Decision Date: July 8, 1997
Panel: Carol Martin
Keywords: Sewage Disposal Regulation – ss. 2(2), 3(1), 3(3), 3(4)(e), 7(1), 8; Schedule 3 – s. 11; Board of Health criteria for variance of s. 8 setbacks, proximity to shellfish harvesting area.
The owner of an oceanfront lot in Parksville, located near a shellfish harvesting area, appealed the December 10, 1996 decision of the Environmental Health Officer denying a permit to install a conventional package treatment plant system. The permit was refused due to insufficient depth of percable native soil and the inability of the site to meet the required 100 foot setback from the high water mark of the sea as set by the local Board of Health under s. 8 of the Regulation.
The Panel found that the EHO could not, by himself, relax the local Board of Healths 100 foot setback requirement. The Appellant requires a variance from that Board. Further, the lack of 4 feet of suitable soil precluded approval of a conventional system. The Panel held that the EHO correctly exercised his discretion in refusing to issue a permit for the property as proposed. The appeal was dismissed.
