Septic Engineer in Pulaski, NY

Septic design in Pulaski: the short answer

Inside the Village of Pulaski, homes are on the village plant. Outside it, the camps, fishing houses and year round homes along the Salmon River and out toward Lake Ontario treat their own wastewater. A new house, a camp conversion or a failed system needs a PE stamped design approved by the Oswego County Health Department.

Short answer: Pulaski area sand often drains well, sometimes too well, and the low flats and river edge hold water. The field has to stay 100 feet from the river, off the flood ground, and in soil that actually treats effluent.

Sewer or septic in the Pulaski area

The village wastewater plant is at 48 Riverview Drive in the Town of Richland. Its 2024 state permit renewal lists the Salmon River as the receiving water and a sanitary flow of 0.65 million gallons per day, and the village has state funding for an engineering report on system improvements.

Outside the village, there is no general sewer service, and the Salmon River corridor is lined with private systems. Lots east of the village toward the I-81 corridor and west toward Port Ontario are in the same position.

How a septic design works in Pulaski

1. Send the address and a few photos. Use the form below. Estimate in 1 hour.
2. Confirm the lot needs septic. Village main at the road means sewer. Outside the village, along the river and toward the lake, plan on septic.
3. Deep hole and perc tests. At least one test hole six feet deep at the leaching area and at least two perc tests per system, per Appendix 75-A. Upland pits often show loose sand; river terrace pits show gravel; the flats show gray silt close to the surface.
4. Design and stamp. Designs are prepared and stamped by a New York licensed Professional Engineer (PE), sized at a minimum of 110 gallons per day per bedroom for a new house.
5. Oswego County plan review. Four sets of plans and the plan review fee go to the Oswego County Health Department, Environmental Health Division, 70 Bunner St., Oswego. The department engineer sends three sets back with a letter of approval or rejection, and a copy of that letter goes to you and to the Village of Pulaski or Town of Richland code enforcement officer.
6. Building permit and install. With the approval letter in hand, the building permit is pulled through the Pulaski or Richland code office. Backwell coordinates the excavation, tank, distribution box and absorption area and builds them to the approved plan.
7. Final paperwork. For an alternative system such as a raised bed, mound or sand filter, state rule 10 NYCRR 75.5 has a design professional supervise construction and certify to the health department that it matches the approved plans.

Soils and seasonal water around Pulaski

Pulaski sits where the Salmon River cuts through the lake plain. Arkport fine sandy loam and Colonie loamy sand cover the uplands; both are well drained with high conductivity, and Colonie can be excessively drained. Palmyra gravelly loam on the river terraces is well drained to somewhat excessively drained.

The lower flats carry Canandaigua silty clay loam, poorly and very poorly drained and often ponded. On those parcels a conventional trench field is out and the design moves up into fill.

What the health department checks

Oswego County reviews septic plans itself, at its Environmental Health Division in Oswego. The state sets the floor in Appendix 75-A; a local health department may adopt stricter standards, but not looser ones without a state waiver. On a lot in Pulaski the review comes down to a handful of measured items:

• 100 feet from an absorption field, raised bed or mound to a stream, lake, watercourse or wetland, measured to the mean high water mark, and 50 feet from the tank.
• No absorption system in ground lower than the 10 year flood level, and no field on slopes steeper than 15 percent.
• Soil that percolates faster than 1 minute per inch is not acceptable for a subsurface system unless it is blended with less permeable soil across the whole field area.
• Conventional trench field: at least 4 feet of useable soil above rock, tight soil and the high seasonal groundwater, with the highest groundwater at least 2 feet below the trench bottom.

Common Pulaski site problems and the design fix

Fishing camp on the river

Many Salmon River camps sit close to the water on small lots. The field must be 100 feet from the river at the mean high water mark and out of ground below the 10 year flood level. Some camp lots cannot fit a field at all and need a design that uses the high back corner of the property.

Sand that drains too fast

Coarse sand or gravel faster than 1 minute per inch does not treat effluent. Appendix 75-A requires blending with less permeable soil across the whole field area, or the field goes elsewhere.

Wet flat on Canandaigua soil

With high groundwater near the surface, the design needs at least a foot of original soil faster than 60 minutes per inch and water at least a foot down for a raised system. If the site does not meet that, a mound or a different location on the lot.

What it costs

Published county fees, effective January 1, 2026: $125 for the Oswego County Health Department to review plans for one home and $250 for a commercial system, a category the county applies to businesses and rentals. Selling a house? The county lists a 4 day septic dye test with written results at $230.

Design and install are priced together in writing for your lot. River camp and flood edge lots usually cost more because of fill, pumping and tight setbacks.

Grant money: Oswego County runs the state Septic System Replacement Fund. Its application says eligible projects can be reimbursed up to 50 percent with a $10,000 maximum, design costs at 50 percent up to $3,000, and every replacement must be county approved, engineer designed and covered by a local building permit. The state priority waters for Oswego County are the central and eastern Lake Ontario shoreline and the upper Little Sandy Creek and its tributaries.

Timeline

Test pits and percs, PE stamped design, county review with the $125 fee, then the building permit and install. Snow on the Tug Hill side of Pulaski shortens the digging season.

Raised beds built with fill other than clean sand or sandy loam wait six months through a freeze and thaw cycle. The schedule is in the written price.

Sources

• Oswego County Health Department: Septic Plan Review
• Oswego County Health Department: Water Supply Protection and Septic Plan Review
• Oswego County Health Department: Plan Review Fee Schedule, effective 1/1/2026
• Oswego County Health Department: Fee Schedule for Environmental Health Services, 1/1/2026
• Oswego County Community Development, Tourism and Planning: Septic System Replacement Grant Application
• NYS EFC: Septic System Replacement Fund Priority Waterbody List
• 10 NYCRR Appendix 75-A.4: Soil and site appraisal (Table 2 separation distances)
• 10 NYCRR Appendix 75-A.8: Conventional subsurface treatment systems
• 10 NYCRR Appendix 75-A.9: Alternative systems (raised, mound, sand filter)
• 10 NYCRR Appendix 75-A.3: Sewage flows
• 10 NYCRR Section 75.5: Minimum standards, design professional, alternative system approval
• NYSDEC ENB: Pulaski village STP, Town of Richland
• USDA NRCS Official Series Description: Arkport
• USDA NRCS Official Series Description: Colonie
• USDA NRCS Official Series Description: Palmyra
• USDA NRCS Official Series Description: Canandaigua

Rules and fees as published by the agencies above when this page was written; they can change. The approved plan for your lot controls.