Chapter 4: ATS Law and Order   Regulation of Alternative  On-Site Sewage Treatment Systems in Connecticut

In Connecticut, an alternative on-site sewage treatment system (ATS) is defined as a sewage treatment system “serving one or more buildings on a single parcel of property that utilizes a method of treatment other than a subsurface sewage disposal system [as elsewhere defined by law] and that involves a discharge of domestic sewage to the groundwaters of the state.”[1]  ATS that discharge to surface waters are included within the definition of “privately owned treatment works,”[2] or if owned by the state or a municipality, “publicly owned treatment works.”[3]  A number of federal, state, and municipal environmental and land-use laws apply to the siting and use of ATS in Connecticut.  Because of this hierarchy of overlapping authority, it is a rich and sometimes complex area of the law. The purpose of the following section is to provide an essential overview of the pertinent laws, as well as the functions of the agencies and municipal authorities charged with implementing them.  The following introduction provides a short review of the history of land-use and environmental regulation and the relative roles of federal, state, and local authorities may be helpful.

When signed in 1787, the U.S. Constitution established a federal government with finite and enumerated powers.  Significantly, the federal government’s authority to act is limited to those powers expressed within the Constitution.  The principal authority relied on by the federal government to enact laws impacting land use and the environment is its authority to regulate interstate commerce granted under Article 1, Section 8.  Pursuant to this authority, the federal government may regulate local land use and the environment only where it affects or relates to interstate commerce.[4] 

In comparison, the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that all powers not specifically delegated to the federal government are reserved for the individual states.  The authority granted to the states by the Tenth Amendment has been interpreted to allow states to regulate in the interest of public health, safety, and welfare the use of private land through zoning and other local environmental land use controls.  Furthermore, many states, including Connecticut, have delegated “home rule” authority to local municipal governments.  “Home rule” authority affords local governments broad power to adopt land use and environmental laws and regulations, which are enforceable unless preempted by state or federal laws.

While the Interstate Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution serves as a limitation on federal authority to regulate, the states are not similarly limited.[5]  For instance, states may regulate wholly intrastate activities.  Thus, the authority reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment (and derivatively to municipalities through “home rule”) to enact local environmental and land use controls can result in broader prescriptions.  One example of this difference in authority is provided by the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), which Congress enacted under the Interstate Commerce Clause.  Under CWA, the federal government has authority only to regulate wetlands that have a substantial nexus to “navigable" waters.  What constitutes a substantial nexus may be determined on a case-by-case basis; however, a direct hydrologic connection generally satisfies this requirement.  In comparison, under state law, municipalities may regulate even those wetlands that are isolated and not hydrologically connected to navigable waters.  Indeed, the Connecticut definition of wetlands is more inclusive than the federal definition, is based on soil type, and is not related to the proximity of navigable waters.[6]  Accordingly, if a proposed regulated land use will affect a wetland as defined under Connecticut law, a municipal inland-wetlands permit is needed.  That same project, however, may or may not also require a federal CWA permit.  Conversely, if a proposed regulated land use will affect a wetland as defined under federal law, both a federal permit and a local inland-wetlands permit will be required. 

As the above example illustrates, state and municipal land use and environmental regulations may be broader than those allowed under similar federal laws.  Indeed the states’ independent authority to regulate land use and institute environmental controls affords them authority to develop innovative local laws to encourage the protection and enhancement of natural resources; to implement smart-growth development; and in general to take those actions necessary to create sustainable communities and ensure the long-term protection of the local health, safety, and welfare of citizens.  Additionally, even where the federal government has enacted environmental or land use legislation pursuant to the Commerce Clause, such as the CWA, state and local governments are often expressly authorized under those same federal laws to regulate more stringently than required by the federal law.  In that sense, the federal environmental laws often serve as the regulatory “floor” and give states and local communities broad authority to set the regulatory “ceiling.”

1.1  Federal Environmental Laws Applicable to the Siting and Use of ATS

ATS discharge effluent to ground or surface waters.  Consequently, the two fundamental federal laws establishing minimum water-protection requirements in all states — the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly referred to as Clean Water Act [CWA]) and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) — apply to the siting and use of ATS.  While both acts charge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the primary authority to oversee their requirements, the EPA has delegated the authority to implement and enforce both acts to agencies of the State of Connecticut.

