Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 144 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - GENERAL › Chapter 241 - SUBSURFACE WASTEWATER DISPOSAL RULE › Section 144-241-1 - PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Purpose.
This rule governs the siting, design, construction and
				inspection requirements for subsurface wastewater disposal systems in Maine, in
				order to protect the health, safety and welfare of residents and visitors
				within the State.
B.
Definitions.
The definitions in this rule supplement the
				definitions in the applicable statutes.
1.
Abutter
means the owner of a property that is contiguous to or
				bordering another property. For purposes of this rule, "abutter" is further
				defined to include that a property owner whose property is separated by a right
				of way and/or within setback requirements between a subsurface wastewater
				disposal field and a potable water supply.
2.
ACOE
means the United States
				Army Corps of Engineers.
3.
Adjacent wetlands
means any swamps, bogs, freshwater meadows,
				marshes, floodplains, tidal flats, aquatic beds, beaches or reefs that may be
				impacted by soil disturbance activities caused by the installation, maintenance
				or replacement of a subsurface wastewater system. See "work adjacent to
				wetlands and waterbodies/courses".
4.
Advanced Treatment
				Device/System
means an advanced wastewater treatment device/system that
				reduces the effluent strength of discharges but may require additional
				treatment by other system components, to meet the standards in accordance with
				Section 17(E)(6) of this
				rule for approval by the Department. Advanced Treatment Device/System does not
				include proprietary devices for use in disposal fields.
5.
Advanced Tertiary Treatment
				Device/System
means an advanced wastewater treatment device/system
				determined to reliably and consistently discharge wastewater that is
				sufficiently treated to require no further treatment in either a septic tank or
				disposal field, in accordance with Section
				17(E)(6) of this
				rule for approval by the Department.
6.
Aerobic
means a condition in
				which molecular oxygen is a part of the environment.
7.
Aerobic Treatment Unit
means
				a device to treat domestic wastewater utilizing electric, mechanical, or
				biological processes.
8.
Alteration
means any change in the physical configuration of an
				existing system or any of its component parts. This includes the replacement,
				modification, installation, addition, or removal of system components, or
				increase in size, capacity, type, or number of one or more components. The term
				"alter" must be construed accordingly.
9.
Alternative toilet
means a
				device intended for other than temporary use, excluding a water closet or other
				fixture, located inside a structure, designed to treat or store human waste
				only. Examples include pit privies and vault toilets.
10.
Anaerobic
means a condition
				in which molecular oxygen is absent from the environment.
11.
Applicant
means the person
				who signs and submits an application, or on whose behalf an application is
				signed and submitted, for permit to construct, install, or alter a subsurface
				wastewater system.
12.
Application for disposal system permit
means the subsurface
				wastewater disposal system permit application, also known as HHE-200
				Form.
13.
Backfill
means soil material that is suitable for use beneath and beside the disposal
				field, including the fill extension.
14.
Bedrock
means a solid and
				continuous body of rock, with or without fracture, or a weathered or broken
				body of rock fragments overlying a solid body of rock.
15.
Bedroom
means any room
				within a dwelling unit that primarily serves as sleeping quarters.
16.
Bedroom (detached)
means any
				room in an accessory structure with no kitchen, kitchen appliances or fixtures
				generally found in a kitchen (like stove, microwave, hot plate, sink, etc.) and
				that primarily serves as sleeping quarters in accordance with Section
				5 of this rule.
17.
Berm
means a flat strip of
				land, raised bank, or terrace bordering a river, canal, or subsurface
				wastewater system.
18.
Biochemical Oxygen Demand:
(also BOD or
				BOD5) means the relative oxygen requirement of organic
				matter in wastewater, determined by a standardized laboratory test. When
				followed by the numeral 5, a five-day incubation period for the test is
				indicated.
19.
Black
				wastewater
means wastewater derived from plumbing fixtures or drains
				that receive excreta-supplemented wastewater.
20.
BOD
means Biochemical Oxygen
				Demand, defined in Section
				1(B)(18) of this
				rule.
21.
Building
				drain
means the part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage
				system that receives the discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage pipes
				inside the walls of a building and conveys it to the building sewer. The
				building drain extends to a point two feet outside the building wall.
22.
Building sewer
means the
				part of the plumbing system that extends from the end of the building drain and
				conveys its discharge to a public sewer, septic tank and disposal field, or
				other point of disposal.
23.
Bunkhouse
means an accessory building that has no plumbing and is
				intended to function as temporary sleeping accommodations for guests of the
				property owner of a single- family dwelling.
24.
Certificate of approval
means a document signed by the LPI verifying that a system has been installed
				in compliance with the disposal system permit application and this rule or the
				actual permitted HHE-200 form that has been signed off by the LPI.
25.
Chroma
means a color
				notation which indicates strength or departure from a neutral of the same
				lightness.
26.
Clay
means a particle size category consisting of mineral particles that are smaller
				than 0.002 millimeters in equivalent spherical diameter; also means a soil
				texture class having more than 40% clay, less than 45% sand, and less than 40%
				silt.
27.
Coastal sand
				dune
means sand and gravel deposits within a marine beach system
				including, but not limited to the following: beach berms, frontal dunes, dune
				ridges, back dunes, and other sand and gravel areas deposited by wave or wind
				action. Coastal sand dune systems may extend into coastal wetlands.
28.
Coastal shoreland zone
means
				the area described and defined in
				38 MRS
				§435, which include those areas within
				250 feet of the normal high-water line of any saltwater body or within 250 feet
				of the upland edge of a coastal wetland (defined in
				38 MRS
				§436-A(1)), except as
				otherwise provided in
				38 MRS
				§438-A(2).
