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RESOLUTIONS\LOCAL LAWS&ORDINANCESThapter 137 Septic Systems—Amend to Add North Qby Wastewater Disposal District No 1-7-25-2022
RESOLUTION SETTING PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED LOCAL
LAW NO.: _ OF 2022 TO AMEND CHAPTER 137 OF QUEENSBURY
TOWN CODE ENTITLED "SEPTIC SYSTEMS" TO ADD ARTICLE II
"NORTH QUEENSBURY WASTEWATER DISPOSAL DISTRICT NO. 1"
RESOLUTION NO.: ,2022
INTRODUCED BY:
WHO MOVED ITS ADOPTION
SECONDED BY:
WHEREAS, by Resolution No.: 407, 2014, the Queensbury Town Board created the North
Queensbury Wastewater Disposal District No. 1 pursuant to New York State Town Law Section
190-e for the purpose of administration and planning, design, installation, construction,
rehabilitation, replacement, operation and maintenance, monitoring, residual treatment and disposal
and regulation of private on-site wastewater disposal systems of such district, and
WHEREAS, the Town Board wishes to consider further specifying and codifying the
requirements applicable within the Disposal District by adoption of Local Law No.: of 2022
which, if adopted would amend Queensbury Town Code Chapter 137 by adding Article 11 "North
Queensbury Wastewater Disposal District No. 1", and
WHEREAS, the Town Board wishes to set a public hearing concerning adoption of this
Local Law,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED, that the Queensbury Town Board shall meet and hold a public hearing at the
Queensbury Activities Center, 742 Bay Road, Queensbury at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, August 8th,
2022 to hear all interested persons and take any necessary action provided by law concerning
proposed Local Law No.: of 2022, and
BE IT FURTHER,
RESOLVED, that the Town Board further authorizes and directs the Queensbury Town
Clerk to publish and post a Notice of Public Hearing concerning proposed Local Law No.: of
2022 in the manner provided by law.
Duly adopted this 25Ih day of July, 2022, by the following vote:
AYES
NOES
ABSENT :
LOCAL LAWS\Chapter 137 Septic Systems—Amend to Add North Qby Wastewater Disposal District No I—August 8 2022.
LOCAL LAW NO.: OF 2022
A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND QUEENSBURY TOWN CODE
CHAPTER 137 TO ADD ARTICLE 11 "NORTH QUEENSBURY
WASTEWATER DISPOSAL DISTRICT NO. 199
BE IT ENACTED BY THE QUEEASB UR Y TO WN BOARD AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Authority — This Local Law is adopted pursuant to Article 16 of the Town
Law and Article 3 of the Public Health Law.
Section 2. Queensbury Town Code is hereby amended by adding Chapter 137, Article 11
as set forth below:
ARTICLE II: "NORTH QUEENSBURY WASTEWATER DISPOSAL DISTRICT NO.
§ 137-7. Purpose and Intent. The North Queensbury Wastewater Disposal District No.
1 (District) was formed by the Queensbury Town Board to protect the waters of Lake George.
The District is located entirely within the Dunham's Bay Area along the east shore of Lake
George. Lake George is classified as an "AA-Special" water body and serves as a source of
drinking water for residents of all eight Towns within the Lake George Basin. Onsite
Wastewater Treatments Systems (OWTS) are the sole method of wastewater disposal within the
District. Therefore, continued protection of the waters of Lake George is imperative and poorly
maintained or malfunctioning OWTS within the District contribute to the contamination and
degradation of groundwater and ultimately the water quality of Lake George. The Queensbury
Town Board recognizes that OWTS will eventually degrade, even with proper maintenance and
operation and that ongoing vigilance to ensure that such systems are properly operating and are
appropriately replaced when necessary is crucial to protect groundwater and the waters of Lake
George. Pursuant to New York State Town Law §190-e, the District was formed to facilitate the
Town's goals of promoting and requiring the rehabilitation, replacement and proper operation
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and maintenance of OWTS and the Town has the lawful authority to monitor such systems for
this purpose, including providing for regular inspections.
§ 137-8. INSPECTIONS
A. To confirm compliance with the provision of this Article II, the Town of
Queensbury Building and Codes Enforcement Officer, a designee of such official or other
professional approved/selected by the Queensbury Town Board shall have the right to inspect all
OWTS within the District once every six (6) years to ensure compliance with the provisions of
this Part. The inspection shall include a septic tank pump out by a NYSDEC registered septic
hauler and all seepage pits and septic drainfield distribution boxes (D-box) accepting effluent I
from a septic tank, all septic tank inlet and outlet access covers, all pump stations and holding
tank access covers must be uncovered and opened by the property owner or their agent prior to
the inspection. If access covers are more than twelve (12) inches below grade, they must be
outfitted with extension covers. The pump out shall be arranged by the property owner to
correspond with the date of inspection. The OWTS inspection shall utilize the New York On-
site Wastewater Treatment Training Network (OTN) materials, including the OTN System
Inspection Request Form, Findings Worksheet and Site Report (Inspection Findings), all of
which shall be available in the Building and Codes Enforcement Office. [The cost of the
inspection, to be established by Town Board Resolution as set forth in the Town's Fee Schedule
Ordinance, shall be paid to the Town of Queensbury prior to the inspection.] Inspections shall
be performed on or before June 1st of such year.
