N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 10 § 144.1

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 144.1 - Village of montour falls

(a) Application. The following rules and regulations enacted under the authority of article 11 of the Public Health Law, and of the whole thereof, as last amended by chapter 879 of the Laws of 1953, shall apply to Johns Creek and its tributaries which now serve or which may be developed in the future to serve as sources of the public water supply of the village of Montour Falls, Schuyler County, New York, and to all watercourses tributary thereto or ultimately discharging into said Johns Creek.

(b) Definition of terms.

(1) The term water supply means the public water supplies of the village of Montour Falls in Schuyler County, New York.

(2) The term watercourse means every spring, pond, stream, marsh, road, ditch or channel of any kind, the waters of which flow or may flow into this water supply.

(3) The linear distance of a structure, tank, pit or object from the watercourse is the shortest horizontal distance from the nearest point of the structure, tank or object to the edge, margin or precipitous bank forming the ordinary high-water mark of a watercourse.

(4) The term human excreta means feces, urine and other excretions commonly disposed of by the so-called dry system as typified by the ordinary privy.

(5) The term sewage means waste liquids containing human excreta and decomposing matters, waste liquids from bathrooms, kitchens or laundries or polluted liquids of any kind in or from the drainage system or sewer of a dwelling or any structure occupied for commercial purposes.

(6) The term receptacle means septic tanks, privy pits, cesspools, leaching cesspools, filter beds or other containers used for the storage or processing of excreta, sewage or waste matters.

(7) The minimum capacity for any septic tank to be installed either new or as a replacement on the watershed shall be 500 gallons.

(c) Human excreta.

(1) No human excreta shall be deposited, thrown, placed or allowed to escape into any watercourse.

(2) No human excreta shall be placed or spread upon the surface of the ground at any point on the watershed of the water supply.

(3) No human excreta, either raw or partially decomposed such as may be dipped, pumped or shoveled from a privy, septic tank, cesspool or other receptacle, shall be buried in the soil on the watershed of the water supply unless deposited in trenches or pits at a distance of not less than 200 feet from a watercourse and covered with not less than 18 inches of soil in such a manner as to effectively prevent its being washed over the surface of the ground by rain or melting snow.

(4) No privy or receptacle of any kind for the storage or deposit of human excreta shall be constructed, placed or maintained or allowed to remain within 75 feet of any watercourse, except a properly constructed and operated sewage disposal plant as hereinafter set forth in paragraph (8) of this subdivision, provided, however, that the property on which the privy or receptacle is built or is to be built is so located, bounded or otherwise placed that the distances above named can be obtained within the limits of such property.

(5) Every privy or receptacle of any kind for the storage or deposit of human excreta built or to be built on property which is so located, bounded or otherwise placed that the distances in paragraph (4) of this subdivision cannot be obtained shall be placed as far as possible from a watercourse and especially constructed of masonry, concrete or metal to form a watertight receptacle from which no outward percolation can take place. Where removable watertight containers are provided, they shall be located as far as practicable from a watercourse. All privies or receptacles referred to in this paragraph shall be constructed or installed only with the approval and under the supervision of the duly authorized representative of the officers or boards having the management and control of the potable water supplies defined above and in such manner as effectually to prevent any pollution of the public water supply.

(6) Every privy or receptacle for the storage or deposit of human excreta located within 75 feet of any watercourse built or to be built according to the provisions of paragraph (5) of this subdivision shall be emptied when filled within six inches of the top. The contents, if disposed of on the watershed, shall be buried as set forth in paragraph (3) of this subdivision. In the case of properties occupied only during the summer season, the said receptacles shall be emptied when necessary and also at the end of the summer season, disinfected and left empty during the winter. The work of emptying these receptacles shall be done in such manner as to effectually prevent any pollution of the public water supply.

(7) Whenever, in the opinion of the State Commissioner of Health, excremental matter from the aforesaid privy, receptacle, trench or place of disposal may be washed over the surface of the ground or through the soil in an imperfectly purified condition into any watercourse, the said privy, receptacle, trench or place of disposal shall be removed, after due notice to the owner thereof, to such places as shall be considered safe and proper by the State Commissioner of Health.

(8) No sewage, as defined under the term sewage above, nor any industrial waste, so classified by the Water Pollution Control Board under the State Department of Health, shall be discharged or allowed to flow into any watercourse nor deposited on or beneath the surface of the ground within 75 feet of any watercourse except into watertight receptacles, the contents of which shall be disposed of as provided for by paragraph (3) of this subdivision, provided, however, that the property on which the receptacle is built or is to be built is so located, bounded or otherwise placed that the distances above named can be obtained within the limits of the property. In such case, the watertight receptacle shall be constructed and maintained as provided for in paragraph (5) of this subdivision. The restrictions and limiting distances shall not apply to sewage treatment plants or waste treatment systems installed under and in accordance with plans which first have been submitted to and approved by the State Commissioner of Health.