29.
CMR
means an abbreviation
				for Code of Maine Rules. For example, 10-144 CMR 241 (9) identifies Section
				9 of Chapter 241 of the Subsurface
				Wastewater Disposal Rule within the Department.
30.
Component
means any
				individual part of a subsurface wastewater disposal system.
31.
Construct
means to build,
				install, fabricate, or put together on a site one or more components of a
				system.
32.
Contour
means an imaginary line of constant elevation on the ground surface. The
				corresponding line on a map is called a "contour line".
33.
Creek
means
Water
				Course
as defined in Section
				1(B) of this
				rule.
34.
Curtain
				drain
means a trench to intercept laterally moving ground water and
				divert it away from a disposal field.
35.
Department
means the Maine
				Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and
				Prevention.
36.
Design
				flow
means the wastewater flow that may reasonably be expected to be
				discharged from a residential, commercial, or institutional facility on any day
				of operation as determined in Section 5.
37.
Differential organic matter
				accumulation
means a condition where organic matter accumulates in a
				subsoil horizon in a splotchy or blotchy appearance as compared to organic
				streaking.
38.
Disposal
				area
means the combination of the disposal field, shoulders and fill
				extensions.
39.
Disposal
				field
means an individual subsurface wastewater disposal system
				component, consisting of a closed excavation made within soil, or fill material
				to contain disposal field stone and distribution pipes, or approved proprietary
				devices for the disposal of septic tank effluent. The excavation is typically
				in the form of trenches or beds with either stone or proprietary devices
				included in the design.
40.
Disposal field, engineered
means a disposal field, or series of
				fields, which is a component of an engineered system.
41.
Disposal field, lined
means
				a disposal field designed with a filtration envelope or layer of backfill
				placed directly beneath and adjacent to the field. Typically used in profile 6
				and 11 soils.
42.
Disposal
				field, peat
means a disposal field utilizing peat that is designed and
				installed in accordance with Section
				11.
43.
Disposal field, primitive
means
Primitive disposal field
as defined in Section
				1(B) of this
				rule.
44.
Disposal field,
				separated laundry
means
Separated laundry disposal field
as defined in Section
				1(B) of this
				rule.
45.
Disposal field,
				trench
means a disposal field utilizing disposal field stone in which
				each run of distribution pipe is separated by either native soil or fill, and
				which is sized and designed in accordance with Section
				5(F).
46.
Disposal field stone
means
				gravel or crushed stone which is clean and free of dust, ashes or clay, and
				meeting the requirements prescribed in Section
				12.
47.
Disposal field infiltration
				area
means the total disposal field infiltration area available to
				accept the septic tank effluent. The infiltration area includes the bottom and
				side wall below the invert of the distribution piping.
48.
Disposal field infiltration area,
				effective
means the standard stone filled disposal field infiltration
				area or the equivalent various "approved" proprietary disposal
				devices.
49.
Disposal
				system
means Subsurface wastewater disposal system, as defined in
				Section 1(B) of this
				rule.
50.
Disposal system
				permit
means written authorization issued by the LPI to construct a
				specific system. This authorization is attached to the application for disposal
				system permit.
51.
Distribution box
means a device that receives septic tank effluent
				and distributes such effluent in equal portions to two or more disposal fields
				or distribution pipes within a disposal field.
52.
Distribution network
means
				two or more interconnected distribution pipes.
53.
Distribution pipe
means a
				perforated pipe or one of several perforated pipes used to carry and distribute
				septic tank effluent throughout the disposal field.
54.
Diversion box
means a device
				that permits alternating use of two or more disposal fields or the diversion of
				septic tank effluent.
55.
Diversion ditch
means a ditch to intercept and divert surface
				water runoff around and away from a subsurface wastewater disposal
				system.
56.
Domestic
				wastewater
means any wastewater produced by ordinary household or living
				uses, including liquid waste containing animal or vegetable matter in
				suspension or solution, or the water-carried waste from the discharge of water
				closets, laundry tubs, washing machines, sinks, dishwashers, or other source of
				water-carried wastes of human origin. See domestic wastewater and
				wastewater.
57.
Dosing
				tank
means watertight receptacle located between the septic tank and
				disposal field equipped with a pump or siphon, used to store and deliver doses
				of septic tank effluent to the disposal field.
58.
Drainage area
means an area
				from which the surface runoff is carried away by a single
				watercourse.
59.
Drainage
				ditch
means a natural or manmade ditch receiving and diverting surface
				runoff or subsurface water that does not meet the definition of a
				waterbody/course. This definition does not include diversion of a naturally
				occurring water body.
60.
Drop box
means a wastewater distribution device where the
				elevation of the incoming distribution line is higher than that of the outgoing
				distribution line.
61.
Drop
				manhole
means a manhole installed in a sewer where the elevation of the
				incoming sewer is considerably above that of the outgoing sewer.
62.
Dwelling unit
means any
				structure or portion of a structure, permanent or temporary in nature, used or
				proposed to be used as a residence seasonally or throughout the year.
63.
Effluent line (gravity)
means the pipe(s) used to convey septic tank effluent from the tank to the
				disposal field(s), including non-perforated pipes going from a distribution box
				or other flow-splitting device to a disposal field or multiple disposal
				fields.
64.
Elevation
				reference point
means an easily-identifiable point or object of constant
				elevation for establishing the relative elevation of observation holes and
				elevation of the components of the system.
65.
Engineer
means
Professional Engineer
as defined in Section
				1(B) of this
				rule.
