Arizona Administrative Code › Title 18 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 9 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY - WATER POLLUTION CONTROL › Article 3 - AQUIFER PROTECTION PERMITS - GENERAL PERMITS › Part A - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section R18-9-A309 - General Provisions for On-site Wastewater Treatment Facilities

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 28, July 12, 2024
A. General
				  requirements and prohibitions.
1. No person
				  shall discharge sewage or wastewater that contains sewage from an on-site
				  wastewater treatment facility except under an Aquifer Protection Permit issued
				  by the Director.
2. A person shall
				  not install, allow to be installed, or maintain a connection between any part
				  of an on-site wastewater treatment facility and a drinking water system or
				  supply so that sewage or wastewater contaminates the drinking water.
3. A person shall not bypass or release
				  sewage or partially treated sewage that has not completed the treatment process
				  from an on-site wastewater treatment facility.
4. A person shall not use a cesspool for
				  sewage disposal.
5. A person
				  constructing a new on-site wastewater treatment facility or replacing the
				  treatment works or disposal works of an existing on-site wastewater treatment
				  facility shall connect to a sewage collection system if either (a) or (b) below
				  apply:
a. One of the following applies:
i. A provision of a Nitrogen Management Area
				  designation under
				  R18-9-A317(C)
				  requires connection;
ii. A county,
				  municipal, or sanitary district ordinance requires connection; or
iii. The on-site wastewater treatment
				  facility is located within an area identified for connection to a sewage
				  collection system by a Certified Area-wide Water Quality Management Plan
				  adopted under 18 A.A.C. 5 or a master plan adopted by a majority of the elected
				  officials of a board or council for a county, municipality, or sanitary
				  district; or
b. A sewer
				  service line extension is available at the property boundary and both of the
				  following apply:
i. The service connection fee
				  is not more than $6000 for a dwelling or $10 times the daily design flow in
				  gallons for a source other than a dwelling, and
ii. The cost of constructing the building
				  sewer from the wastewater source to the service connection is not more than
				  $3000 for a dwelling or $5 times the daily design flow in gallons for a source
				  other than a dwelling.
6. The Department shall prohibit installation
				  of an on-site wastewater treatment facility if the installation will create an
				  unsanitary condition or environmental nuisance or cause or contribute to a
				  violation of an Aquifer Water Quality Standard.
7. A person shall design and operate the
				  permitted on-site wastewater treatment facility so that:
a. Flows to the facility consist of typical
				  sewage and do not include any motor oil, gasoline, paint, varnish, solvent,
				  pesticide, fertilizer, or other material not generally associated with toilet
				  flushing, food preparation, laundry, or personal hygiene;
b. Flows to the facility from commercial
				  operations do not contain hazardous wastes as defined under A.R.S. §
				  49921(5) or hazardous substances;
c. If the sewage contains a component of
				  nonresidential flow such as food preparation, laundry service, or other source,
				  the sewage is adequately pretreated by an interceptor that complies with
				  R18-9-A315 or another device
				  authorized by a general permit or approved by the Department under
				  R18-9-A312(G);
d. Except as provided in subsection
				  (A)(7)(c), a sewage flow that does not meet the numerical levels for typical
				  sewage is adequately pretreated to meet the numerical levels before entry into
				  an on-site wastewater treatment facility authorized by this Article;
e. Flow to the facility does not exceed the
				  design flow specified in the Discharge Authorization;
f. The facility does not create an unsanitary
				  condition or environmental nuisance, or cause or contribute to a violation of
				  either a Aquifer Water Quality Standard or a Surface Water Quality Standard;
				  and
g. Activities at the site do
				  not adversely affect the operation of the facility.
