2014 Rhode Island General Laws
Title 23 - Health and Safety
Chapter 23-19.15 - The Rhode Island Cesspool Act of 2007
Section 23-19.15-2 - Legislative findings.
§ 23-19.15-2 Legislative findings. – The general assembly hereby recognizes and declares that:
(1) There exists within certain portions of the state the need to abate pollution and threats to public health caused by cesspools, particularly high-risk cesspools that pose direct threats to public health and the environment.
(2) It is estimated that there are more than fifty thousand (50,000) cesspools within the state as of 2006.
(3) Cesspools are a substandard and often inadequate means of sewage treatment and disposal.
(4) Many cesspools contribute directly to groundwater and surface water contamination.
(5) Wastewater disposed from cesspools contains bacteria, viruses, ammonium and other pollutants with high biochemical oxygen demand, and may also include phosphates, chlorides, grease, and chemicals used to clean cesspools.
(6) Wastewater disposed from cesspools frequently exceeds drinking water health standards for certain contaminants.
(7) Wastewater disposed from cesspools can pose significant health threats to people who come into contact with, or consume, contaminated surface waters or groundwaters.
(8) Appropriate treatment of sewage disposed into the ground is essential to the protection of public health and the environment, particularly in relation to Narragansett Bay and the rest of the state's coastal region, and public drinking water resources.
(9) Replacement of cesspools with modern ISDS technology reduces risks to public health and the environment.
(10) In sewered areas, sewer tie-ins offer a readily available, low-cost means of mitigating problems and threats caused by cesspools.
(11) A fund exists to assist homeowners with the costs of removing cesspools and inadequate septic systems and replacing them with an approved ISDS if the community in which the homeowner resides has created a wastewater management district in accordance with chapter 24.5 of title 45.
History of Section.
(P.L. 2007, ch. 136, § 1; P.L. 2007, ch. 233, § 1.)
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