nieghbors septic system placement

[dmccarty]

Ray,

Contact your permitting authority and get the regulations. Everything else is just guessing. You can just ask for the rules which they should be able to tell you on the phone or just go to the office and pick them up.

In NC who gets there first wins as far as I can tell. I can put a well or septic system within 10 feet of the property line and we have the 100 foot rule here as well. So the placement of my facilities can impact what happens on other's land. My neighbor for instance has their septic field right up to the 10 foot line on our common boundry. Its the only place they could put their septic system on five acres. My parents lot is similar in that the only place on 5 acres is right up to the boundry.

Its good you went and talked with the contractor and he stopped. I had a chat with my neighbor who was building a fence on my land. You would think if you where building a fence you would know where the line is located.... I showed him and the contractor the line and they moved the posts. If he had not pulled down the survey tape that I paid to have put up this would not have happened..... I tried to be nice to the guy but he is not a nice guy. After he had a fit over the issue, like its my fault he is building a fence on MY land, he is walking around, finds another piece of flagging and rips it down....

I just shook my head and went home. I had this line resurveyed a few years ago and it was the best money spent. It kept the previous numbnut that owned the land from building his septic field on my land and it kept the new owners fence on his land. I'll have to resurvey again when I put up a fence on the line... I'm sure they will have a problem with the line and fence since their house sits at an angle on a rectangular lot and thus the back of the house overlooks some of my land. They are adding a nice back porch and I think they are going to have a fit with a view of a high tensile wire fence...

But I guess my fence will counter balance the six foot tall kennel he built on the FRONT corner of his lot.

Later,
Dan

 

[8561]

My take is that your neighbor was there first. You couldn't force him to move his state approved septic for your well. Also you infringed upon his right to locate his septic within 100 ft of his property line, therefore you signed a waiver. My guess is he would have to sign a waiver to move his leach field closer than 100 ft of the property line because that would infringe on your rights...

Dubba - I think you misunderstood what I wrote (or I'm misunderstanding your reply, very possibly). By placing my well 60 or 70 feet from the property line, I was not forcing him to move anything. His bed was in and placed about 300' away. By placing my well where I chose, I was infringing his right to move his septic bed in the future. My waiver plainly stated that if he wanted to move his system to within 100 of my well, the well had to move. To my knowledge, he doesn't have to sign anything to move his bed within 100' of that well. That was the point of my waiver, an acknowledgement that if he moved his bed, I had to move the well because I knew I was infringing his rights when I sited the well. It has nothing to do with who was there first. My obligation is to keep my domestic water source more than 100' from a legally placed septic bed.

 

[Jimbrown]

Well just to give an idea of how different things are in different places. 1 ac lots with a well on each lot would never fly here in Cochise county. You got to have a state permit to drill any well, a county permit to drill on any parcel 20 ac or smaller, and curently the county is not approving any wells on parcels less than 12 ac. So if you buy a parcel less than 12 ac it better have some type of water service or you are going to have to beg someone to do a well share. most people who subdevide smaller than 12 ac automatically write the well share agreement into the deed restrictions. Almost all realestate contracts specify that water is not guaranteed on any parcel of land. Some one would have to make me some kind of really good offer before I would share any of my wells.

 

[stumpfield]

When I apply for the septic/well permits, I need to show a plot plan indicating the location and distance from all neighboring wells and septics. Usually, if there's a minimun distance requirement, they always want a drawing. Unless someone lied or mistaken when apply for the permit, the health dept shouldn't have approved the permit. Again, they don't go out to measure and check either. All the applicant have to do is signed and state the information is true and correct to the best of his knowledge. What does that tell you? Someone could easily show a plan that's within the requirement hoping no one will notice. The inspector won't check unless someone bought to his attention.
So, I suggest you to contact or go to the health department (or the place issued the permit) immediately and ask of a review of the septic permit application.

 

[RayH]

Its the same here. When I built I had to provide distance references to all surounding wells and septics. Once approved, a permit is issued.
Update: they are back digging today. I called the county inspectors office to make sure I am right about the 100ft minimum and find out who approved the permit. The guy that approved is on vacation. Go figure.

 

[stumpfield]

Its the same here. When I built I had to provide distance references to all surounding wells and septics. Once approved, a permit is issued.
Update: they are back digging today. I called the county inspectors office to make sure I am right about the 100ft minimum and find out who approved the permit. The guy that approved is on vacation. Go figure.

Ask to see the plan. It should be public record. He wouldn't take it with him on vacation would he? You need to challenge the accuracy of the plan. The guy approve the permit was based on information on the plan. Problably looks ok on the plan. Fix the problem now to avoid bigger problem later.

 

[RonMar]

Did you talk to the owner or the contractor? If you havn't done so, I would get in touch with the owner immediately. That is the person who will be your neighbor and is ultimately responsible, not the guy digging the trenches.

Not intending to offend anyone here, but unless the contractor is really conscientious, if he has an approved plan in hand and the person writing the checks says "git-er-done", he is probably going to hurry right along and finish so he can get paid. I know if I was having all this done for me and I or my planners had overlooked something such as the distance to your well when submitting the proposal for the permit, I would want to know about it ASAP so I could stop the contractor and I don't wind up paying for a drainfield twice as well as having to deal with additional delays, possible fines and littigation.

It has been my experience that most people, given all the facts and potential impacts, will do the right thing. Since they are hireing it all done, they may not know anything about the process or regulations. They may not even know there is an issue and will most likley be upset once they find out that their finished drainfield that they just paid for is not legal and won't be approved once the inspecting authority gets involved. Instead of appreciating that you caught the problem early on and saved them some money, they will be upset at you because you knew about the problem in time to halt work and didn't bother to let them know about it.

Just my .02

Good Luck

 

[RayH]

Since the guy that issued the permit is out on vacation, I talked to another person in the office. They asked me where the home is located and who is building it and said they would look into it.
Im not sure talking to the owner would help. Im sure he wants to do the right thing but he is from out of state and has a builder doing everything. The thing is that this builder is a rather large builder in this area. He builds several homes per year around here, even whole subdivisions. It wouldn't surprise me if the inspectors vacation isnt subsidized if you know what I mean.

 

[LMTC]

The thing is that this builder is a rather large builder in this area. He builds several homes per year around here, even whole subdivisions. It wouldn't surprise me if the inspectors vacation isnt subsidized if you know what I mean.

I truly hope you get your situation resolved, but I have to ask...do you have some evidence pointing to what you allege in the above quote, or do you just make that assumption based on the builder being a big business and thus apparently successful?

 

[AB4D]

[law here is that no potable well can be within 100' of a septic field.]

Same deal here where I live. I even have a puraflow system which consists of a septic tank, septic pump station, dual sand filters, and effluent pump station. The effluent is crystal clear although smelly. However, the county here still requires a 100 foot set back from any exsiting wells.

Jim