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The Vermont Statutes Online
Title
10
:
Conservation and Development
Chapter
064
:
POTABLE WATER SUPPLY AND WASTEWATER SYSTEM PERMIT
§
1973. Permits
(a) Except as
provided in this section and sections 1974 and 1978 of this title, a person
shall obtain a permit from the Secretary before:
(1) subdividing
land;
(2) creating or
modifying a campground in a manner that affects a potable water supply or
wastewater system or the requirements for providing potable water and
wastewater disposal;
(3)
constructing, replacing, or modifying a potable water supply or wastewater
system;
(4) using or
operating a failed supply or failed system;
(5) constructing
a new building or structure;
(6) modifying an
existing building or structure in a manner that increases the design flow or
modifies other operational requirements of a potable water supply or wastewater
system;
(7) making a new
or modified connection to a new or existing potable water supply or wastewater
system; or
(8) changing the
use of a building or structure in a manner that increases the design flows or
modifies other operational requirements of a potable water supply or wastewater
system.
(b) Application
for a permit shall be made on a form prescribed by the Secretary. The
application shall be supported by such documents and information that the
Secretary, by rule, deems necessary for proper application review and the
issuance of a permit.
(c) When a
person replaces a potable water supply or wastewater system that has been
permitted, or was exempt from permitting requirements, the Secretary shall
grant a variance from the technical standards if the supply or system cannot be
replaced so that it is in full compliance with the rules adopted under section
1978 of this title, provided that the variance requested is the minimum
necessary considering the cost of the replacement supply or system in addition
to the potential impacts on human health and the environment. No variance shall
be granted under this subsection if the supply or system would continue to meet
the definition of a failed supply or failed system, or if the replacement
supply or system allows for increases in design flows.
(d) No permit
shall be issued by the Secretary unless the Secretary receives a statement from
a licensed designer certifying that, in the exercise of his or her reasonable
professional judgment, the
design-related information submitted with the permit application is true and
correct and the design included in an application for a permit complies with
the rules.
(e) No permit
issued by the Secretary shall be valid for a substantially completed potable
water supply and wastewater system until the Secretary receives a statement
from an installer or a licensed designer certifying that, in the exercise of
his or her reasonable professional judgment, the installation-related
information submitted is true and correct and the potable water supply and
wastewater system:
(1) were
installed in accordance with:
(A) the
permitted design and all permit conditions; or
(B) record
drawings and such record drawings are in compliance with the applicable rules,
were filed with the Secretary, and are in accordance with all other permit conditions;
(2) were
inspected;
(3) were
properly tested; and
(4) have
successfully met those performance tests.
(f)(1) The
Secretary shall give deference to a certification by a licensed designer with
respect to the engineering design or judgment exercised by the designer in
order to minimize agency review of certified designs. Nothing in this section
shall limit the responsibility of the licensed designer to comply with all
standards and rules, or the authority of the Secretary to review and comment on
design aspects of an application or to enforce agency rules with respect to the
design or the design certification.
(2) The
Secretary shall issue a permit for a new or modified connection to a water main
and a sewer main or indirect discharge system from a building or structure in a
designated downtown development district upon submission of an application
under subsection (b) of this section that consists solely of the certification
of a licensed designer, in accordance with subsection (d) of this section, and
a letter from the owner of the water main and sewer main or indirect discharge
system allocating the capacity needed to accommodate the new or modified
connection. However, this subdivision (2) shall not apply if the Secretary
finds one of the following:
(A) The
Secretary has prohibited the system that submitted the allocation letter from
issuing new allocation letters due to a lack of capacity.
(B) As a result
of an audit of the application performed on a random basis or in response to a
complaint, the system is not designed in accordance with the rules adopted
under this chapter.
(g) If there is
a dispute between the Secretary and a professional engineer concerning the
design prepared by a professional engineer or the judgment exercised by a
professional engineer, the professional engineer may request that the disputed
issues be reviewed by a licensed professional engineer employed or retained by
the Secretary. The Secretary shall grant all such requests for review.
(h) All permits
required under this section, all design and installation certifications
required under this section, and all documents required by the rules adopted
under this chapter to be filed in the town records shall be properly indexed
and recorded in the land records pursuant to 24 V.S.A. §§ 1154 and 1161.
(i)
Notwithstanding section 1-407 of the State Wastewater System and Potable Water
Supply Rules, effective August 16, 2002, a lot that contained two single family
residences, as of January 1, 1999, but did not have the State permit required
at that time is eligible for a permit for the subdivision of improved lots
under subdivision 1-407(a)(2) of those rules, provided that the subdivision of
the lot would only create a boundary between the two single family residences
and thereby place each residence on its own lot.
(j)(1) When an
applicant for a permit under this section proposes a water supply or wastewater
system with isolation distances that extend onto property other than the
property for which the permit is sought, the permit applicant shall send by
certified mail, on a form provided by the Secretary, a notice of an intent to
file a permit application, including the site plan that accurately depicts all
isolation distances, to any landowner affected by the proposed isolation distances
at least seven calendar days prior to the date that the permit application is
submitted to the Secretary.
(2) If, during
the course of the Secretary's review of an application for a permit under this
section, the location of a water supply or wastewater system permit is revised
and the isolation distances of the revised system extend onto property other
than the property for which the permit is sought, the permit applicant shall
send by certified mail a copy of any revised plan to any landowner affected by
the isolation distances.
(3) If, after a
permit has been issued under this section, a water supply or wastewater system
is not installed according to the permitted plan and the record drawings
submitted under subsection (e) of this section indicate that the isolation
distances of the system as constructed extend onto property other than the
property on which the system is located, the permittee shall send by certified
mail a notification form provided by the Secretary with a copy of the record
drawings showing all isolation distances to any landowner affected by the
isolation distances.
(4) A permit
applicant or permittee subject to the requirements of subdivisions (1) through
(3) of this subsection shall certify to the Secretary that the notices and
information required by this subsection have been sent to affected landowners
and shall include in the certification the name and address of all affected
landowners. If the Secretary approves a permit application under this section,
the permit shall not be issued to a permit applicant subject to the
requirements of subdivision (2) of this subsection until seven calendar days
after the permit applicant certifies to the Secretary that the notice required
under this subsection has been sent to affected landowners. (Added 2001, No.
133 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. June 13, 2002; amended 2003, No. 13, § 2, eff. May
6, 2003; 2003, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 71, eff. June 8, 2004; 2007, No. 32, §
3, eff. May 18, 2007; 2009, No. 145 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. June 1, 2010; 2011,
No. 117 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. Sept. 1, 2012; 2013, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), §
12, eff. June 1, 2014.)