ON-SITE WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT IN CONNECTICUT:
THE ROLE OF ADVANCED TREATMENT SYSTEMS
(ATS)

A GUIDE TO THE TECHNOLOGY, SCIENCE, LAW, AND POLICY OF ADVANCED TREATMENT SYSTEMS 

Made Possible by a Grant  From The Geoffrey C. Hughes Foundation

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was written and/or reviewed by the ATS Ad Hoc Group, including Margaret Miner, Eric Annes, Sarah Gager, Helen Garten, Herbert Gram, Sally Harold, Richard Harris, David Potts, Catherine Rawson, Hugh Rawson, and Roger Reynolds.  Illustrations and web posting were by Tony Mitchell.  Diane Edwards and Suzi Arensberg provided invaluable editing.  We owe thanks to George Heufelder at the Barnstable County Health District and to Ozzie Inglese and Dennis Greci, at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, for their assistance on the science and the law.

The project was managed by Rivers Alliance of Connecticut
7 West Street, POB 1797, Litchfield, CT 06759
www.riversalliance.org
860-361-9349

Contents (click on chapter title to go to that chapter)

Chapter 1: ATS — Problem or Solution?  An Essay on an Unmentionable Subject

• Waste Treatment by Nature and Beyond
• Lethal Nutrients
• No Space and No Sewer: Turning to ATS
• Regulatory Confusion
• What's a Town to Do?

Chapter 2: On-Site Sewage Treatment:  Old-Fashioned and Newfangled

• Traditional Systems
• What Sewage Treatment Is Supposed to Accomplish
• Phosphorus
• Pathogens and Toxins
• Failures and Fixes
• Alternative Systems
• ATS:  Methods of Treatment
• Treatment Processes
• ATS Maintenance and Performance

Chapter 3: ATS Performance

• ATS in Connecticut
• Permit Parameters and Standards
• Subsurface Discharge Facilities

Barkhamsted, CT (2008) Mallory Brook Plaza
Barkhamsted, CT (2007) Mallory Brook Plaza
Chester, CT Chester Village West
Clinton, CT Clinton Crossing
Coventry, CT Town of Coventry WPCA
Essex, CT Essex Meadows
Greenwich, CT Brunswick School
Greenwich, CT Whitby School
Guilford, CT The Gables at Guilford
Guilford, CT Wal-Mart
Guilford, CT Goose Lane Medical, LLC 
Madison, CT The Hearth
Madison, CT Madison High School
New Fairfield, CT Consolidated School/ Meeting House Hill
Old Lyme, CT Old Lyme Stores
Old Saybrook, CT Between the Bridges
Pomfret CT Pomfret School
Redding, CT Joel Barlow School
Salisbury, CT Salisbury School
Southbury, CT Kensington Green
Stafford Springs, CT Johnson Memorial Hospital
Westbrook, CT Valley Shore YMCA
Westbrook, CT Westbrook Factory Stores
Westbrook, CT Water’s Edge
Weston, CT Weston Schools
Willington, CT Fed-Ex Ground
Willington, CT Truck Stops of America

• Surface-Water Discharges
  

  Greenwich, CT Round Hill Club
  Sandy Hook, CT Lynwood Place, LLC
  Wilton, CT Northeastern Province of the School Sisters of Notre Dame

• Consistent Findings
• Conclusion

Chapter 4: Law and Order

• The Regulation of Alternative On-Site Sewage Treatment Systems in Connecticut
• Federal Environmental Laws Applicable to the Siting and Use of ATS
• State and Environmental Land Use Laws Applicable to the Siting and Use of ATS
• Water Pollution Control Authority
• Decentralized Wastewater Management Districts
• Community Sewerage Systems
• Regulating ATS in Coastal Zones
• Municipal Boards and Commissions
• Guidance Documents and Other Nonbinding ATS Management References

Chapter 5: Options for Towns

• Background
• Write Your Own Law
• Recommendations for ATS Permitting
• Summary of Recommendations
• Sample Documents

ATS Glossary

Note:  In 2011 the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) became the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).  We have used the new name throughout this publication.