Septic Engineer in Fabius, NY

Septic engineer in Fabius, NY: what it is and who needs one

Fabius is the southeast corner of the county, plateau country around Highland Forest and the head of Butternut Creek. The town's comprehensive plan says sewage disposal throughout Fabius depends on onsite systems and that is not expected to change. A septic engineer tests the soil, designs to Appendix 75-A, and gets approval from the Onondaga County Health Department.

Backwell coordinates testing, design, the submittal and the install. Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE).

Onsite systems, town policy

Neither the Town nor the Village of Fabius is in the county Consolidated Sanitary District. The town plan says it is town policy to minimize septic failure by controlling development density and supporting county Health Department rules. The zoning law backs that up: multi family dwellings need 15,000 square feet per unit with Health Department approval of the septic system, any proposed water and sewage system has to be approved by the proper agencies, and an existing undersized lot can be used only if Health Department and other permit requirements can be met.

That covers the Village of Fabius at Routes 80 and 91, Apulia, Apulia Station, Gooseville Corners and Vincent Corners.

Soils in Fabius and the system they point to

Fabius has the hardest upland soils in this group. Mardin, with a dense fragipan 14 to 26 inches down, covers 14 percent of the town. Lordstown soils over siltstone and sandstone, and Arnot soils with bedrock at 10 to 20 inches, add another 16 percent. Honeoye, Lansing and Palmyra fill out the rest.

USDA septic absorption field ratings, the Town of Fabius boundary: very limited 88 percent, somewhat limited 12 percent of rated land. Leading limits: shallow seasonal water, depth to bedrock, fast seepage in the bottom layer.

About 88 percent of rated land is very limited for a conventional field. Seasonal water and depth to bedrock together are more than half the reasons, with fast seepage third. The town plan names the same limits: slow permeability, shallow bedrock, wetness and steep slopes. On Mardin ground, less than 2 feet of usable soil above the pan usually means a raised bed. On Arnot ground, rock at 10 to 20 inches is too shallow for trenches or a mound, and those spots usually get skipped for the field. Palmyra gravel in the valleys percs fast, and the plan warns about poorly treated septic effluent seeping into the productive aquifers under the valley soils.

Headwaters, reservoirs and aquifers

The West Branch of the Tioughnioga River drains much of central Fabius. Butternut Creek starts just south of Apulia Station, and Limestone Creek flows out of the De Ruyter Reservoir, a small western part of which is inside the town. Fields stay 100 feet from all of them and from wetlands. Highland Forest County Park is in the southeast and the Labrador Hollow Unique Area in the southwest.

The aquifer warning in the town plan matters for design. The county guidelines say 4 feet of suitable soil to bedrock may be required where needed to protect aquifers, and Appendix 75-A treats soil faster than 1 minute per inch as unsuitable unless modified.

How a septic design in Fabius works

1. Send the address. Use the form. Estimate in 1 hour.
2. Confirm sewer or septic. If a public sewer can serve the lot, you do not need a septic design.
3. Perc holes and a deep test pit. At least two staked perc holes in the design area (30 inches deep for a conventional system) and a test pit logged to 6 feet for mottling, water and rock.
4. Stamped design. A scaled plan with the tax map number, nearby wells, elevations and system details. Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE).
5. County submittal. Plan and fee go to the Bureau of Public Health Engineering, 421 Montgomery Street, Syracuse: 3 plan copies outside the lake watersheds. Once approved, a copy goes to the town.
6. Building permit. Town of Fabius Code Enforcement and Zoning, through the Town Clerk at 7786 Main Street. The Village of Fabius has its own zoning and code officer.
7. Install and inspection. County inspection on 24 hours notice. Inside plumbing is done by a plumber licensed through Onondaga County Plumbing Control, and fill systems get the engineer's fill certification first.

What it costs

The county fee schedule sets the health department side for a lot under 1,000 gallons per day: $310 full application, $186 redesigned project, $62 amended project or revised plan review, $93 site investigation, $62 repair inspection. The fee is paid with the plans and covers the county's review and construction inspection. Testing, design and install are priced in writing.

What the health department checks

The county reviews the plan against New York's Appendix 75-A and its own design guidelines. In Fabius the checks that decide most designs are depth to the fragipan or rock in the 6 foot pit, the 2 foot separation to seasonal water, and fast valley gravel over the aquifer.

• Flow and tank. 110 gallons per day per bedroom for new construction. Tank size follows the bedroom count.
• Usable soil. Conventional: 4 feet over rock, clay or high water, with water 2 feet below the trench bottom. Shallow trench: 2 to 4 feet. Raised bed: 1 to 2 feet, water 1 foot down. Mound: water 1 foot down, rock 2 feet down, native perc faster than 120 minutes per inch, slope under 12 percent.
• Separations. Field, raised bed or mound: 100 feet to wells (200 if upgrade in the drainage path), 100 feet to water and wetlands, 20 to the house, 10 to the lot line, measured from the toe of any fill. Tank: 50 feet to wells and water.
• Site limits. No field over 15 percent slope or below the 10 year flood level, system above the 100 year flood level, no soil faster than 1 minute per inch unless modified, and 50 percent expansion area where possible.

Common Fabius problems and how the design handles them

Timeline

Fabius soils hide their water in summer, so spring testing or careful mottling reads matter. Raised beds add fill settling (6 months through a freeze and thaw for native fill) and the engineer's certification before the field goes in.

Sources

Soil shares and ratings come from the USDA NRCS soil survey (SSURGO) for Onondaga County, summarized for the Town of Fabius boundary. Regulations and fees as published by the agencies below; they can change.

1. Onondaga County Health Department, Septic Systems (Bureau of Public Health Engineering)
2. Onondaga County Environmental Health fee schedule
3. Onondaga County Design Guidelines for Individual Sewage Systems
4. Onondaga County Health Department Fill Certification Form
5. NYS DOH 10 NYCRR Appendix 75-A, Wastewater Treatment Standards, Residential Onsite Systems
6. NYS DOH fact sheet: Need for Licensed Design Professionals, Residential OWTS
7. Onondaga County WEP, Consolidated Sanitary District service area
8. Onondaga County WEP Plumbing Control
9. USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey, Onondaga County (NY067)
10. USDA NRCS Soil Data Access (SSURGO), septic tank absorption field ratings
11. Town of Fabius Comprehensive Plan (2005)
12. Town of Fabius Zoning Law
13. Town of Fabius government
14. Fabius, New York
15. USDA Official Series Description: Mardin
16. USDA Official Series Description: Honeoye
17. USDA Official Series Description: Palmyra
18. USDA Official Series Description: Lordstown
19. USDA Official Series Description: Arnot
20. USDA Official Series Description: Lansing