B. Inspections will not be required within the first six (6) years of installation of
entirely new OWTS provided such OWTS were fully lawful when installed and provided further
that there''are no indicia of system failure,including, but not limited to, the appearance of surface
effluent and/or the presence of effluent odors. Lawful OWTS shall include those that are lawful
by virtue of the issuance of one or more septic variances by the Town Board. For purposes of
this provision, for OWTS to be considered entirely new, their component septic tanks, pump
stations and either leach fields or seepage pits must be new and cannot have been part of the
previous OWTS.
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C. Nothing contained in this provision shall prevent additional inspections within
this six (6)-year period if there are any indicia of OWTS failure, including, but not limited to, the
appearance of surface effluent and/or the presence of effluent odors.
D. The Town Board may, in its discretion, contract with a consultant of its choosing
to conduct initial information gathering activities which may include contact and coordination
with landowners to identify the location and nature of the OWTS and/or OWTS components and
create an inventory of all OWTS infrastructure within the District. Related costs shall be a
District expense.
§ 137-9. MINIMUM STANDARDS. The following minimum standards shall apply to
each inspection:
(a) All septic tanks and holding tanks must be within 250 gallons of the minimum
volume requirement; minimum volume includes bedrooms, rooms used for sleeping,
Jacuzzi tubs and garbage grinders;
(b) All holding tanks shall be equipped with a float switch with a 50% level
alarm, a 100%high-level alarm located in a conspicuous place to indicate when pump out
is necessary and a water shut off device. A copy of pump out records shall be submitted
during or prior to the inspection; and
(c) For an aerobic treatment system or Enhanced Treatment Unit (ETU), the new
owner must send a signed copy of an updated service contract to the Town annually.
§ 13740. OWTS FAILURES. Failure of an existing OWTS occurs when the standards
for lawful OWTS as set forth in Chapter 136 and this Article are not met. While not exhaustive,
examples of a failing system include the following:
(1) Lack of a pre-treatment vessel (i.e., septic tank, aerobic treatment unit, ETU, etc.)
prior to effluent discharge to any subsurface treatment(soil treatment area or absorption field);
(2) There is a discharge of effluent directly or indirectly to the ground's surface, with
surface breakouts,ponding or saturated soils over the soil treatment area;
(3) Direct pipe surface discharge of grey water (into a dry well, over an embankment,
into a roadside ditch or stream/tributary, etc.);
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(4) A dye test results in the presence of dye on the ground surface or
adjacent/downstream water body;
(5) There is a backup of sewage into the home, building, septic tank or facility as a result
of a septic tank overload or malfunction, or a clogged soil treatment area;
(6) The septic tank requires pumping more than -four times per year and/or sewage is
observed flowing back into the septic tank from the secondary treatment area during pump out;
(7) Presence of a metal septic tank that is undersized and/or corroded;
(8) A cesspool, defined as a covered hole or pit used to receive untreated sewage from a
house or building constructed as a primary source of wastewater disposal;
(9) A holding tank that discharges effluent to surrounding subsurface areas;
(10) No septic tank, seepage pit, enhanced treatment unit or soil treatment area (STA)
shall be permitted to discharge to any natural outlet or adjoining property.
§ 137-11. MANDATORY PUMP OUT. Each OWTS within the District must be
pumped .out no less than once every three years. Property owners within the District may
individually undertake such effort. In addition, the Town of Queensbury may arrange for one or
more septic haulers to undertake annual pump outs of approximately 1/3 of the properties within
the District. The cost of such services, if arranged throughout the District shall be a District
expense. Otherwise, each property owner shall be independently responsible for such costs. In
the event any new OWTS has been installed within the District, no additional inspection or
pumpout shall be required within the three years directly following installation, provided the
owner gives the Town sufficient information and documentation to identify the location of the
OWTS and all its components, the type of system and the manner of its operation.
§ 137-12. EXEMPTION. The requirements of Section 137-8 and 137-11 shall not
apply where the owner has submitted to the Town, on or before June Is'of the year in which such
activity was to occur, an annual maintenance report demonstrating that such pump out or
inspection has been performed and that the system is functioning properly.
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§ 137-13. COSTS INCURRED; VIOLATIONS; PENALTIES FOR OFFENSE.
A. Any and all costs incurred by the District due to a District owner's failure to
undertake the actions required by this Article or as a result of the District addressing any
violations thereof may be assessed against the real property and levied and collected in the same
manner as the levy and collection of special ad valorem assessments through inclusion on the
individual tax bills of the property at issue. Costs assessed in this way shall include all actual
expenses incurred by the District on behalf of such owner and any Application Fees that would
have been required had the owner complied with the provisions hereof.
B. Appearance tickets/information. The Town Enforcement Officer, or such other
person designated by the Town Board or authorized by law, upon receipt of a complaint or upon
such person's own initiative, may commence proceedings in Queensbury Town Court by issuing
an appearance ticket and/or filing an information or a summons and complaint with the
Queensbury Town Court pursuant to New York law.
C. Penalties. Violation of any provision of this Article shall constitute a violation,
punishable by an assessment of civil penalties of $950 or a fine not exceeding $950, or
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 days, or both. Each week such violation continues
after notification to the person in violation shall constitute a separate violation.
E. Civil Actions and Penalties. In addition to any other remedies provided by this
Article, the Town may commence a Civil Action to compel compliance with this Article and/or
to seek monetary penalties for violation of its provisions.
Section 6. Severability — The invalidity of any clause, sentence, paragraph or provision
of this Local Law shall not invalidate any other clause, sentence,paragraph or part thereof.
Section 7. Repealer — All Local Laws or Ordinances or parts of Local Laws or
Ordinances in conflict with any part of this Local Law are hereby repealed.
Section 8. Effective Date—This Local Law shall be effective upon filing by the New
York State Department of State.
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