66.
Engineered
				system
means
System, Engineered
as defined in Section
				1(B) of this
				rule.
67.
Equivalent
				spherical diameter
means the diameter of a sphere that has a volume
				equal to the volume of the particle.
68.
Expansion
means the
				enlargement or change in use of a structure using an existing subsurface
				wastewater disposal system that brings the total structure into a
				classification that requires larger subsurface wastewater disposal system
				components pursuant to this rule.
69.
Experimental system
means
System, Experimental
, as defined in Section
				1(B) of this
				rule.
70.
Factor,
				limiting
means
Horizon, limiting
, as defined in Section
				1(B) of this
				rule.
71.
Failure or Failing
				System
means
System Malfunctioning
as defined in
				Section 1(B) of this
				rule.
72.
Fill
				extension
means the filled area beyond the edge of the disposal area
				shoulder.
73.
Fill
				material
means any soil, rock, or other material placed within an
				excavation or over the surface of the ground.
74.
Finish grade
means the
				surface of the ground after completion of final grading.
75.
Flood plain, coastal and
				estuary
means the land area within the V-Zone indicated by the Federal
				Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) or below the 10-year storm surge elevation,
				whichever is more restrictive. The 10-year storm surge elevation in Maine is
				approximately the 8-foot National Geodetic Vertical Datum. For additional
				information see
https://msc.fema.gov/portal/home
.
76.
Flood plain, riverine
means
				the land area within the 10-year flood zone indicated by Federal Insurance Rate
				Maps (FIRM) or other sources acceptable to the Department in the absence of
				Federal Insurance Rate Maps. For additional information see
https://msc.fema.gov/portal/home
.
77.
Gpd
means gallons per
				day.
78.
Gravel
means
				a rounded or semi-rounded rock fragment that is between 2 millimeters and 3
				inches in diameter.
79.
Grey
				wastewater
means that portion of the wastewater generated within a
				residential, commercial, or institutional facility that does not include
				discharges from water closets and urinals.
80.
Greywater
means
Grey
				Wastewater
as defined in Section
				1(B) of this
				rule.
81.
Grease
				interceptor
means a device in which the grease in wastewater leaving a
				structure is intercepted, congealed by cooling, accumulated, and stored for
				pump-out and disposal.
82.
Grease trap
means a device designed to retain grease from a single
				plumbing fixture.
83.
Great
				pond
means any inland body of water that, in a natural state, has a
				surface area in excess of 10 acres and any inland body of water artificially
				formed or increased that has a surface area in excess of 30 acres.
84.
Ground water
means water
				below the land surface in a zone of soil saturation.
85.
Ground water aquifer
means a
				rock or gravel formation that contains significant recoverable quantities of
				water that is likely to provide drinking water supplies.
86.
Ground water table
means the
				upper surface of a zone of saturation.
87.
H-10 wheel load
means a
				wheel loading configuration, as defined by the American Association of State
				Highway Officials for a standardized 16,000 pound per-axle vehicle.
88.
H-20 wheel load
means a
				wheel loading configuration, as defined by the American Association of State
				Highway Officials for a standardized 32,000 pound-per-axle vehicle
				truck.
89.
Hazardous
				waste
means any chemical substance or material, whether gas, solid, or
				liquid, that is designated as hazardous by the U.S. Environmental Protection
				Agency pursuant to the United States Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
				(See 40 CFR Part 261 ).
90.
HHE-200
means Subsurface Wastewater Disposal System Application.
				The form used by licensed site evaluators for designing septic systems, as
				prescribed by the Department.
91.
HHE-204
means Variance Request. The form attached to an HHE-200
				Form for all systems requiring a variance.
92.
HHE-220:
means Application
				for Engineered Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Systems for all engineered
				subsurface wastewater disposal systems.
93.
HHE-233
means Holding Tank
				Application. The application/agreement form for holding tanks which is required
				for all holding tank requests.
94.
HHE-234
means Notice of Intent to Install a Subsurface Wastewater
				Disposal System. This form is used to record a system design with the County
				Registry of Deeds.
95.
HHE-236
means Application for Variance to the Minimum Lot Size Law
				Requirements. This form is to be filed with all pertinent data for requests for
				waivers to the Minimum Lot Size Law.
96.
HHE-238A
means Statement of
				Compliance. A form to be used by a homeowner or homeowner's agent to obtain a
				written statement from the disposal system installer, regarding installation
				compliance.
97.
HHE-300
means Holding Tank Deed Covenant. A form to be filed at
				the County Registry of Deeds when a residential structure is to be served by a
				holding tank.
98.
HHE-304
means Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Variance Deed
				Covenant. A form which may be required for any property which obtains
				additional points for lot size prior to the final approval of a First-Time
				System Variance. The form would require filing at the County Registry of
				Deeds.
99.
Holding
				tank
means a closed, watertight structure designed and used to receive
				and store wastewater or septic tank effluent. A holding tank does not discharge
				wastewater or septic tank effluent to surface or groundwater or onto the
				surface of the ground. Holding tanks are designed and constructed to facilitate
				ultimate disposal of wastewater at another site.
100.
Horizon, limiting
means any
				soil horizon or combination of soil horizons, within the soil profile or any
				parent material below the soil profile, that limits the ability of the soil to
				provide treatment or disposal of septic tank effluent. Limiting horizons
				include bedrock, hydraulically restrictive soil horizons and parent material,
				excessively coarse soil horizons and parent material, and the seasonal
				groundwater table.
101.
Horizon, soil
means a layer within a soil profile differing from
				the soil above or below it in one or more soil morphological characteristics.
