Rhode Island Cesspool Phaseout Act Letters Sent

Post author By Eric Colburn
Post date March 1, 2011
5 Comments on Rhode Island Cesspool Phaseout Act Letters Sent

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Onsite Wastewater Treatment System (OWTS) septic system — Cesspool Phaseout

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM) has issued the first round of notification letters to owners of properties that may be subject to the RI Cesspool Phaseout Act of 2007. You may already have received a letter from RI DEM or heard about this on the news tonight (see video below).

Jamestown and North Kingstown First to Get Notices

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RIDEM has informed us that the first batch of letters were sent to the towns of Jamestown and North Kingstown. Notification letters will then be sent, in batches, to additional towns in the coming weeks. RI DEM has also said that as the list of towns that letters are being sent to, that they will notify us of these additions. At that time, we will update you, too.

The R.I. Cesspool Act of 2007

The Rhode Island Cesspool Act of 2007 (RIGL § 23-19.15) mandates that all cesspools located within 200 feet of the inland edge of the coastal shoreline feature bordering a tidal water area must be abandoned and the home upgraded with a new Onsite Wastewater Treatment System (OWTS) septic system or connected to available municipal sewer lines. The Act also requires cesspools located within 200 feet of public wells or within 200 feet of drinking water reservoirs to be replaced as above.

A cesspool is any buried chamber (could be a metal tank, a perforated concrete vault, or a covered hollow or excavation) that receives sewage from a building for disposal into the ground.

Cesspool Inspection and Replacement Timetable:

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Pumping a Cesspool

All cesspools within the 200 foot zones identified above will have to be inspected upon notice from RIDEM;
All cesspools within the 200 foot zones identified above that are found to be failed will need to be replaced within 1 year with an approved Onsite Wastewater Treatment System (OWTS) septic system;
All cesspools within the 200 foot zones identified above that are found in already sewered areas will need to be hooked-up to the sewer within one year of the sale of the associated property; and
All other cesspools within the 200 foot zones identified above will need to be replaced by January 1, 2013, with an approved Onsite Wastewater Treatment System (OWTS) septic system.

Contact Foster Survey Company for Help with the Rhode Island Cesspool Phaseout Act of 2007

About Foster Survey Company

Foster Survey Company is a Rhode Island Professional Land Surveying Company established in March of 1993. We are Registered Licensed RI Professional Land Surveyors serving all of Rhode Island. Our core beliefs are to provide superior professional land surveying services that will benefit you with: Value, Experience, and Quality!
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Tags 200, 2007, Act, Barrington, Boundary, Bristol, Bristol County, Buried, Burrillville, Central Falls, Certificate, Cesspool, Chamber, Charlestown, Coastal, Coventry, Cranston, Cumberland, Drinking, East Greenwich, East Providence, Exeter, Feet, Foster, Foster Survey, Foster Survey Company, Foster Survey RI, Foster Surveys, Glocester, Hopkinton, Inspection, Island, Jamestown, Johnston, Kent County, Land, Land Survey Companies, Land Survey Company, Land Surveying Companies, Land Surveyor RI, Land Surveyors Rhode Island, Land Surveyors RI, Law, Letters, Lincoln, Little Compton, Middletown, Municipal Sewers, Narragansett, Newport, Newport County, News, North Kingstown, North Providence, North Smithfield, Onsite, Onsite Wastewater Treatment System, OWTS, Pawtucket, Phaseout, Portsmouth, Professional, Professional Land Surveyor, Property, Property Survey, Providence, Providence County, Public, R.I., Replacement, Reservoir, Rhode, Rhode Island, Rhode Island Cesspool Act of 2007, RI, RI DEM, RI Land Surveyor, RI Land Surveyors, RI Survey Companies, RI Surveyor, RI Surveyors, Richmond, RIDEM, RIGL § 23-19.15, Scituate, Sent, Septic, Septic System, Sewers, Shoreline, Smithfield, South Kingstown, Survey, Surveying, Surveyors, Surveyors in RI, System, Tidal, Timetable, Tiverton, Treatment, Video, Warren, Warwick, Washington County, Wastewater, Water, Wells, West Greenwich, West Warwick, Westerly, Woonsocket, Zones

By Eric Colburn

Eric Colburn is a registered licensed Rhode Island Professional Land Surveyor (RI No. 1920) with 40 years of experience in land surveying and land development industries, and president of Foster Survey Company. He is an expert experienced in all aspects of boundary surveying and surveying technologies such as robotic surveying systems, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), AutoCAD Civil 3D, drone surveying, and remote sensing surveys.

Eric has obtained the following professional licenses and certifications:
• Licensed Professional Land Surveyor (RI No. 1920)
• Licensed Class II Septic System OWTS Designer (RI No. 2052)
• Certified Bottomless Sand Filter Designer
• OSHA 10-Hour Construction Safety & Health Certified.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Rhode Island Society of Professional Land Surveyors (RISPLS) and has been active in many professional land surveying organizations, including ACSM-NES, American Congress on Surveying & Mapping (ACSM), and the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS). Eric served on the Board of Directors and was past President of the New England Section of the American Congress on Surveying & Mapping (ACSM-NES), which became the Geomatics Society of New England.

Professional Associations:
• Rhode Island Society of Professional Land Surveyors (Board Member)
• National Society of Professional Surveyors

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5 replies on “Rhode Island Cesspool Phaseout Act Letters Sent”

Just received the following update from RIDEM that additional cesspool notices have been sent out:

“DEM has issued notification letters to owners of properties in Narragansett that may be subject to the R.I. Cesspool Act of 2007.”

I will post additional updates as more notification letters are sent to additional towns in the coming weeks.

Today, RIDEM sent me the following cesspool notification:

“DEM has issued notification letters to owners of properties in Warren, Cranston, and East Greenwich that may be subject to the R.I. Cesspool Act of 2007″

Here are four more communities that RIDEM today announced they are sending cesspool notification letters.

“DEM has issued notification letters to owners of properties in East Providence, Bristol, Barrington, and Middletown that may be subject to the R.I. Cesspool Act of 2007″

Here are three more communities that RIDEM today announced they are sending cesspool notification letters.

“DEM has issued notification letters to owners of properties in Tiverton, Little Compton, and Newport that may be subject to the R.I. Cesspool Act of 2007″

I just learned that the link to the Rhode Island Cesspool Act of 2007 (RIGL § 23-19.15) was changed, so the link has been revised in the above article (http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/title23/23-19.15/23-19.15-4.HTM)

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