In Connecticut, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) share authority to regulate wastewater management, including ATS.  The DEEP is responsible for implementing the CWA, and both the DEP and the Department of Public Health (DPH) are responsible for implementing the SDWA.  Occasionally it can be difficult to determine the logic behind the division of labor.  For example, the DPH manages a Source Water Assessment Program aimed at protecting drinking water sources, while the DEEP oversees permitting programs under both the CWA and the SDWA that regulate discharges to surface and groundwaters that can impact those same drinking water sources.  Additionally, in some instances, labor is not so much divided as shared, and approval by both the DEEP and the DPH is required for some projects.  These nuances of regulatory management are explained in further detail below.     

1.1.1 The Clean Water Act

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 and its subsequent amendments, commonly referred to as the CWA, have as their purpose “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.”[7]  Integral to this purpose is the requirement that discharges of pollutants,[8] such as those emanating from ATS, to navigable waters obtain a permit.  Although the term “navigable waters” is somewhat misleading (for example, it encompasses waters that are not navigable in fact), as a rule of thumb the term includes most surface waters, as well as those wetlands with a substantial nexus to surface water. [9]   

Section 402 of the CWA establishes a permit system known as the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to regulate the discharge of pollutants.  To comply with the NPDES program, any entity discharging pollutants into a qualifying water body must apply for and receive an NPDES permit prior to commencing its discharge and also comply with the antidegradation provisions of state and federal law.[10]  Individual states may apply for and receive authority from the EPA to implement the NPDES program themselves.  Connecticut has applied for and received this authority. [11]

States like Connecticut with a delegated NPDES program must have laws and regulations in place that satisfy the CWA’s minimum regulatory requirements.  However, the CWA also authorizes states to enact laws and regulations that are more stringent than its minimum requirements.  For this reason, even though the CWA is a federal law, it is always important to refer to the specific requirements established under state law.  For example, states can place additional restrictions on pollutant discharges or require more frequent discharge testing.  Additionally, because state authority to regulate is not limited by the terms of the Commerce Clause, states may protect a wider spectrum of waters under their state NPDES programs.  For example, in Connecticut the applicable water bodies to which discharges are prohibited without a permit are more broadly defined than under the federal CWA.  In particular, under Connecticut law a discharge to any waters of the state requires a permit.  “Waters” are defined as “all tidal waters, harbors, estuaries, rivers, brooks, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, lakes, ponds, marshes, drainage systems and all other surface or underground streams, bodies or accumulations of water, natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through or border upon this state or any portion thereof.”[12] However, because under Connecticut law an NPDES permit is defined as “a permit authorizing a discharge to the surface waters of the state either directly, or indirectly by means other than through a [publicly owned treatment works] or the ground waters” only discharges to surface waters require an NPDES permit.[13] 

NPDES permits at both the federal level and in Connecticut have five kinds of provisions: technology-based limitations, water-quality-based limitations, monitoring and reporting requirements, standard conditions, and special conditions.[14]  Technology-based limitations are discharge limitations that are developed after analyzing the cost and availability of pollution control technology.[15] Water-quality-based limitations are limitations implemented to ensure compliance with water quality standards.  Cost and technological feasibility are not considered in developing these limitations.[16]  In any given permit, the more stringent of the technology-based or water-quality-based limitations must apply.[17]  The permitting authority also sets monitoring and reporting requirements for identified pollutants.

Standard conditions apply to all NPDES permits.  They include the duty of the permittee to comply with all conditions of the permit (any permit noncompliance constitutes a violation of the CWA); the duty of the permittee to operate and maintain all facilities and systems to achieve compliance with the permit terms; the duty to minimize or prevent any discharge or disposal in violation of the permit that has a reasonable likelihood of adversely affecting human health or the environment; and the stipulation that the permit does not create or convey any property rights or exclusive privileges.[18]  Special conditions are included within NPDES permits to supplement effluent limitations and include best management practices, toxicity reduction evaluations, and additional monitoring activities.[19]  Most NPDES permits are issued for five-year terms.  