				The characteristics of the layer include the color, texture, rock-fragment
				content, and consistence of each parent soil material.
*
Horizon, A:
a surface soil mineral horizon
				  characterized by a highly humified organic matter content intimately mixed with
				  the mineral fraction. The A Horizon may have properties resulting from
				  cultivation, pasturing or similar kinds of disturbance.
*
Horizon, B:
the horizon usually below the A or
				  E Horizon that is generally a horizon of maximum accumulation (illuviation) of
				  iron, aluminum, or organic matter. A dark reddish brown to a yellowish-brown
				  color may be evident in the more developed horizons.
[RIGHT ARROW]
Subordinate Distinction "h" (Bh):
alluvial accumulations of organic matter. This symbol is used with "B" to
				  indicate the accumulation of dispersible organic matter - and to a lesser
				  extent, sesquioxide complexes (iron and aluminum compounds).
[RIGHT ARROW]
Subordinate Distinction 's" (Bs):
illuvial accumulation of iron, aluminum and organic matter. This symbol is used
				  with "B" and may also be combined with "h" as "Bhs".
* Horizon, C:
soil horizons that have been very
				  little affected by the soil forming process. Most are mineral, but C horizons
				  can also be found in organic soils. They can be either like or unlike the soil
				  material above them.
* Horizon, E:
a layer of maximum leaching
				  (eluviation) of iron, aluminum, and organic matter. The E horizon is usually
				  lighter in color than the overlying or underlying horizons. An E Horizon is
				  commonly near the surface below an A Horizon and above a B Horizon.
* Horizon, O:
a Layer usually found on top of
				  the mineral soil material comprised entirely or mostly of organic matter in
				  various stages of decomposition. O horizons may contain small percentages of
				  mineral matter, generally comprising less than half of its weight.
102.
Horizontal reference
				point
means any stationary, easily identifiable point to which
				horizontal dimensions can be related.
103.
Hue
means a soil color
				notation which indicates its relation to red, yellow, green, blue, and
				purple.
104.
Hydrology
means the science dealing with the properties, distribution, and circulation of
				water.
105.
In-law
				apartment
means a small one-bedroom dwelling unit with a kitchen, which
				is attached to or carved out of a single-family dwelling unit and intended for
				occupancy..
106.
Install
means to assemble, put in place, or connect components of
				a system in a manner that permits their use by the occupants of the structure
				served.
107.
Invert
means the floor, bottom, or lowest portion of the internal cross section of a
				closed conduit, used with reference to pipes or fittings conveying wastewater
				or septic tank effluent.
109.
Limited operation hunting camp
means a structure or group of
				structures established to lodge sportspersons for the specific purpose of
				hunting or fishing for a period not to exceed four consecutive weeks.
110.
Local plumbing inspector
means also L.P.I. or LPI. An inspector appointed by the municipality and
				certified by the State with the responsibilities delineated by
				30-A
				MRS §
											4221,
				4451, and this rule.
111.
LUPC
means the Maine
				Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Land Use Planning
				Commission.
112.
Marginal or
				Failing Site
See Section
				14(I).
113.
Mottling
means a color
				pattern observed in soil consisting of blotches or spots of contrasting color.
				The term "mottle" refers to an individual blotch or spot and describes a
				redoximorphic feature.
114.
Multi-family dwelling unit
means a structure or realty improvement
				intended for two or more attached dwelling units.
115.
No practical alternative
means that due to site conditions, lot configuration, or other constraints, the
				replacement, repair or alteration of an existing system, in full compliance
				with this rule, is not achievable without the employment of extraordinary
				measures or cost.
116.
NOAA
means The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
				Administration.
117.
Normal
				high-water line - coastal, estuary, and tidal
means the shoreline at the
				spring tide elevation, during the maximum spring tide level as identified in
				tide tables published by NOAA, or as designated by municipalities within
				shoreland zones or by equivalent UPC districts, whichever is more stringent.
				NOTE: Adjacent to tidal waters, setbacks are measured from the upland edge of
				the "coastal wetland."
118.
Normal high-water line - non-tidal waters
means the line which is
				apparent from visible markings, changes in the character of soils due to
				prolonged action of the water or changes in vegetation, and which distinguishes
				between predominantly aquatic and predominantly terrestrial land. Areas
				contiguous with rivers and great ponds that support non-forested wetland
				vegetation and hydric soils and that are at the same or lower elevation as the
				water level of the river or great pond during the period of normal high-water
				are considered part of the river or great pond.
119.
NRPA
means the Natural
				Resource Protection Act, 38 MRS Chapter 3, Subchapter 1, Article 5-A,
				(§§
										480-A
et
				seq
.).
120.
Nuisance
means any source of filth, odor, or probable cause of
				sickness.
121.
Observation
				hole
means a test pit, test boring, or probe made into the ground to
				observe and classify soil conditions.
122.
Original ground slope (in
				percentage)
means the ground slope measured by the difference in
				elevation between the original ground at the proposed disposal field and the
				original ground at a protected resource (wetland or waterbody/ course) or other
				site feature, divided by the horizontal distance between the disposal field and
				protected resource or other site feature.
123.
Original ground surface
means the pre-existing level of the ground surface in an area of disturbed
				ground.
124.
Other
				components
means the devices, other than pipe, that receive wastewater,
				including lift stations, distribution boxes, sealed vault privies, underdrain
				pre-filters, grease interceptors, and drop boxes.
125.
Oxidized rhizospheres
means
				the yellowish-red zones around roots and rhizomes of some plants that grow in
				frequently saturated soils.
