Strategies for Rural Development in Areas with Limited Public Infrastructure: Alternative Septic Systems

Standards for Zoning and Subdiv Ordinances

Maine has already established the legal framework to accommodate responsible and sustainable management of decentralized wastewater disposal systems:

The model subdivision regulations and most zoning ordinances in Maine tend not to recognize the value of clustered subsurface wastewater disposal systems to facilitate compact development in growth areas, and very few offer explicit guidelines for institutional management of clustered systems.   The assumption appears to be that any development served by a multi-user wastewater disposal system will be owned and operated according to traditional models:  either by the municipality or a public sewer district like a public centralized sewer system, or by a single owner overseeing a number of users who must follow the rules or leave, like a mobile home park or condominium.  These ordinances do not prohibit private multi-user or common systems in developments where the lots are individually owned – management of these systems would presumably fall under the catch-all of compliance with state pollution control laws – but the lack of any specific language may imply that clustered systems are not a viable or welcome development option in that municipality.  When local ordinances begin to make specific references to clustered systems and how they should be managed, developers and planners may become more aware of the ways in which clustered wastewater systems can enable compact development and sustained economic growth in rural communities.  A suggested provision to be added to the Model Subdivision Regulations is provided here. (MS WORD doc format)

The following towns, sanitary districts, and utilities in Maine (and Vermont) are already actively involved in managing decentralized wastewater systems.  Note that with the exception of Lewiston, these are all rural small towns where the new construction or extension of public water and sewer infrastructure would be cost-prohibitive in the current fiscally constrained environment. Selected the name of the town with an underlined link takes you to one of the case studies in this on-line manual. Links to their ordinance language are provided beside each town.

Related Work Plan Components

Workgroup Contacts

In Aroostook County: Jay Kamm, Ken Murchison, Joella Theriault

In Washington County: Judy East