Chapter 02. Submissions of Plans for Approval and Record of Systems of Water Supply, Sewerage, and Storm Water

Publicly owned community sewerage systems, a portion of the county water and sewerage plan, as described in COMAR 26.03.01.08B, which demonstrates to the Department's satisfaction that adequate fiscal resources will be available to support the satisfactory operation and maintenance of each system in the county to meet existing and future needs.

Other sewerage systems or extensions, a package of information for each system, as specified in Regulation .02J of this chapter, which demonstrates to the Department's satisfaction that adequate fiscal resources will be available to support the satisfactory operation and maintenance of the system to meet existing and future needs.

A complete engineering report, if prepared or required, shall accompany or precede the receipt of plans and specifications for each new major sanitary project.

The report shall contain full information discussing any existing facility, the proposed or new facility, and include all pertinent data necessary to permit a clear and comprehensive review of the subject.

Plans and complete specifications for proposed work should be submitted for approval at least 30 days before action on them shall be expected, although action, by the State, may be taken before the expiration of that time. Design manuals, standard details, and standard specifications on file with and previously approved by the Department of the Environment will be construed to be applicable to future projects, when so designated, unless modified by supplementary and specific contract plans and specifications.

All reports, plans, and specifications for sanitary engineering projects shall be prepared by, signed by, and bear the seal of a registered professional engineer. Landscaping and any architectural feature of any building, pumping station, water filtration plant, sewage disposal plant, elevated water storage unit, bathhouse or recreation facility for a swimming pool may also be submitted, signed by and bear the seal of a registered architect. Plans relating to the subdivision of land and prepared for the purpose of filing record plats with clerks of the court in the various political subdivisions of the State shall bear the signature and seal of a registered land surveyor. Plans not conforming with the requirements of this subsection will not be accepted.

All plans shall be neatly and legibly drawn upon tracing cloth or acceptable paper so that copies may be obtained. Except where the originals are presented for preliminary judgment, they shall be kept by the party presenting the plans, and true copies, which may be white, blue, or black-line prints, offset prints, or photostats on a white background, shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Environment.

Plans will not be returned after submission unless revisions are necessary, or unless they have been presented for preliminary review only.

When revisions are necessary, the revisions shall be made on the original tracings and new prints submitted. Pencil, crayon, ink, typewritten, or other revisions, changes, or additions on prints, photostats, or other reproductions may not be acceptable. Revisions or additions may not be made to prints previously or currently submitted to the Secretary of the Environment.

Plans specifically prepared for each installation will be required.

General plans or key maps of water supply, sanitary, or storm drainage systems; showing the location of sources of water supply, transmission, and distribution mains; lateral, interception, and trunk sewers; water and sewage treatment works; and storm drains should preferably be to a scale not greater than 1 inch equals 40 feet, or less than 1 inch equals 200 feet. Established coordinate systems and U.S. Bench Marks data, if available, shall be given. Locality plans may have a scale as small as 1 inch equals 1 mile. An arrow designating the direction of north shall be shown.

Detailed and sectional plans may be drawn to any scale suitable for the purpose.

Architectural scales for general engineering drawings will not be accepted for review and approval.

In the lower right-hand corner, or along the bottom border, of each separate drawing shall be placed a proper title containing the name of the county, municipality, company, institution, person or persons for whom it is made, the name of the locality to which it refers, a proper description for a full understanding of the nature of the drawing, and the scale, date, and name of the engineer, architect, or surveyor preparing it.

On every plan showing a locality or street layout, an arrow shall be placed, designating the direction of north. Plans should be so arranged, wherever practicable, that north is towards the top or to the left of the sheet.

Before the Department may issue a permit for the construction of a publicly-owned community sewerage system, a financial management plan sufficient to ensure the dependable and safe operation of the system shall be adopted in the county water and sewerage plan (“the county plan”) and approved by the Department. The following requirements shall be satisfied:

Before the Department may issue a permit for the construction of a new, self-contained, privately-owned community or multi-use sewerage system, or of an extension to an existing or self-contained, privately-owned community or multi-use sewerage system, the following requirements shall be satisfied:

The general plan shall show the location of the source or sources of supply, the location of all reservoirs, wells, springs, purification plants, pumping stations, standpipes, elevated tanks, main delivery pipes to the distribution system, and any special structures or appurtenances. These various parts shall be designated either by proper descriptions opposite them or by suitable symbols in the key. The size, depth, and capacity of all reservoirs shall be shown, together with contours, where consisting of natural basins or formed by impounding streams. The elevations of high and low water in the reservoirs shall be indicated, and also the location and elevation of all intakes and valves.

In case a source of supply is a long distance from the main distribution system, a plan drawn to as small a scale as 2000 feet to the inch may be used to show the general location of the sources of supply and the main delivery pipe, together with a profile taken along the pipe line from the source to the point at which it joins the distribution system. In this case, however, the location of reservoirs, wells, purification plants, pumping stations, standpipes, and other structures shall still be shown on plans drawn to the larger scales, and all plans shall be of the same size, or multiples of that size so they can be conveniently folded.