126.
Parallel Distribution
means a method of distributing wastewater
				from a treatment tank equally between multiple rows of distribution piping or
				media at the same time.
127.
Perennial Stream
means a major water course depicted as blue lines
				on the most recent 7.5-minute USGS topographic map or, if not available, the
				most recent 15-minute USGS topographic map.
128.
Person
means an individual
				or his heirs, executor, administrator, assign, or agents; a firm, corporation,
				association, organization, municipal or quasi-municipal corporation, or
				government agency. Singular includes plural and male includes female.
129.
Pit privy
means an
				alternative toilet, consisting of a permanent structure placed over an
				excavation where human waste is deposited.
130.
Potable water
means water
				that is free from pollution, contamination, harmful minerals, or ineffective
				agents and is satisfactory for human consumption.
131.
Primitive disposal field
means a minimal disposal field designed specifically to treat grey wastewater,
				originating from a non-pressurized water supply.
132.
Primitive system
see
				definition of
System, primitive
in Section
				1(B) of this
				rule.
133.
Principal dwelling
				or year-round residence
means a residence that is used as principal or
				year round residence as determined by consideration of factors including but is
				not limited to, (1) the listing of that residence as an occupant's legal
				residence for the purpose of either voting, filing a state tax return, or
				automobile registration; or (2) occupancy of that dwelling for a period
				exceeding 7 months in any calendar year. (30-A MRS §
										4201).
134.
Private water supply,
				non-potable
means a drilled well, dug well, well point, spring, or any
				interconnected combination thereof, used to supply water for any purposes other
				than human drinking, cooking, bathing, or laundering, to a residential or
				commercial structure.
135.
Private water supply, potable
means a drilled well, dug well, well
				point, spring, or any interconnected combination thereof, designated by its
				owner to supply water for human drinking, cooking, bathing, or laundering to a
				residential or commercial structure, that does not meet the definition of a
				public water system.
136.
Probe
means a penetration into the ground usually to only
				determine depth to refusal or bedrock. Typical methods include the use of a
				steel rod or bar.
137.
Professional Engineer
means a person licensed to practice
				Professional Engineering in Maine, pursuant to 32 MRS, Chapter 19.
138.
Proprietary disposal device
means a device utilized in disposal fields as an alternative to a disposal
				field with a bedding of stone and one or more distribution pipes.
139.
Public sewer
means a
				municipal or quasi-municipal sewerage system.
140.
Public sewer connection
means the plumbing hookup from a building for the purpose of disposing waste to
				a municipal, quasi-municipal, or town's waste sanitary system. See Section
				8 of this rule.
141.
Pump Tank
means a
				watertight vessel receiving either untreated or treated domestic wastewater for
				transport to a disposal area by mechanical means.
142.
Realty improvement
means
				any new residential, commercial, or industrial structure, or other premises,
				including but not limited to condominiums, garden apartments, town houses,
				mobile homes, stores, office buildings, restaurants, and hotels, not served by
				an approved public sewer, the useful occupancy of which will require the
				installation or construction of systems. Each dwelling unit in a proposed
				multiple-family dwelling unit, or each commercial unit in a commercial
				structure, must be construed to be a separate realty improvement.
143.
Recreation/Sporting Camp
means a structure or group of structures licensed by the Department's Health
				Inspection Program and established to feed and lodge sportspersons for the
				specific purpose of hunting, fishing, or other wilderness recreational
				activities. These camps have the potential to operate year-round with a variety
				of use patterns.
144.
Redoximorphic features
means a soil color patterns caused by
				alternating saturated and unsaturated soil conditions, also known as drainage
				mottles. When saturation occurs while soil temperatures are above biological
				zero (41°F), iron and manganese will become reduced and exhibit subdued
				shades such as greys, greens, or blues. When unsaturated conditions occur,
				oxygen combines with iron and manganese to develop brighter soil colors such as
				yellow and reddish brown. Soils that experience seasonally fluctuating water
				tables usually exhibit alternating streaks, spots, or blotches of bright
				oxidized colors with reduced dull, or subdued, colors. The longer a soil is
				saturated and in an anaerobic condition, the greater is the percentage of color
				that will be subdued. Soils that are never or rarely exposed to free oxygen are
				considered totally reduced or gleyed.
145.
Repair
means fixing,
				mending, or replacing pumps, siphons, or accessory equipment, for the clearance
				of a stoppage, or to seal a leak in the septic tank, holding tank, pump tank,
				or building sewer.
146.
Replacement system
means
System, replacement
in
				Section 1(B) of this
				rule.
147.
Residence
means
Dwelling unit and Realty improvement
as defined in
				Section 1(B) of this
				rule.
148.
River
means
				a wide natural free-flowing stream of water that flows into an ocean or other
				large body of water. Also, see definition for Normal high-water line "
				riverine, stream, lake and pond.
149.
Rock fragments
mean
				unattached and unsorted pieces of rock contained within the soil that are at
				least 2 millimeters in equivalent spherical diameter.
150.
Sand
means a particle-size
				category consisting of mineral particles that are between 0.05 and 2
				millimeters in equivalent spherical diameter. Sand is also described as a soil
				textural class having 85 percent or more sand, along with a maximum of 15
				percent silt and clay. The percentage of silt may not be more than 15 times the
				percentage of clay.
151.
Saturated
means a condition in which all easily drained voids
				between the soil particles are temporarily or permanently filled with
				water.
152.
Scum
means
				a mass of wastewater solids floating on the surface of the wastewater and
				buoyed up by entrained gas, grease, or other substances. The term 'scum layer"
				must be construed accordingly.