1.1.1.1  Permit Application Requirements

In Connecticut any application for an ATS discharge permit made pursuant to the Connecticut Water Pollution Control Act must contain the following:[20]

(1) The name, mailing and location addresses, and telephone numbers of the applicant, facility, facility owner and facility operator, and the operator’s status as a federal, state, private, public, or other entity;

(2) A site plan and topographic map;

(3) The average and maximum amount of wastewater to be discharged per day or event.  If different types of process contribute to one discharge, each individual process type shall be so described.  An identification of all types of wastes generated by each of type of process shall be included.  For privately owned treatment works (including ATS discharging to surface water) this information shall include the name and location address of all users of the system;

(4) Average and maximum hours per day over which each discharge will occur;

(5)  If any discharges are batch type, intermittent, or seasonal, they shall be so described, including frequency and duration of each;

(6) If required by the permitting authority, a complete description of the types of resource conservation practices and provisions for complying with requirements of section 22a-430-3(o) of the Connecticut State Agency Regulations;[21]

(7) An indication of whether the facility is or will be located . . . within the coastal boundary as defined by section 22a-94 of the Connecticut General Statutes. . . . The permitting authority may require the applicant to submit additional information to support a determination that the proposed activity is consistent with the provisions of sections 22a-94 through 22a-112 of the General Statutes;

(8) The names of the categories of discharge for which effluent limitations have been adopted, citing evidence and reasons why such categories are applicable;

(9) A complete description of all collection and treatment facilities proposed or provided, including drawings to scale, describing in detail the existing or proposed means of complying with the applicable effluent limitations and conditions; and

(10) A general description of the methods and provisions for operation and maintenance of the collection and treatment facilities.

In addition to the above requirements, ATS have a few more permit application requirements.  Namely, permits for discharges of domestic sewage through nonpoint source discharge systems must contain the following data:

(1)   An engineering report including but not limited to the following information:

• Data of soil tests including but not limited to deep test pits, soil borings, and permeability tests in sufficient numbers to define the hydrogeologic regime on the site.  Such information shall include the dates of all testing;
• A description of any proposed treatment system to be utilized prior to land application of wastewater, including the estimated effluent quality;
• Calculations according to best engineering practices determining the application area, the hydrogeologic capability of the site to accept the volume of waste or wastewater, and the ability of the site to renovate the waste or wastewater;
• A description of a proposed program to monitor the disposal system, the discharge, or the effects of the discharge on the waters of the state;
• A description of any proposed fiscal or institutional controls intended to ensure proper operation and maintenance of the system.

  (2)   A preliminary plan drawn to a scale of 1 inch equal to 50 feet or less, including but not limited to the following information:

• Property boundaries;
• Surface contours at two-foot intervals in the proposed treatment area, including existing and proposed contours;
• The location of all soil tests on the property;
• Building locations and dimensions;Location of all watercourses and subsurface pipes;
• Location of all existing or proposed wells;A schematic diagram of the system proposed to treat the discharge, including component elevations; and
• The location of all areas that have been designated as inland wetlands under section 22a-38 of the General Statutes, as amended.[22]

Furthermore, as part of the permit application process, existing and new dischargers of domestic sewage must report quantitative data as noted below, unless the applicant has demonstrated that a “waiver is appropriate because information adequate to support issuance of the permit is otherwise available”:

(1)   Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)-5,

(2)   Chemical Oxygen Demand,

(3)   Total Organic Carbon,

(4)   Oil and Grease,

(5)   Total Suspended Solids,

(6)   Ammonia (as Nitrogen),

(7)   Phosphorous (Total),

(8)   Maximum temperature (both winter and summer), and

(9)   pH (minimum and maximum).[23]

Every discharge permittee or applicant has a duty to “ensure that samples and measurements taken for the purposes of monitoring compliance with permit terms and conditions or submitting a permit application are representative of monitored activity.”[24]  When a new applicant for a discharge permit submits discharge data as part of the application process, the data must be based on “reasonable projections.”[25]  When an applicant reapplies for an existing permit, the data submitted must be based on “actual production or effluent quality.”[26]   

1.1.1.2  Effluent Limits, Monitoring, and Reporting Requirements

Under Connecticut law, the discharge limitations for ATS and the frequency of the monitoring and reporting requirements vary depending on whether the ATS discharge is to surface or groundwater.  See Table 1 for the minimum effluent frequency monitoring requirements for ATS in Connecticut.[27]  See Table 2 for the minimum effluent limitations for ATS in Connecticut.          

