Section 3718.023. Approval of installation, operation or alteration of sewage treatment systems

(A) In accordance with rules adopted under division (A) of section 3718.02 of the Revised Code, a board of health shall approve or deny the installation, operation, or alteration of sewage treatment systems the use of which has been authorized in those rules or that have been approved for use in this state by the director of health under section 3718.04 of the Revised Code. The board shall approve an installation, operation, or alteration only in the health district in which the board has jurisdiction. A board shall approve the installation, operation, or alteration of a sewage treatment system through the issuance of a permit in accordance with rules adopted under section 3718.02 of the Revised Code. A board shall not approve the installation, operation, or alteration of a sewage treatment system if the installation, operation, or alteration is not appropriate for the site at which the use of the system is or is proposed to be located. In determining whether to approve or disapprove the installation, operation, or alteration of a sewage treatment system, including the progressive or incremental installation or alteration of a system, a board shall consider the economic impact on the property owner, the state of available technology, and the nature and economics of various alternatives. A board shall provide written documentation of such economic impact if requested by the property owner. In addition, the board shall ensure that a system, when installed and maintained properly, will not create a public health nuisance and shall require a system to comply with the requirements established in division (B) of this section and other applicable requirements of this chapter.

The board shall permit a property owner to select a sewage treatment system for use by the property owner from those systems that have been approved for use in the state, from the least expensive system to the most expensive system, and a property owner may select any such system regardless of its cost, provided that the system selected will comply with all applicable requirements and standards established under this chapter and rules adopted under it.

(B) A board of health shall ensure that the design and installation of a soil absorption system prevents public health nuisances. In addition, a board of health shall ensure that a sewage treatment system that is installed after the effective date of this section shall not discharge into a ditch, stream, pond, lake, natural or artificial waterway, drain tile, or other surface water or onto the surface of the ground unless authorized by a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit issued under Chapter 6111. of the Revised Code and rules adopted under it. In addition, a board shall ensure that a sewage treatment system shall not discharge into an abandoned well, a drainage well, a dry well, a cesspool, a sinkhole, or another connection to ground water. If a household sewage treatment system serving a two- or three-family dwelling or a small flow on-site sewage treatment system is classified as a class V injection well, a board of health shall ensure that the system complies with rules adopted under section 6111.043 of the Revised Code and with Chapter 3745-34 of the Administrative Code.

(C) For purposes of the approval or denial of the installation, operation, or alteration of a sewage treatment system under this section, "economic impact" means all of the following, as applicable:

(1) The cost to the property owner for the installation of the proposed sewage treatment system, including the cost of progressive or incremental installation of the system;

(2) The cost of an alternative system, including the cost of progressive or incremental installation of the system, that, when installed and maintained properly, will not create a public health nuisance compared to the proposed sewage treatment system;

(3) The costs of repairing the sewage treatment system, including the cost of progressive or incremental repairs, as opposed to replacing the system with a new system.

(D) An application for an installation permit that is accepted by a board of health prior to January 1, 2012, shall be valid for three years from the date of the submission of the complete application and the accompanying application fee.

(E) An installation permit issued by a board of health prior to January 1, 2012, shall be valid until January 1, 2013, unless extended by a board of health for not more than an additional six months.

Added by 128th General AssemblyFile No.51, SB 110, §1, eff. 9/17/2010.