Amendments to the Harvard Board of Health Sanitation Regulation
On May 9, 2023, at a public hearing held virtually during a regularly scheduled meeting of the Harvard Board of Health, notice having been published in The Harvard Press on April 21st and April 28th, 2023, the Board Members voted to amended Chapter 145, Article I: Sanitation, in the Code of the Town of Harvard, pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 111, Section 31.
The approved amendments to Article I, which is supplemental to 310 CMR 15.000: The State Environmental Code, Title 5, include but are not limited to the following:
- Addition of clear definitions of terms used throughout the article;
- Removal of the requirement for percolation rates lower than 40 minutes per inch for new construction;
- Removal of the requirement that square footage of a conventional subsurface sewage disposal system be 150% of the Title 5 required minimum where percolation rates exceed 40 minutes per inch;
- Revisions of the setbacks to private wells consistent with Chapter 145, Article II: Private Wells, in the Code of the Town of Harvard;
- Clarification of the requirements for temporary sanitary facilities on work sites; and
- Addition of requirements for maintenance and pumping reporting for properties with tight tanks.
The Members voted that the amendments will be effective on June 1, 2023. To view a copy of the amended regulation, please call the Board at 978-456-4100, ext. 328, or visit the Board of Health website: https://www.harvard-ma.gov/board-health/pages/board-health-regulations