  Where a numerical minimum effluent limit is not established by law, the DEEP may make a case-by-case determination of the permissible discharge limits.  In making a case-by-case determination, the permitting authority must consider the following factors:

(1)   The impacts of the discharge on the receiving waters or its use or any sewerage system or the operation thereof;

(2)   The treatability of the wastewater in question;

(3)   Potential for  spills, leaks, or other uncontrolled releases, including but not limited to releases of toxic organic chemicals; and

(4)   And any other facts the permitting authority deems necessary.[28]

In making a case-by-case evaluation, the permitting authority also must consider the discharge both alone and in combination with other discharges to the same receiving waters.[29]  Additionally, because discharges to both surface and groundwater must not violate the Connecticut Water Quality Standards (or the Water Quality Standards of another state if the discharge affects another state), other effluent limitations may be imposed.[30]  For groundwater discharges, in particular, the following factors pertaining to water quality must be considered:

(1)   The physical, chemical, biological, and hydraulic characteristics of the receiving waters;

(2)    Acute and chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms;

(3)    Bioaccumulation and persistence of toxic substances;

(4)    Human health effects;

(5)    Water quality criteria published pursuant to section 304(a) of the CWA;

(6)    Wasteload allocations; and

(7)    Results of effluent toxicity testing.[31]

For applications for permits for discharges of domestic sewage from a community sewerage system not owned by a municipality, applicants must also submit a letter from the Water Pollution Control Authority of the municipality in which the system exists, indicating the authority is satisfied that the proposed method of management of the system complies with Conn. Stat. Ann. section 7-246f (Community Sewerage Systems).[32]

Finally, ATS that cause or contribute to a violation of Connecticut’s Water Quality Standards may be subject to the CWA’s Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program.  State or local implementation of the TMDL program can result in the use of more stringent system management and controls to ensure protection of the designated uses of surface waters.[33]   

1.1.1.3  Permitting Authority Determination

Under Connecticut law, in order to grant a discharge permit either to surface or groundwater, the permitting authority must find that the relevant “discharge would not cause pollution of any of the waters of the state” or that “the proposed system to treat such discharge will protect the waters of the state from pollution.”[34]  Conversely, if the permitting authority finds that a proposed discharge will cause pollution to the waters of the state or a proposed treatment system will not protect the waters of the state from pollution, the permitting authority must deny the permit application.[35]

These decision-making criteria apply to ATS with the following exceptions. 

(1) A special rule applies in Connecticut to permit applications for ATS that are proposed within a drinking-water supply watershed.  In such cases, no permit may be issued unless the DEEP determines that such system is the only feasible solution to an existing pollution problem and that the proposed system capacity does not exceed the capacity of the failed on-site system.

(2)Such system is for the expansion of an existing municipal or public school project or for new construction of a municipal or public school project on an existing municipal or public school site, in a municipality in which a majority of the land is located within a drinking-water supply watershed.[36]

Additionally, no discharge of sewage to any tributaries of an existing water supply impoundment or any proposed water supply impoundment identified in the long-range plan for management of water resources (prepared and adopted pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. section 22a-352) is permitted. [37]  Nor are discharges of sewage or other effluent to the Salmon River or any of its tributaries permitted, unless it has undergone at least tertiary treatment.[38]  

1.1.1.4  Delegation of Permitting Authority

The EPA has delegated authority to the Connecticut DEEP to issue NPDES permits.[39] In turn, under In turn, under Connecticut law the DEEP commissioner may delegate - by regulation, permitting, and order issuance authority over established and defined categories of discharges (including both surface and groundwater discharges) to other state agencies, municipal water pollution control authorities (WPCA), municipal building officials, or municipal or district directors of health.[40]

In establishing categories of discharges for delegation, the DEEP must consider:

(1)Whether each discharge in such category, because of size and character, is likely to cause significant pollution to the waters of the state;

(2)         Whether knowledge and training concerning disposal systems for each discharge in such category is within the expertise of such agency, authority, official, or director; and

(3)         Whether the source of each discharge in such category is likely to be within the jurisdiction of such agency, authority, official, or director for other matters.[41]

Additionally, the DEEP must establish by regulation the minimum requirements for the disposal systems for delegated discharges[42] and comply with requirements of the Connecticut Environmental Policy Act.[43]  The DEEP has adopted regulations allowing for the delegation of discharges to municipal WPCAs.[44]  The role of the WPCAs is discussed in section 1.2.1.