153.
Seasonal conversion permit
means a written authorization issued by
				the LPI to allow the conversion of a seasonal dwelling unit located in a
				shoreland area of major waterbodies/courses to year-round use.
154.
Seasonal dwelling unit
means a dwelling which existed on December 31, 1981, and which was not used as
				a principal or year-round residence during the period from 1977 to
				1981.
155.
Seasonal
				groundwater table
means the upper limit of seasonal groundwater. This
				zone may be determined by identification of redoximorphic features (soil
				drainage mottling), or by monitoring.
156.
Separate laundry disposal
				field
means a separate disposal field sized to handle the laundry
				wastewater from single-family dwelling units.
157.
Septage
means all sludge,
				scum, liquid, or any other material removed from a septic tank or disposal
				field.
158.
Septic
				tank
means a watertight receptacle that receives the discharge of
				untreated wastewater. It is designed and installed so as to permit settling of
				settle-able solids from the liquid, retention of the scum, partial digestion of
				the organic matter, and discharge of the liquid portion into a disposal
				field.
159.
Septic tank
				effluent
means primary treated wastewater discharged through the outlet
				of a septic tank and/or an approved sand, peat, or similar filter.
160.
Septic tank filter
means a
				device designed to keep solids and grease in a septic tank.
161.
Serial distribution
means a
				method of distributing septic tank effluent between or within a series of
				disposal fields, so that each successive disposal field receives septic tank
				effluent only after the preceding disposal fields have become full to the
				bottom of the invert.
162.
Setback distance
means the shortest horizontal distance between a
				component of a system and certain site features or structures.
163.
Shoreland zone/area of major
				waterbodies/courses
means all land area within 250 feet horizontal
				distance of the normal high-water line or upland edge of any great pond, river,
				salt water body, coastal wetland, non-forested wetlands greater than 10 acres
				or within 75 feet horizontal distance of the normal high-water line of a
				stream, or designated as Municipal Shoreland Zoning or an equivalent LUPC
				district.
164.
Short Term
				Rental
means any building, cottage, cabin or other habitable structure
				that is rented for lodging purposes for a period of time that does not exceed
				30 continuous days.
165.
Shoulder
means the filled area beyond the edge of the disposal
				field., sometimes also referred to as a berm.
166.
Significant wildlife
				habitat
means seabird nesting islands, significant vernal pool habitat,
				high and moderate value waterfowl and wading bird habitat, including nesting
				and feeding areas, and shorebird nesting feeding and staging areas.
167.
Silt
means particle size
				category consisting of mineral particles that are between 0.002 and 0.05
				millimeters in equivalent spherical diameter. It also means a soil textural
				class having 80 percent or more of silt and 12 percent or less of
				clay.
168.
Single-family
				dwelling unit
means a structure or realty improvement intended for
				single-family use, including an attached or incorporated in-law
				apartment.
169.
Site
				evaluation
means the practice of investigating, evaluating, and
				reporting the basic soil and site conditions which apply to wastewater
				treatment and disposal along with a system design in compliance with this
				rule.
170.
Sludge
means thick, soft and wet mud or similar viscous mixture of wastewater liquids
				and solids that settle to the bottom of a septic tank. These solids are
				relatively resistant to biological decomposition and collect in the septic tank
				over a period of time. The term 'sludge layer" must be construed
				accordingly.
171.
Soil
means the outermost surface layer of the earth. It is made up of individual
				soil bodies, each with its own individual characteristics. In places, soil has
				been modified or even made by people. It contains living matter and is capable
				of supporting plants out-of-doors.
172.
Soil color
means the soil
				color and Munsell color designation determined by comparison of the moist soil
				with color chips contained in a Munsell soil color book.
173.
Soil consistence
means the
				resistance, in place, of a soil horizon to penetration by a soil
				probe.
174.
Soil
				horizon
means
Horizon, soil
as defined in Section
				1(B)  of this
				rule.
175.
Soil
				profile
means a vertical cross section of the undisturbed soil showing
				the characteristic soil horizontal layers or soil horizons that have formed as
				a result of the combined effects of parent material, topography, climate,
				biological activity, and time.
176.
Soil saturation
means the state in which all the pores in the soil
				are filled with water. Water will flow from saturated soils into an observation
				hole.
177.
Soil
				texture
means the relative proportions of sand, silt, and
				clay.
178.
Stone
means
				a rock fragment that is rounded or semi-rounded in shape and greater than 10
				inches in diameter.
179.
Stormwater buffer zone
means a vegetated, non-lawn area or areas
				located down gradient from a project that serves to store and remove pollutants
				from stormwater runoff flowing from a project, as defined in Appendix F,
				Stormwater Management Rules, 06-096 CMR 500).
180.
Stormwater treatment
				structures
means structures that provide some form of stormwater quality
				treatment through physical, chemical, or biological treatment processes. These
				structures include stormwater infiltration systems or basins, detention basins,
				wet ponds, retention ponds, soil filters, under-drained swales, under-drained
				outlets, and similar structures.
181.
Stream
means a major water
				course from the outlet of a great pond or the confluence of two perennial
				streams depicted as blue lines on the most recent edition of a United States
				Geological Survey 7.5 minute topographical map or, if not available, a
				15-minute topographic map, to the point where the stream becomes a river or
				enters another water body or wetland (consistent with the DEP Shoreland Zoning
				definition).
182.
Structure
means anything constructed or erected with a fixed
				location on or in the ground or attached to something having a fixed location
				on or in the ground, including, but not limited to, buildings and mobile homes.
