Detailed Ordinance Text
Town of Edinburg Holding Tank Ordinance
Be it enacted and ordained by the Selectboard of the Town of Edinburg, Penobscot County, and it is hereby enacted and ordained as follows:
SECTION 1 | Purpose:
The purpose of this Ordinance is to establish procedures for the use and maintenance of holding tanks designed to receive wastewater from residential or commercial uses. It is hereby declared that the enactment of this Ordinance is necessary for the protection, benefit, and preservation of the health, safety, and welfare of the inhabitants of the Town of Edinburg.
SECTION 2 | Definitions:
Unless the context specifically and clearly indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms used in this Ordinance shall be as follow:
Agent – Shall mean any person or persons officially designated by the Authority to act on its behalf.
Approved Pumper – Shall mean a pumping contractor who is properly licensed with the Department of Environmental Protection.
Authority – Shall mean the Town Council of the Town of Edinburg, Penobscot County, Maine.
Holding Tank – Shall mean a closed, water-tight 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.
Improved Property – Shall mean any property within the municipality upon which there is a structure intended for seasonal use or as a primary place of residence (year-round), and from which structure wastewater shall or may be discharged.
Municipality – shall mean the Town of Edinburg, Penobscot County, Maine.
Owner – Shall mean any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole, or partial, of any property located in the municipality.
Person – Shall mean any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation, or other group or entity.
Records – Shall mean all information pertinent to the holding tank, specifically the name of the installer, the date of the installation, the individual components, the pumping dates, the amount of wastewater pumped, the name of the pumper, and the notification and records of any required or necessary maintenance of the owner’s holding tank.
Waste Water – Shall mean any liquid waste containing animal or vegetable matter in suspension or solution, of the water carried wastes from the discharge of water closets, laundry tubs, washing machines, sinks, dishwashers, or other source of water carried wastes of human origin. This term specifically excludes industrial, hazardous, or toxic wastes and materials.
SECTION 3 | Rights and Privileges Granted
The Authority is hereby authorized and empowered to undertake, within the Municipality, the control of and methods of disposal of holding tank wastewater and the collection and transportation thereof.
SECTION 4 | Rules and Regulations
- All such rules and regulations adopted by the Authority shall be in conformance with the provisions herein. All other ordinances of the Town of Edinburg, and all applicable rules and regulations of the administrative agencies of the State of Maine.
- Holding tanks may be used for seasonal structures, either existing, or newly constructed. Existing structures unable to install a replacement septic system may install a holding tank.
- Holding tanks cannot be used for seasonal conversion or for new construction of a principal place of residence.
SECTION 5 | System Requirements
- Follow the normal process for a new or replacement septic system design as required by the Maine State Plumbing Code and obtain a completed septic system design plan. In the event a new or replacement septic system cannot be installed submit a holding tank application from a State Licensed Site Evaluator. (see Maine State Plumbing Code).
- Obtain a holding tank permit from the Town of Edinburg, and a renewal permit each year thereafter. Site Evaluator plans must be submitted to the Code Enforcement Office. The Local Plumbing Inspector or designee may issue a permit if the plans meet the requirements of the Maine State Plumbing Code and all other law, regulations and ordinances related to the proposed project.
- Submit the required review fee with the application.
SECTION 6 | Renewal Permits
Improved properties having a legally permitted holding tank shall renew their permit on a yearly basis. The expiration date of all permits will be the 28th of February. Permit fees will not be prorated for tanks installed less than 12 months before the February expiration date. Renewal permits will only be issued after the following conditions have been met.
- Showing documentation from an approved pumping contractor that the holding tank system has been pumped and serviced during the previous permit year.
- Notify the Code Enforcement Office with the name of the approved pumping contractor that will service the holding tank system for the upcoming year.
- The Code Enforcement Office has been given the opportunity to inspect the holding tank system during the current year, and that the system complies with all the requirements of this Ordinance.
SECTION 7 | Collection and Transportation
The collection and transportation of all wastewater from any improved property utilizing a holding tank shall only be completed by an approved pumping contractor. The Town’s Code Enforcement Officer shall maintain a list of approved pumping contractors.
SECTION 8 | Duties of Owner of Holding Tank Permit
The owner of an improved property that utilizes a holding tank agrees to conform with the following conditions and other conditions that may be made to this Ordinance in the future.
- Maintain the holding tank in conformance with this and any other ordinance of the Town of Edinburg, the provisions of any applicable law, the rules of the Authority, the State of Maine Plumbing Code, and administrative agencies of the State of Maine.
- Notify the Office of Code Enforcement with the name of the authorized pumper that will service the holding tank and the expected date of service.
- Permit only approved pumping contractors to collect, transport, and dispose of the contents therein to a site approved by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection
- Supply the Code Enforcement Office a yearly record of pumping and other maintenance records performed on the holding tank prior to, and as a condition to yearly renewal.
- Have a copy of the original holding tank permit referencing the owner’s deed properly recorded at the Penobscot County Registry of Deeds.
SECTION 9 | Fees
The Town of Edinburg Selectboard shall have the right and power to fix or alter the holding tank permit fees (see fee schedule).
SECTION 10 | Violations
Any person who violates any provision of this Ordinance shall be subject to the penalties outlined in the Maine Revised Statutes Annotated Title 30-A Section 4452, plus the cost of enforcement. All fines collected shall be returned to the Town of Edinburg.
SECTION 11 | Abatement of Nuisances
In addition to any other remedies provided in this Ordinances, any violation of this Ordinance which may constitute a nuisance may, if necessary, be abated by the Municipality under MRSA Title 30 – A Section 3428. At its discretion the Authority may also seek enforcement of this ordinance under the provisions of MRSA Title 30 – A Section 4452, as well as seeking appropriate equitable legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.
SECTION 12 | Repeal
All ordinances or resolutions, or parts of ordinances or resolutions, insofar as they are inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed.
SECTION 13 | Severability
If any sentence, clause, section, or part of this ordinance is for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid, such unconstitutionality, illegality, or invalidity shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clause, sections, or parts of this ordinance.
SECTION 14 | Effective Date
This Ordinance shall become effective on the date of its adoption.
Enacted this 1st Day of August, 2024