Fairfield County, Ohio septic permits and requirements

Permitting authority

Fairfield County Health Department — Environmental Health, Sewage Treatment Systems program

Fairfield County Health Department: 1550 Sheridan Drive, Suite 100, Lancaster, OH 43130; Environmental Health 740-652-2800, Option 3.

Ohio permit framework

Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3701-29 governs sewage treatment systems statewide. Rule 3701-29-06 provides that a sewage treatment system may not be installed, altered, or operated without an approved permit from the board of health, and owners must comply with permit conditions and maintain the system in proper working condition.

Local rules can be more stringent

Ohio law allows a board of health to adopt more stringent sewage-treatment standards when local conditions support them and the required state approval is obtained. County or health-district instructions therefore matter in addition to the statewide minimum rules.

Permit required for installation or alteration

Fairfield County states that its sewage program issues permits for new installations, replacements, and alterations and registers installers, service providers, and pumpers operating in the county. The county explicitly states that any installation or alteration work requires a permit.

Soil report and design sequence

For a new system, Fairfield County requires a soil report with every new-system application regardless of lot size or creation date. The county reviews the soil information, returns a calculation worksheet identifying potential HSTS options, and then requires a design proposal, soil reports, permit application, and fee. The county directs applicants to use a registered installer.

Lot splits and development suitability

Fairfield County requires health-department approval for all new lots, including the remainder, regardless of size. The county requires an Order One Soil Evaluation for each proposed lot and states that the proposed lot must contain a usable, contiguous area with soils suitable for a sewage treatment system.

Current county fee schedule

Fairfield County publishes a current sewage-program fee schedule, including separate categories for new/replacement HSTS, small-flow systems, alterations, operation and maintenance, lot inspections, installer registration, service-provider registration, and septage hauling. Because the county warns that fees can change, SepticScope links to the live schedule rather than hard-coding a filing cost.

Official sources

SepticScope summarizes public-agency information for planning purposes. The permitting agency's current instructions control if they differ from this guide.