				A structure is anything built for support, shelter or enclosure of persons,
				animals, goods or property of any kind, exclusive of fences and poles, wiring
				and other aerial equipment normally associated with service drops. The term
				includes structures temporarily or permanently located.
183.
Subsurface wastewater disposal
				system or system
means any system designed to dispose of waste or
				wastewater on or beneath the surface of the earth; including, but not limited
				to, the following: septic tanks; disposal fields; legally existing,
				nonconforming cesspools; holding tanks; pretreatment filter, piping, or any
				other fixture, mechanism, or apparatus used for those purposes; does not
				include any discharge system licensed under
				38 MRS
				§414, any surface wastewater disposal
				system, or any municipal or quasi-municipal sewer or wastewater treatment
				system.
184.
Sustained
				slope
means an original ground slope that is maintained for 90 percent
				of the measured area.
185.
System cleaner
means any solid or liquid material intended or used
				primarily for the purpose of cleaning, treating, degreasing, unclogging,
				disinfecting, or deodorizing any part of a system. System cleaners do not
				include those liquid or solid products intended or used primarily for manual
				cleaning, scouring, treating, deodorizing, or disinfecting the surfaces of
				common plumbing fixtures.
186.
System, engineered
means any subsurface wastewater disposal system
				designed, installed, and operated as a single unit to treat and dispose of
				2,000 gallons of wastewater per day or more; or any system designed to dispose
				of wastewater with a combined BOD5 and total suspended solids concentration
				greater than 1,400 mg/L.
187.
System, experimental
means any subsurface wastewater disposal
				system, including components thereof, designed upon unproven concepts;
				processes otherwise untried in Maine; or field applications of processes
				developed under controlled research conditions.
188.
System, first time
means
				the first system designed to serve a specific structure; a new
				system.
189.
System, legally
				existing
means a subsurface wastewater disposal system that was either
				installed prior to July 1, 1974 or was permitted on or after July 1, 1974, in
				accordance with a design permitted by the LPI.
190.
System, limited
means a
				system that consists of a grey wastewater disposal field to handle water
				supplied from elevated storage tanks or cisterns of no more than 1,000 gallons
				capacity, and portable pumps, among other non-conventional pressurized water
				supplies, and an alternative toilet.
191.
System, malfunctioning
means a system that is not operating or is not functioning properly, based on
				the following indicators: ponding or outbreak of wastewater or septic tank
				effluent onto the surface of the ground; seepage of wastewater or septic tank
				effluent into parts of buildings below ground; back-up of wastewater into the
				building being served that is not caused by a physical blockage of the internal
				plumbing; and contamination of nearby water wells and
				waterbodies/courses.
192.
System, multi-user
means a disposal system designed to serve three
				or more parcels with structures under individual and separate ownership, when
				the disposal systems are not under common ownership.
193.
System, non-conforming
means a system that does not conform to the location, design, construction, or
				installation requirements in this rule.
194.
System, non-engineered
				complete
means any system designed, installed, and operated as a single
				unit to treat and dispose of less than 2,000 gallons of wastewater per day; or
				any system designed to dispose of wastewater with a combined BOD5 and total
				suspended solids concentration less than 1,400 mg/L, including one disposal
				field and one septic tank.
195.
System, primitive
means any disposal system consisting of a
				grey-water disposal field designed to only handle hand-carried or hand-pumped
				water with an alternative toilet.
196.
System, replacement
means a
				system designed to replace an existing system, an overboard discharge, a
				malfunctioning system, or any legally existing, nonconforming subsurface
				wastewater disposal system, without any increase in design flow, except as
				allowed in Section
				10.
197.
Test boring
means the
				drilling of a narrow observation hole into the ground such that soil strata or
				horizons can only be observed and measured by the extraction of soil samples.
				Typical methods include the use of a hand-auger or bucket auger.
198.
Temporary portable toilet:
means a prefabricated toilet designed for temporary use, typically at social
				functions, work sites, and outdoor gatherings.
199.
Test pit
means an
				observation hole dug into the ground such that soil strata or horizons at the
				sides of the hole are easily observed and measured in place. Typical methods
				include the use of a hand shovel or backhoe.
200.
Tidal Waters
means a water
				body other than a watercourse, inland lake, or pond, which is affected by the
				rise and fall of water levels caused by the combined effects of the rotation of
				the earth and the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the
				sun.
201.
Tributary
				Stream
means a minor water course, including brooks and
				creeks.
202.
Total Suspended
				Solids (
also, TSS) means a dry-weight measurement of particulates
				suspended in a sample of water or wastewater.
203.
TSS
means
Total
				Suspended Solids
in Section
				1(B) of this
				rule
.
204.
Unit
means
Dwelling unit
in Section
				1(B) of this
				rule.
205.
Unorganized
				area:
or
Unorganized Territory
means an area subject to the
				jurisdiction of the Maine Land Use Planning Commission under 12 MRS, Chapter
				106-A.
206.
U.S.G.S.
means United States Geological Survey.
207.
Value
means the relative
				lightness or intensity of a color; one of the three variables of soil color
				defined within the Munsell system of classification.
208.
Variance
means written
				authorization that permits some act or condition not otherwise permitted by
				this rule.
209.
Vault
				privy
means an alternative toilet that retains human waste in a sealed
				vault.
210.
