Town of Westford, MA - BOARD OF HEALTH REGULATION REGARDING FLOOR DRAINS

Amend the Code of the Town of Westford by adopting as part of the Board of Health Regulations the following Chapter 211 regarding Floor Drains:

CHAPTER 211 FLOOR DRAINS

211-1. PURPOSE OF REGULATION

* floor drains in industrial and commercial facilities are often tied to a system leading to a leaching structure (e.g. dry well, cesspool, leach filed) or a septic system: and

* poor management practices and accidental and/or intentional discharges may lead petroleum and other toxic or hazardous materials in to these drainage systems in facilities managing these products: and

* improper maintenance or inappropriate use of these systems may allow the passage of contaminants or pollutants entering the drain to discharge from the leaching structure or septic system to the ground: and

* discharges of hazardous wastes and other pollutants to floor drains leading to leaching structures and septic systems have repeatedly threatened surface and ground water quality throughout Massachusetts: and

* surface and ground water resources in the Town of Westford contribute to the Town's drinking water supplies:

the Town of Westford Board of Health adopts the following regulation, under its authority as specified in Section 211-2., as a preventative measure for the purposes of:

* preserving and protecting the Town of Westford's drinking water resources from discharges of pollutants to the ground via floor drains, and

* minimizing the threat of economic losses to the Town due to such discharges.

211.2. SCOPE OF AUTHORITY

The Town of Westford Board of Health adopts the following regulation pursuant to authorization granted by M.G.L. c.111 s.31 and s.122. The regulation shall apply, as specified herein, to all applicable facilities, existing and new, within the Town of Westford.

For the purposes of this regulation, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

Commercial and Industrial Facility: A public or private establishment where the principal use is to supply, sale, and/or manufacture of services, products, or information, including but not limited to: manufacturing, processing, or other industrial operations: service or retail establishments: printing or publishing establishments: research and development facilities: small or large quantity generators of hazardous waste: laboratories: hospitals.

Department: The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Discharge: The accidental or intentional disposal, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, incineration, or placing of toxic or hazardous material or waste upon or into any land or water so that such hazardous water or any constituent thereof may enter the land or water of the Commonwealth. Discharge includes, without limitation, leakage of such materials from failed or discarded containers or storage systems and disposal of such materials into any on-site leaching structure of sewage disposal system.

Floor Drain: An intended drainage point on a floor constructed to be otherwise impervious which serves as the point of entry into any subsurface drainage, treatment, disposal, containment, or other plumbing system.

Leaching Structure: Any subsurface structure through which a fluid that is introduced will pass and enter the environment, including, but not limited to, drywells, leaching catch basins, cesspools, leach fields, and oil/water separators that are not watertight.

Oil/Water Separator: A device designed and installed so as to separate and retain petroleum based oil or grease, flammable wastes as well as sand and particles from normal wastes while permitting normal swage or liquid wastes to discharge into the drainage system by gravity. Other common names for such systems include MDC traps, gasoline and sand traps, grit and oil separators, grease traps, and interceptors.

Toxic or Hazardous Material: Any substance or mixture of physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics posing a significant, actual, or potential hazard to water supplies or other hazards to human health if such substance or mixture were discharged to land or water of the Town of Westford Toxic or hazardous materials include, without limitation, synthetic organic chemicals, petroleum products, heavy metals, radioactive or infectious wasted, acids and alkalis, and all substances defined as Toxic or Hazardous under Massachusetts General Laws (MGL) Chapter 21C and 21E or Massachusetts Hazardous Waste regulations (310 CMR 30.000), and also include such products as solvents, thinners, and pesticides in quantities greater than normal household use.

Use of Toxic or Hazardous Material: The handling, generation, treatment,storage, or management of toxic or hazardous materials

With the exception of discharges that have received (or have applied and will receive) a Department issued permit prior to the effective date of this regulation, no floor drain(s) shall be allowed to discharge, with or without pretreatment (such as an oil/water separator), to the ground, a leaching structure, or septic system in any industrial or commercial facility if such floor drain is located in either:

A. an industrial or commercial process area, or

B. a petroleum, toxic, or hazardous materials, and/or waste storage area.

211.5 REQUIREMENTS TO EXISTING FACILITIES

A. The owner of a facility in operation prior to the effective date of this regulation with a prohibited (as defined under Section 211.4) floor drain system shall?

1. disconnect and plug all applicable inlets to and outlets from (where possible) applicable leaching structures, oil/water separators, and/or septic systems:

2. remove all existing sludge in oil/water separators, septic systems, and where accessible, leaching structures. Any sludge determined to be a hazardous waste shall be disposed of in accordance with state hazardous waste regulations (310 CMR 30.000). Remedial activity involving any excavation and/or soil or groundwater sampling must be performed in accordance with appropriate Department polices:

3. Alter the floor drain system so that the floor drain shall be either:

a. connected to a holding tank that meets all applicable requirements of Department policies and regulations, with hauling records submitted to the Westford Board of Health at the time of hauling:

b. connected to a municipal sanitary sewer line, if available, with all applicable Department and local permits: or

c. permanently sealed.

B. Compliance with all provisions of this regulation must be accomplished in a manner consistent with Massachusetts Plumbing, Building, and Fire code requirements.

C. Upon complying with one of the options listed under Section 211.5.A.3, the owner/operator of the facility shall notify the Department of the closure of said system by filing the Department's UIC Notification Form.

211..6 EFFECTIVE DATES FOR ALL FACILITIES

The effective date of this regulation is the date posted on the front page of the regulation, which shall be identical to the date of adoption of the regulation.

A. Existing Facilities:

1. Owners/Operators of a facility affected by this regulation shall comply with all of its provisions within 120 days of this effective date:

2. All applicable discharges to the leaching structures and septic systems shall be discontinued immediately through temporary isolation or sealing or the floor drain.

1. As of the effective date of the regulation , all new construction and/or applicable change of use within the Town of Westford shall comply with the provisions of this regulation.

2. Certification of conformance with the provisions of this regulation by the Board of Health shall be required prior to issuance of construction and occupancy permits.

Failure to comply with provisions of this regulation will result in the levy of fines of not less that $200.00, but no more than $1000.00. Each day's failure to comply with the provisions of this regulation shall constitute a separate violation.

Each provision of this regulation shall be construed as separate to the end that, if any provision or sentence, clause or phrase thereof, shall be held invalid for any reason, the remainder of that section and all other sections shall continue in full force and effect.