Plastic septic tanks in Vermont
We have a 40 ft. park model on my sons property in Georgia Vt. We stay in it 4 months in the summer. The state has approached us about putting in a septic. They are almost sounding like we should put in a septic like it was a year round home. Is it legal in Vermont to install a plastic septic pump tank for just that little amount of time we stay there? Do I need to get an engineer to come approve a design?? It’s crazy to make us spend an outrageous amount of money just to camp there for maybe 15 to 16 weeks. We currently use my sons facilities as his house is just 300 ft away. I want to be compliant but don’t feel they are being reasonable.
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Building code doesn't care about how a house is occupied.
The local ordinances are all very different so only the locals and answer that part of your question about what you must do.
Seems to me sanitation is a good thing. Places that have and enforce few rules tend to enforce sanitation. If they allow people to live without sanitation and the neighbors wells start testing positive for bacteria they cant fix the problem themselves.
Be a good neighbor and put in a system. You do want your well to be clean?
Walta
I'd start here: https://dec.vermont.gov/water/ww-systems
If your small home is on the same property as your son's home, you may be able to put in an ejector pump to send the relatively small amount of sewage from your seasonal home to your son's septic system. This may be (and probably will be) cheaper than putting in a full septic system for your small home. You'd need to run that by your local building department people though to see if they'd accept it.
If you do go this route, I'd recommend having a directional drilling contractor quote installing the pipe between the homes. Directional drilling would be able to put in that entire run with only a bore pit on either side -- no need for trenching the entire length of the run. You'll end up with a LOT less disruption to the land this way, often for not much of a cost premium. Directional drilling contractors will install the run as a single length of HDPE pipe too, so no couplings to potentially fail over time.
Bill