an approved watertight tank designed or used to receive
				sewage from a building sewer and to affect separation and organic decomposition
				of sewage solids, and discharging sewage effluent to an absorption field or
				other management system.
(rr)
"Sewage"
means and includes human excreta, black water, water-carried
				wastes, and liquid household waste from residences or commercial and industrial
				establishments.
(ss)
"Sinkhole"
means a depression in the land surface, generally in a
				limestone region, which communicates or has the potential to communicate with a
				subterranean passage developed by solution.
(tt)
"Site"
means the location
				where the absorption field will be installed, to include replacement
				area.
(uu)
"Soil
				Classifier"
means a person who has been approved by the Department to
				conduct soil evaluations to determine suitability of a sit for an on-site
				sewage management system.
(vv)
"Subdivision"
means any
				division of a tract or parcel of land into five or more lots, building sites,
				mobile home sites, or other divisions, resulting in at least one single lot of
				less than three acres, for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale or
				legacy, and includes re-subdivision. It does not include:
1. The combination or recombination of
				previously platted lots or portions thereof where the total number of lots is
				not increased and the resultant lots conform to the standards of these rules;
				or
2. The division of land into
				parcels, all of whichare three acres or more in size with minimum width of one
				hundred and fifty feet (150') for a distance sufficient to provide an adequate
				area for the placement of structures and improvements including wells and
				approved installation of approved on-site sewage management systems.