Decision Date: August 8, 2001

Panel: Don Cummings

Keywords: Sewage Disposal Regulation – ss. 3(1), 3(3), 6(b), 7(1)(b), Schedule 3, s. 14; dry well; sewage disposal permit; conventional package treatment plant system.

I.B. Moller appealed the decision of the Environmental Health Officer (“EHO”) to refuse to issue a permit for construction of a sewage disposal system incorporating a Biocycle Model 5800 sewage treatment plant on property in White Rock. Mr. Moller asked for an order rescinding the decision of the EHO.

The Board considered each of the EHO’s concerns in relation to whether the proposed system would adequately protect human health. The concerns included the depth to porous soil, setback distances, house perimeter drains, the need for additional safeguards to ensure that the proposed system would continue to function properly, insufficient area of the property, an unacceptable dry well, and the need for a reserve absorption field. The Board found that there was a lack of substantive data to confirm whether there was sufficient depth of suitable soil on the property to provide for adequate treatment of effluent. It agreed with the EHO that there was a valid concern about the potential for effluent breakout, and that a dry well was inappropriate since it would create a situation where untreated effluent could rise to the surface of the land.

Accordingly, the Panel concluded that the proposed sewage treatment system had a high probability of posing a threat to the public health. The appeal was dismissed.