Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News
— OAKLAND — Recently passed legislation limiting septic systems for housing projects in Maryland contains grandfathering provisions, and Garrett County leaders have suggested that property owners take advantage of them.
Time is running out for potential developers, with the first step in the process a percolation test.
“If you have your application in to the Environmental Health Department by July, that would give you some grandfather rights to go ahead and create a subdivision that would be larger than seven lots, which would be considered a major subdivision,” said John Nelson, director of the Department of Planning and Land Development, during a recent commission meeting.
As soon as percolation test results are approved, property owners have 18 months until preliminary application can be made for subdivision plat approval, according Nelson.
“If property owners make application by July 1, 2012, we stand ready to do the necessary soil and percolation tests to meet the required plat approval deadlines,” said Health Officer Rodney Glotfelty in a news release.
It is important to have the application for the major subdivisions in the hands of the proper officials prior to the deadline, according to Glotfelty.
If application for the percolation test is not made by July 1, preliminary plans for a major subdivision that is utilizing an on-site sewage disposal system must be turned into the Department of Planning and Land Development by Oct. 1. These plans must be in by Oct. 1 to have exemptions for more than seven lots, according to Nelson.
Oct. 1, 2016, is the date to have subdivision preliminary plan approval from the county’s planning commission, for major subdivision utilizing an on-site sewage disposal system, according to the news release.
The Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2012 (Senate Bill 236), which was passed by the Maryland General Assembly, amends both Maryland health and land planning statutes, according to a county news release.
Nelson described the intent of SB 236, which is essentially a spetic bill.
“The intent of the bill is to minimize the number of new housing starts that will be allowed on septic systems,” said Nelson, “It really affects primarly rural counties more so than metropolitan counties where they do have infrastructure, water, sewer and those types of amenities.”
Areas currently served by public sewer are not impacted by this bill, according to Nelson. Instead, the bill will affect areas that are not currently served and planned areas.
The septic bill was based on recommendations from the governor’s Task Force on Sustainable Growth and Wastewater Disposal to minimize the amount of harmful nitrogen loads from septic systems that enter the Chesapeake Bay watershed, according to a news release. The Maryland Department of the Environment was required to come up with regulations for nitrogen offsets, according to Nelson. Currently, the septic systems leach out higher levels of nitrogen than are typically allowed on any public sewer system.
“If you are going to be creating a subdivision even a minor subdivision there will be nutrient requirements by MDE,” said Nelson. “What that means is your spetic systems are going to have to be designed as such, that they will virtually take out all nitrogen from the systems. We don’t know what those design systems are going to be it’s to premature.”
Nelson noted that the design systems are going to be more expensive and that MDE has until then end of the calendar year to come up with the regulations for the offsets of nitrogen.
Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com
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