In the late 1970s, the Connecticut General Assembly required that the DEEP establish and define by regulation categories of discharges constituting “household and small commercial subsurface disposal systems” of 5,000 gallons per day (gpd) or less and delegate authority over such discharges to the DPH.[45]  For these types of discharges, the Assembly authorized the DPH to establish minimum disposal system requirements and procedures for the issuance of permits or approvals by the local director of health or sanitarian.[46]  At that time, ATS was not a recognized treatment technology and was not part of this delegation. 

However, in 2007, the Connecticut General Assembly enacted a special delegation of authority over ATS with capacities of 5,000 gpd or less to the DPH.[47]  This delegation was enacted as part of Public Health Code, rather than in the Connecticut Water Pollution Control Act (the state version of the CWA).  According to that delegation, permitting authority over these smaller ATS and the authority to set minimum requirements for said ATS will vest in the DPH when it establishes and defines categories of discharges that constitute ATS.[48]  However, as of the date of this report (late 2011), the DPH has not assumed control over the permitting of such systems nor has it established minimum requirements for their use.  Consequently, the DEEP still has authority over such discharges.

When the DPH does establish minimum requirements for ATS discharges, it must incorporate the minimum requirements already set forth by the General Assembly in the governing statute.  In particular, the minimum requirements must include:

(1) Requirements related to activities that may occur on the property;

(2)         Changes that may occur to the property or to buildings on the property that may affect the installation or operation of the ATS; and

(3)         Procedures for the issuance of permits or approvals by the DPH, a local director of health, or a licensed sanitarian.[49]

Additionally, although this delegation was enacted as part of the Public Health Code and not the Water Pollution Control Act, permits issued pursuant to the delegation must not be inconsistent with the CWA, the SDWA, or Connecticut’s Water Quality Standards.[50]  Additionally, DPH permits for ATS are “not to be construed or deemed to be an approval for any other purpose, including, but not limited to, any planning and zoning or municipal inland wetlands and watercourses requirement.”[51] 

1.1.2 Safe Drinking Water Act

Enacted in 1974, the purpose of the SDWA is to protect public health by regulating the nation's public drinking water supply and protecting drinking water sources, including rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and groundwater wells.[52]  Similar to the CWA, the EPA may delegate primary enforcement authority under the SWDA to those states that have adopted regulations and procedures no less stringent that those established by the EPA.[53]  In Connecticut, the DEEP and DPH share authority to implement the SWDA.  

Relevant to the siting and operation of ATS, the SDWA Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program establishes minimum standards for the regulation of the “subsurface emplacement of fluids by well injection,” including ATS. [54]  Pursuant to the SDWA, every state Underground Injection Control Program must: 

(1)   Prohibit any underground injection that is not authorized by permit or rule;

(2)   In the case of a program that provides for authorization of underground injection by permit, the applicant for the permit must satisfy the state that the underground injection will not endanger drinking water sources;

(3) In the case of a program that provides for such an authorization by rule, no rule may be promulgated authorizing any underground injection that endangers drinking water sources; and

(4)   Include inspection, monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.[55]

States are authorized to enact more stringent laws than those set forth in the SDWA to ensure that groundwater is adequately protected.

The DEEP implements the UIC program in Connecticut. Under both the SDWA and Connecticut law, the UIC regulations classify five types of injection wells.  ATS are considered Class V wells.[56]  Any person or municipality may inject fluids through a Class V well, “unless such injection may cause, allow or result in the movement of fluids which contain contaminants into underground sources of drinking water and the presence of the contaminants may adversely affect the public health or cause a violation of the Standards for Quality of Public Drinking Water, Section 19-13-B102 of the Regulations of the Connecticut State Agencies.”[57]  If as a result of the underground injection there is “any movement of formation or injection fluids into underground sources of drinking water,” the permitting authority “may require the owner or operator to prevent such movement or to abandon or close the well.”[58]

Class V wells that were in existence in 1984 when Connecticut adopted its regulations were required to register with the state within one year.  However, a few types of Class V wells were exempt from registration, including:

(1) Commercial subsurface sewage disposal systems, household subsurface sewage disposal systems, and other subsurface sewage disposal systems that have average daily flows less than 5,000 gpd, and

(2)Wells being operated pursuant to an unexpired discharge permit issued under section 22a-430 (the Connecticut statute that allows for and sets procedures for the permitting of discharges into the waters of the state).