A general plan shall be submitted showing all existing or proposed streets within the limits of the municipality or area served by the system (a complete layout of all buildings shall be shown in the case of an institution); the boundary of the municipality or area, the surface elevation at intermediate high and low points within the municipality or area, and at all street intersections, unless the area is relatively level and not more than one pressure zone will be utilized. The location of all water mains, fire hydrants, valves and other fittings, together with sizes of pipe are also to be shown. The surface elevations should be placed in the upper right-hand angle of the street intersections, and where shown at other points should be opposite, either above or to the right of, their respective positions in the street. For relatively level communities or areas, contours, with intervals not exceeding 5 feet, may be substituted for numerical elevations. Proposed water mains shall be shown by heavy solid lines and shall have the sizes placed immediately above or to the left of the line designating the main, the size to be shown in each block, or between all connecting mains. Street names shall be placed outside of the street lines. For major improvements and additions, the concurrence or approval of the National Board of Fire Underwriters may be required.

Contemplated future extensions should be designated by dotted, dark or light lines. Any and all existing utilities shall be shown to the correct location and elevation as determined from the most authentic data available.

A key or legend shall be placed near the title describing the symbols used to designate the various features of the drawing.

Plans shall be presented showing:

Complete detailed plans of all purification plants shall be submitted, showing all special appurtenances, intakes, tanks, aerators, base exchange units, filters, character and depth of filter media therein, valves, blow-offs, metering devices, chemical application devices, clear-water basins, high and low water elevations of nearby streams, and all features connected with the plants. Plans, elevations, and sections of these parts shall be shown, as may be necessary to supply a complete understanding of the entire installation. When necessary to clarify the review of a project, hydraulic profiles shall be submitted.

Plans submitted for extensions to existing systems shall be drawn to sizes and scales as indicated for the general plans, shall show all details as planned for installation, and shall be accompanied by a general or partial plan of the system showing all details as planned for installation, unless the plans have been previously submitted to the Secretary of the Environment. In all cases, they shall show the connections of the proposed extensions to the existing system and enough of the latter from the best data available, to designate their relation to it. Plans for water main extensions will not be approved unless this requirement is met.

Plans for water main extensions shall be for a distance of at least 400 feet or one block in length unless a terminal main is involved.

Plans for the installation of a valve or fire hydrant, for lowering an existing water main, or for other similar minor alterations or additions need not be supplied for review or approval because they do not constitute a material change, and a permit for this work will not be issued.

Accompanying each set of plans for proposed systems shall be:

The location of each manhole shall be designated by a station number, the stationing to begin at the lower end of the sewer. The elevation of sewer inverts should be shown by a figure placed immediately below in a horizontal position, and the size and grade of the sewer, together with the character of the material of which the sewer is constructed, should be placed just above or below the invert line and parallel to it, unless the sewer is large, in which case the information may be written above the invert line.

Profiles should be drawn to scales not greater than 1 inch equals 40 feet horizontally, and 1 inch equals 4 feet vertically; and not less than 1 inch equals 200 feet horizontally, and 1 inch equals 10 feet vertically. A horizontal scale of 100 feet to the inch, and a vertical scale of 10 feet to the inch is preferable in most cases.

The location of existing properties and cellar depths or elevations shall be shown, particularly if plumbing in cellars is or may be involved.

The profiles of existing pipe lines and the locations, classifications, elevations, and sizes of all existing pipe lines, passing under or over the proposed lines, shall be shown according to the best information available.

Information as to the existing or predicted amount of sewage, the physical and chemical characteristics of the sewage, the present and future population to be served by the sewers, the number of proposed house connections, and the calculations used in determining the sizes, rates of flow, detention periods, capacities, etc., of all treatment and pumping units shall be submitted with the plans or previous to the plans.

Calculations may be required to determine the amount of treatment plant effluent the receiving stream or body of water can readily assimilate without degrading them below an acceptable dissolved oxygen level and without jeopardizing shellfish or bathing areas.

Plans submitted for extensions to existing systems shall be drawn to sizes and scales as indicated for the general plans, and shall be accompanied by a general or partial plan of the system, showing all details as planned for construction, unless the plans shall have been previously submitted to the Secretary of the Environment. In all cases they shall show the connections of the proposed extensions to the existing system and enough of the latter to designate their relation to it. The area under immediate consideration and tributary to, and that which at some future time may become tributary to, and sewer extensions for which plans are presented shall be shown. Proper and adequate data giving the basis upon which the extensions have been designed shall be submitted with the plans. Extensions of sewer lines are to be made only in conformity with a general or long-range plan in order to properly provide for future needs.

Plans for sanitary sewer extensions or for storm drain extensions shall be for a distance of at least 400 feet or one block in length unless a terminal section is involved.

The intensity of rainfall to be considered;

Its frequency of occurrence;

The coefficients of runoff;

The inlet time;

The summation of calculated flows at various progressive distances along the drains;

The spacing and types of inlets;

The hydraulic calculations leading to the selection of pipe sizes and slopes; and

Details of manholes, inlets, headwalls, and appurtenances.