(d) Sewage. No privy or receptacle of any kind for the storage, deposit or treatment of excreta, sewage or other waste matter shall be installed, repaired or replaced on any property situated on the watershed where such installations are or will be more than 75 feet from any watercourse unless written permission has first been granted by the authorized representative of the officers or boards having the management and control of the watershed. Prerequisites for such permission shall be rough plans and specifications for the structure or installation and a soil percolation test taken on the site of the installation or leaching area. The provisions and restrictions of this subdivision shall not apply to any property or installation subject to more stringent or restrictive laws or regulations of the State Department of Health or other State agency.

(e) Garbage, refuse and dead animals. No garbage, refuse, putrescible matter, decomposed fruits and vegetables, dead animals or parts thereof or any other matter that pollutes water shall be deposited in any watercourse nor on or beneath the surface of the ground within 75 feet to any watercourse nor in such manner that it can be washed by rain or melting snow or otherwise over the surface or through the ground into any watercourse.

(f) Bottles and cans. In the interest of public safety, no bottles, jars, jugs, metal cans, drums or similar objects shall be deposited in any watercourse nor on or beneath the surface of the ground within 50 feet of any watercourse nor in such a manner that the object or material can be washed by rain or melting snow or otherwise over the surface of the ground into any watercourse.

(g) Place for animals.

(1) No animal or poultry shall be allowed to stand, wade, swim or be washed or watered in the water of the Johns Creek within 300 feet of a public water supply intake, and no watering place shall be maintained in such a way as to pollute any watercourse with excremental matter.

(2) No stable for cattle or horses, barnyard, hogyard, pigpen, poultry house or yard, hitching place or standing place for horses or other animals shall be so located or maintained in such a manner that the drainage, leaching or washings therefrom may pollute the creek or any watercourse.

(3) No manure pile shall be maintained or allowed to remain within 75 feet of any watercourse nor in such a condition as to pollute any watercourse.

(h) Camps, tents and trailers.

(1) No camp, tent, building or other structure for the occupancy of transients or for the housing of laborers engaged in construction or agricultural work or for other use, except as a private camp or dwelling maintained by a person for his own personal use or for use of family and friends, shall be located, placed or maintained within a distance of 50 feet of any watercourse.

(2) No camp, tent, trailer or other structure for the personal use of the owner or the personal use of family, friends or tenants shall be located, placed or maintained within a distance of 50 feet of any watercourse without first complying with the provisions of paragraphs (4) through (8) of subdivision (c) and subdivision (d) for the proper disposal of excreta, sewage and waste matter.

(i) General clause. In addition to observing the foregoing requirements, all persons living on or visiting the watershed shall refrain from any act, though not heretofore specified, which may result in contamination of any portion of the water supply.

(j) Inspections. The officers or boards having the management and control of the public water supplies defined above or such boards or person or persons as may be charged with the maintenance or supervision of the water supply or the duly appointed representative of such boards or persons shall make regular and thorough inspections of the watercourses and watersheds tributary thereto for the purpose of ascertaining whether the above rules and regulations are being complied with, and it shall be the duty of the officers or boards having the management and control of the public water supplies defined above to cause copies of any rules and regulations violated to be served upon the persons violating the same, together with notices of such violations. If such persons do not immediately comply with the rules and regulations, it shall be the further duty of said officers or boards having the management and control of the public water supplies defined above to promptly notify the State Commissioner of Health of such violations. The officers or boards having the management and control of the public water supplies defined above shall report to the State Commissioner of Health in writing annually, on the first day of January, the results of the inspections which have been made during the preceding year, stating the number of inspections which have been made, the number of violations found, the number of notices served and the general condition of the watershed at the time of the last inspection.

(k) Penalty.

(1) In accordance with section 1103 of chapter 45 of the Consolidated Laws (Public Health Law), as amended by chapter 879 of the Laws of 1953, the penalty for each and every violation of or noncompliance with any of these rules and regulations which relate to a permanent source or act of contamination is hereby fixed at $100.

(2) The penalty for each and every violation of or noncompliance with any of these rules and regulations which does not relate to a permanent source or act of contamination is hereby fixed at $25.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 10 § 144.1