The SDWA also requires the EPA to regulate the presence of chemicals in drinking water in order to protect human health.  The EPA uses two sets of standards in its regulations.  The first is the nonenforceable Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLG).  In setting MCLGs, the EPA considers onlyealth, public health and not whether adequate technology exists to detect or treat a chemical at a particular concentration.[59]  The second standard is the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL).  The MCL is set as close to the MCLG as is feasible (to determine feasibility the EPA undertakes a cost-benefit analysis).[60] 

One of the chemicals regulated by the SDWA is nitrogen.  According to the EPA, leaching from septic tanks and sewage are two of the primary sources of nitrogen in drinking water.[61]  Perhaps the most significant health risk nitrogen poses is to infants below the age of six months.  The EPA reports that infants who consume water containing nitrogen above the SDWA limits “could become seriously ill and, if untreated, may die.”[62]  The MCLG and MCL for nitrates and nitrites are the same:  10 parts per million (ppm).  Likewise, for nitrite the MCLG and MCL is also the same — in this case, 1 ppm.[63]   To protect human health and maintain the quality of Connecticut’s finite drinking waters, these limits are often placed by the DEEP on sewage discharge permits granted under the UIC program.   

1.2  State Environmental and Land Use Laws Applicable to the Siting and Use of ATS

1.2.1     Water Pollution Control Authority

Under Connecticut law, any municipality may by ordinance establish a municipal water pollution control authority (WPCA).[64]  A WPCA is a quasi-municipal corporation that may exercise “the power to acquire, construct, maintain, supervise, manage, [and]  operate a sewer system and perform any act pertinent to the collection, transportation, and disposal of sewage.”[65]  Conn. Gen. Stat. sections 7-245 et seq set forth the scope of the WPCA’s powers and duties and provide that a WPCA may “establish and revise rules and regulations for the supervision, management, control, operation, and use of a sewerage system.”[66]  The statute, however, does not give the WPCA inherent authority to issue discharge permits or orders.  That authority must be delegated to the WCPA from the DEEP (delegation is discussed in Section 1.1.1.4).  Furthermore, although the WPCA is granted considerable authority in the statute, Section 7-247 of the statute titled “Powers and duties of water pollution control authority re sewerage systems” states that “[n]othing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of a local director of health, the Commissioner of Public Health, or the Commissioner of [Energy and] Environmental Protection.”[67]span>  

The WPCA is also authorized to prepare a municipal water pollution control plan.  Although the plan is not mandatory, if the WPCA does author a plan it must designate and delineate the boundary of:

(1) Areas served by any municipal sewerage system;

(2) Areas where municipal sewerage facilities are planned and the schedule of design and construction anticipated or proposed;

(3) Areas where sewers are to be avoided;

(4) Areas served by any community sewerage system not owned by a municipality;

(5) Areas to be served by any proposed community sewerage system not owned by a municipality; and 

(6) Areas to be designated as Decentralized Wastewater Management Districts (DWMD).[68]

In areas not designated for service by municipal sewerage systems, community sewerage systems, and decentralized systems, these systems are disallowed..[69]  Additionally, the plan must “describe the means by which municipal programs are being carried out to avoid community pollution problems and describe any programs wherein the local director of health manages subsurface sewage disposal systems.”[70]  The plan can include goals and objectives, such as to improve local water quality or to use and refrain from using particular kinds of sewage treatment systems.  The plan and any periodic updates to the plan must be filed with the Connecticut DEEP.

However, the principal duty of the WPCA is to “manage or ensure the effective supervision, management, control, operation and maintenance of any community sewerage system or decentralized wastewater management district not owned by a municipality.”  To do so, the WPCA may order property owners to connect to available sewerage systems or ATS (discharging to groundwater)[71] and levy assessments on properties especially benefited by such systems.[72]  A community sewerage system is defined as “any sewerage system serving two or more residences in separate structures which is not connected to a municipal sewerage system or which is connected to a municipal sewerage system as a distinct and separately managed district or segment of such system.”[73]  Decentralized Wastewater Management Districts are defined as “areas of a municipality designated by the municipality through a municipal ordinance when an engineering report has determined that the existing subsurface sewage disposal systems may be detrimental to public health or the environment and that decentralized systems are required and such report is approved by the Commissioner of [Energy and] Environmental Protection with concurring approval by the Commissioner of Public Health, after consultation with the local director of health.” [74]

1.2.2        Decentralized Wastewater Management Districts

1.2.3        Community Sewerage Systems

1.2.4        Regulating ATS in Coastal Zones

1.2.5        Municipal Boards and Commissions