Vernal
				pool
means a natural, temporary-to-semi-permanent body of water, also
				known as a seasonal forest pool, occurring in a shallow depression that
				typically fills during the spring or fall and may dry during the summer. Vernal
				pools have no permanent inlet and no viable populations or predatory fish and
				may provide the primary breeding habitat for wood frogs, spotted salamanders,
				blue-spotted salamanders, and fairy shrimp, as well as valuable habitat for
				other plants and wildlife, including rare, threatened, and endangered
				species.
211.
Vernal pool,
				significant
means vernal pools that are not man-made where their
				significance is determined by the number and type of pool-breeding amphibian
				egg masses in a pool, or the presence of fairy shrimp, or use by threatened or
				endangered species, as specified in Section
				9(B) of the
				Significant Wildlife Habitat Rules (06-096 CMR ch 335).
212.
Wastewater
means any
				domestic wastewater, or other wastewater from commercial, industrial, or
				residential sources which has constituents similar to that of domestic
				wastewater. This term specifically excludes hazardous or toxic wastes and
				materials or wastewater from agricultural operations. See also, definition of
				domestic wastewater.
213.
Wastewater discharge license
means wastewater discharge license
				issued by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection under
				38 MRS
				§414.
214.
Wastewater ejector
means a
				device to elevate and/or pump untreated wastewater to a public sewer, septic
				tank, or other means of disposal.
215.
Water body
means a natural
				or artificial ground surface depression with standing or flowing water in
				excess of 250 square feet.
216.
Water course
means a natural ground surface channel created by
				action of surface water and characterized by the lack of upland vegetation or
				the presence of aquatic vegetation and by the presence of a bed devoid of top
				soil, containing waterborne deposits or exposed soil, parent material or
				bedrock. A water course usually discharges into a larger water body and has a
				defined channel, a bed, banks and a high-water mark and includes, but is not
				limited to, rivers, streams, tributary streams, perennial streams, brooks and
				creeks.
217.
Water
				body/course, major
means any great pond, outlet of a great pond or other
				water course depicted in blue on a United States Geological Survey (USGS)
				7.5-minute map or a 15-minute map, if a 7.5-minute map is not compiled. Refer
				to the following website:
https://www.maine.gov/mhpc/programs/project-review/topographic-quad-maps
The term Major Water Body/Course includes, but is not limited
				  to, the following:
a. Tidal
				waters;
b. Coastal
				wetlands;
c. Great ponds;
d. Rivers;
e. Streams and outlets of great ponds;
				perennial streams; and
g. Non "
				Forested wetlands of 10 acres in size or more. The wetland can be smaller than
				10 acres, if it is adjacent to a pond (any pond, not just great ponds), such
				that the total area of the pond and wetland are equal to or greater than 10
				acres in size.
218.
Water body/course, minor
means any flowing, impounded, or
				subsurface water body or water course that is not depicted on a USGS map. Minor
				water body/courses do not include man-made ditches, except where a ditch is dug
				or a conduit (culvert or bridge) is installed as a diversion to a natural water
				course. This term includes, but is not limited to, the following:
a. Water bodies less than 10 acres in size,
				including adjacent non-forested wetlands;
b. A water course from the point where it
				first becomes a water course to the point where the water course becomes a
				major water body/course; and
c.
				Wetlands containing or consisting of 20,000 square feet or greater, but less
				than 10 acres of open water, aquatic, emergent marsh vegetation or peatlands
				dominated by shrubs, sedges and sphagnum moss.
219.
Well, public water system
means a well supplying water to a public water system regulated by the
				Department's Maine CDC Drinking Water Program. A public water system furnishes
				water to at least 25 individuals at least 60 days a year, or has at least 15
				service connections, or bottles water for sale, in accordance with 10-144 CMR
				ch 231.
220.
Wetland,
				coastal
means all tidal and sub-tidal lands; all areas with vegetation
				present that is tolerant of salt water and occurs primarily in a salt water or
				estuarine habitat; and any swamp, marsh, bog, beach, flat or contiguous lowland
				that is subject to tidal action during the highest tide level for the year in
				which the activity is proposed as identified in tide tables published by the
				National Ocean Service. Coastal wetlands may include portions of coastal sand
				dunes.
221.
Wetland,
				forested
means a freshwater wetland dominated by woody vegetation that
				is six meters tall or taller.
222.
Wetland, floodplain
means lands adjacent to a river, stream or
				brook that are inundated with floodwater during a 100-year flood event and
				that, under normal circumstances, support a prevalence of wetland vegetation
				typically adapted for life in saturated soils.
223.
Wetland, freshwater
means
				freshwater swamps, marshes, bogs, or similar areas that have a predominance of
				hydric soils and that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at
				a frequency and for a duration sufficient to support, and which under normal
				circumstances, do support, a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation typically
				adapted for life in saturated soils. A freshwater wetland may contain
				inclusions of land that do not conform to the requirements of this
				definition.
224.
Wetland,
				Special Significance
:
Wetland of Special Significance (Permit by
				Rule Standards)
means all coastal wetlands and Great Ponds and
				freshwater wetlands, where the wetland is:
a.
				Within Municipal Shoreland Zoning or equivalent LUPC zone or
				district;
b. Containing at least
				20,000 square feet (in total) of the following: aquatic vegetation, emergent
				marsh vegetation, or open water, unless the wetlands are the result of
				constructed ponds less than 10 acres in size which are not fed or drained by
				flowing waters;
c. Inundated with
				floodwater during a 100-year flood event;
d. Containing peatlands that are dominated by
				shrubs, sedges and sphagnum moss; and/or
e. Within 25 feet of a stream
				channel.
225.
Work
				commenced
means work that has started when any construction directly
				associated with the system's or system component's installation has
				begun.