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A Guide to Replacing Your Onsite Wastewater (Septic) System
There are several steps involved in replacing your Onsite Wastewater System.
If you are building a new onsite wastewater system, or upgrading or replacing an existing one, there are both State and Local requirements that must be followed in order to protect human health and the environment. As the owner of the property, you are ultimately responsible to insure all actions are in accordance with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Title 5 regulations and Concord Board of Health Local Regulations.
In order to properly complete the task of constructing a new system or replacing an older system, you will first need to hire an Engineer to perform soil testing (commonly referred to as a "perc test") and design your system. The engineer will submit (or ask you to submit) a Form A: Soil Test for Septic, along with the
appropriate fee. The engineer will then schedule the soil testing with the Health Department.
After the soil test has been completed your engineer will design a system which will meet your specific needs. They will submit, or ask you to submit, the set of construction plans and an Form B: Disposal System Construction for review by the Health Department along with the appropriate fee.
When you submit a set of plans you may need at a minimum a plot plan of your property. You may visit the Town of Concord webGIS for a generic map of you property or you may need to submit an official plot in which case you would need to hire land surveyor. A copy of your plot plan may also be available from the Registry of Deeds. The webGIS will also allow you to examine your property to see if any wetland, flood plain, or other environmental issues exist that may require additional approvals prior to the construction of your system. If there are wetlands on your property, you should contact the Natural Resources Department and if there is flood plain on your lot, you should contact the Building Department. You may be dealing with several departments at this stage., each requiring its own set of application material. Please keep communication open with each department as they each have different requirement for the review process.
The Health Department staff will review the plans submitted by you or your engineer for compliance with Title 5 regulations and Concord Board of Health Local Regulations. If a variance has been requested from the regulations, a hearing before the Concord Board of Health may be required. You and your engineer will be advised, well in advance of the hearing date, as to what preparations are necessary.
Once all of the approvals have been granted for the construction of your new or replacement onsite wastewater system, you should obtain bids from a minimum of three (3) licensed System Installers. Once you have selected your installer, system installations usually take 1-2 weeks to complete, depending on the complexity of the design and the amount of landscaping needed once the system is installed. During construction, both the Health Department the the Engineer will be out to inspect the work done by your installer.
When the construction is complete, your engineer will submit an "as-built" plan to the Health Department for review. Once that plan is approved, the Health Department will issue a Certificate of Compliance, which signifies that all work was completed in accordance with the State and Local regulations.
If you are buying or selling a property on a septic system please visit this link for additional guidance
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