8. A person shall control the discharge of
				  total nitrogen from an on-site wastewater treatment facility as follows:
a. For an on-site wastewater treatment
				  facility operating under the 1.09 General Permit or proposed for construction
				  in a Notice of Intent to Discharge under a Type 4 General Permit and the
				  facility is located within a Nitrogen Management Area, the provisions of
				  R18-9-A317(D)
				  apply;
b. For an on-site wastewater
				  treatment facility proposed for construction in a Notice of Intent to Discharge
				  under R18-9-E323, the provisions of
				  R18-9-E323(A)(4) 
				  apply;
c. For a subdivision
				  proposed under 18 A.A.C. 5, Article 4, for which on-site wastewater treatment
				  facilities are used for sewage disposal, the permittee shall demonstrate in the
				  geological report required in
				  R18-5-408(E)(1)
				  that total nitrogen loading from the on-site wastewater treatment facilities to
				  groundwater is controlled by providing one of the following:
i. For a subdivision platted for a single
				  family dwelling on each lot, calculations that demonstrate that the number of
				  lots within the subdivision does not exceed the number of acres contained
				  within the boundaries of the subdivision;
ii. For a subdivision platted for dwellings
				  that do not meet the criteria specified in subsection (A)(8)(c)(i),
				  calculations that demonstrate that the nitrogen loading over the total area of
				  the subdivision is not more than 0.088 pounds (39.9 grams) of total nitrogen
				  per day per acre calculated at a horizontal plane immediately beneath the
				  active treatment of the disposal fields, based on a total nitrogen contribution
				  to raw sewage of 0.0333 pounds (15.0 grams) of total nitrogen per day per
				  person; or
iii. An analysis by
				  another means of demonstration showing that the nitrogen loading to the aquifer
				  due to on-site waste-water treatment facilities within the subdivision does not
				  cause or contribute to a violation of the Aquifer Water Quality Standard for
				  nitrate at the applicable point of compliance.
9. Repairs and Routine Work.
a. A Notice of Intent to Discharge is not
				  required for repair or routine work that maintains a facility.
b. A Notice of Intent to Discharge is
				  required for the following non-routine work or repairs:
i. Converting a facility from operation under
				  gravity to one requiring a pump or other mechanical device for treatment or
				  disposal;
ii.
				  Modifying or replacing a treatment works or disposal works, as defined in
				  R18-9-101; or
iii. Modifying a facility in any manner that
				  is inconsistent with the originally approved design and installation of the
				  facility.
c. A permittee shall
				  comply with any local ordinance that provides independent permitting
				  requirements for repair or routine work.
d.
				  A person, as defined in
				  R18-9-101, shall not modify the
				  facility so as to create an unsanitary condition or environmental nuisance or
				  cause or contribute to an exceedance of a water quality
				  standard.
10. Cumulative
				  flows. When there is more than one on-site wastewater treatment facility on a
				  property or on a site under common ownership or subject to a larger plan of
				  sale or development, the Director shall determine whether an individual permit
				  is required or whether the applicant qualifies for coverage to discharge under
				  a general permit based on the sum of the design flows from the proposed
				  installation and existing on-site wastewater treatment facilities on the
				  property or site.
a. If the sum of the design
				  flows is less than 3000 gallons per day, the Department will process the
				  application under
				  R18-9-E302 through
				  R18-9-E322, as
				  applicable.
b. If the sum of the
				  design flows is equal to or more than 3000 gallons per day but less than 24,000
				  gallons per day, the Department will process the application under
				  R18-9-E323.
c. If the sum of the design flows is equal to
				  or more than 24,000 gallons per day, the project does not qualify for coverage
				  under a Type 4 General Permit and the applicant shall submit an application for
				  an individual permit under Article 2 of this Chapter.
11. The use of a gray water system does not
				  change the design, capacity, or reserve area requirements for an on-site
				  wastewater treatment facility regulated under
				  R18-9-E302 through
				  R18-9-E323. The design of an
				  on-site facility shall ensure the on-site facility can treat and dispose of the
				  combined black water and gray water flows generated at the site. Black water
				  includes waste-water flows from a kitchen sink. Kitchen sink wastewater flows
				  are not gray water. Kitchen sink wastewater flows are not gray water even if a
				  holding tank receiving kitchen sink wastewater, such as a recreational vehicle
				  holding tank, is labeled as holding gray water. Gray water, as defined in
				  R18-9-101, may be utilized in
				  accordance with Article 7 of this Chapter.
12. To obtain coverage under a Type 4 General
				  Permit, an applicant must, in the following order:
a. Submit a Notice of Intent to Discharge
				  according to requirements in
				  R18-9-A301(B),
				  R18-9-A309(B),
				  and according to permit-specific requirements in Part E of Article 3,
b. Receive a Construction Authorization from
				  the Director pursuant to
				  R18-9-A301(D)(1)),
c. Submit a Request for Discharge
				  Authorization according to requirements in
				  R18-9-A301(D)(1)(f),
				  R18-9-A309(C),
				  and according to permit-specific requirements in Part E of Article 3,
				  and
d. Receive a Discharge
				  Authorization from the Director pursuant to
				  R18-9-A301(D)(2)
				  and R18-9-A309(C).