Regulations Regarding the Management and Registration of Decentralised Sewerage Systems

Issued pursuant to
Section 4, Clause 6 of the Law on Water Management Services

I. General Provisions

1. This Regulation prescribes the requirements for wastewater management in the wastewater sewerage systems owned by an owner of an immovable property (in apartment property house - all owners of apartments) or in the wastewater sewerage systems possessed by a possessor of an immovable property which are not connected to the centralised collecting system of a public water management service provider (hereinafter - the decentralised sewerage systems) and the procedures for the registration of such systems.

2. The following terms are used in the Regulation:

2.1. conforming merchant - a merchant specialised in the design, construction, trade, or maintenance of the decentralised sewerage systems;

2.2. decentralised sewerage service provider - a public water management service provider or another merchant who ensures the collection of wastewater from the decentralised sewerage systems, transport and discharge thereof into the centralised collecting system at specially established wastewater collection points (hereinafter - the waste collector);

2.3. septic tank - an industrially manufactured or custom-manufactured tank with two or several chambers for the sedimentation of human-generated wastewater and faecal sediment by discharge into the environment after sedimentation.

3. This Regulation shall apply to the decentralised sewerage systems situated in the territories of villages and towns where the following is used for the collection or treatment of wastewater:

3.1. industrially manufactured wastewater treatment installations that discharge the treated wastewater into the environment and the total capacity whereof is below 5 m³ per day;

3.2. septic tanks;

3.3. wastewater containers which collect untreated wastewater, septic tank sludge, faeces, or sewerage system treatment waste (hereinafter - the wastewater and sediment).

II. Requirements for the Management of the Decentralised Sewerage System

4. An owner or a possessor of the decentralised sewerage system (hereinafter - the owner of the decentralised sewerage system) shall:

4.1. be responsible for the exploitation of the decentralised sewerage system in accordance with the requirements in the field of environmental protection and the requirements laid down in this Regulation;

4.2. ensure the maintenance and repair works of the respective system at its own expense;

4.3. ensure the following in respect of the wastewater treatment installation referred to in Sub-paragraph 3.1 of this Regulation:

4.3.1. certificates of conformity specified in laws and regulations;

4.3.2. exploitation takes place according to the technical documentation of the manufacturer, sludge in the installation is active, and there are no circumstances that would deteriorate the wastewater treatment quality and the content of discharged wastewater;

4.3.3. technical maintenance is carried out once a year (unless specified otherwise in the technical documentation issued by the manufacturer, builder or conforming merchant) and maintenance works are ensured by a conforming merchant specialised in the performance of such works. If a state of emergency is established during exploitation of the installation, non-routine maintenance of the installation is carried out after eliminating the consequences of the state of emergency;

4.4. ensure that wastewater is discharged into the environment from the septic tank referred to in Sub-paragraph 3.2 of this Regulation only through a specially designed infiltration system - filtration fields, underground infiltration drains, sand and gravel filters, infiltration trenches and soakaways, cane fields;

4.5. ensure that the wastewater container referred to in Sub-paragraph 3.3 of this Regulation is hermetically sealed and is emptied regularly in order to prevent wastewater discharge, outflow or soaking into groundwater and also the spread of unpleasant odour into the environment.

5. In order to prevent any hazard caused by the relevant decentralised sewerage system to human health and the environment, the owners of the decentralised sewerage systems referred to in Sub-paragraphs 3.2 and 3.3 of this Regulation at their own expense shall ensure regular transfer of the collected wastewater and sediment to the waste collector. The frequency of wastewater and sediment transfer shall be selected, taking into account water consumption at the relevant immovable property, capacity of the decentralised sewerage system installation, and also the minimum disposal frequency specified in the binding regulations of the local government regarding the provision of decentralised sewerage services and the procedures for the accounting thereof (hereinafter - the binding regulations of the local government).

6. The following shall be determined by the local government in the binding regulations:

6.1. villages with the decentralised sewerage systems in their territory which are not subject to the requirements laid down in this Regulation;

6.2. the minimum frequency of wastewater and sediment disposal for the decentralised sewerage systems referred to in Sub-paragraphs 3.2 and 3.3 of this Regulation, taking into account the type of the building, water consumption in the relevant property, and the capacity of the decentralised sewerage system installations;

6.3. the procedures for the control and monitoring of the decentralised sewerage systems referred to in Sub-paragraphs 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 of this Regulation;

6.4. the minimum requirements for the waste collector.

7. The collection and disposal of wastewater and sediment from the decentralised sewerage systems in the administrative territory of the local government may be ensured by the waste collector which for the provision of this service has registered in the local government council, conforms to the minimum requirements specified in the binding regulations of the local government, and has concluded a contract with the owner, possessor or holder of a specially established wastewater collection point of the centralised collecting system regarding wastewater and sediment acceptance. The abovementioned contract need not be concluded if the relevant waste collector concurrently is also the owner, possessor or holder of a specially established wastewater collection point of the centralised collecting system.

8. The information on waste collectors shall be respectively displayed and published by the local government in the building of the local government and information publications of the local government, indicating at least the following information:

8.1. the name of the waste collector;

8.2. the contact details of the waste collector;

8.3. the name of the owner, possessor or holder of a specially established wastewater collection point of the centralised collecting system with which the waste collector has concluded a contract regarding wastewater and sediment acceptance, unless the relevant waste collector concurrently is also the owner, possessor or holder of a specially established wastewater collection point of the centralised collecting system.

9. Upon receipt of decentralised sewerage services, the owner of the decentralised sewerage system shall ensure conformity with the requirements specified in the binding regulations of the local government referred to in Paragraph 6 of this Regulation and also the following:

9.1. store the transaction supporting documentation regarding the receipt of services at least for a time period of two years where the address of the provision of services, data on the amount of wastewater collected, date of the provision of services, and details of the waste collector are indicated;

9.2. ensure that wastewater transferred to the waste collector conforms to the laws and regulations regarding collection structures and also the binding regulations of the local government regarding the exploitation, use, and protection of the centralised collecting system;

9.3. prior co-ordination of the time for the receipt of decentralised sewerage services with the waste collector and ensure during this period of time free access by the specialised means of transport of the waste collector to the decentralised sewerage system.

10. The waste collector shall:

10.1. conclude a contract with the owner of the wastewater treatment installations or the owner, possessor or holder of a specially established wastewater collection point of the centralised collecting system regarding wastewater and sediment acceptance, unless the relevant waste collector concurrently is also the owner, possessor or holder of the specially established wastewater collection point of the centralised collecting system;

10.2. dispose the collected wastewater and sediment only at such places which are specified in the contract concluded in accordance with Sub-paragraph 10.1 of this Regulation;

10.3. provide information on the amount of wastewater and sediment collected in the previous year from the decentralised sewerage systems serviced by the waste collector and transported and discharged into the centralised collecting system at specially established wastewater collection points to the entity in charge of maintaining the register referred to in Paragraph 11 of this Regulation by 1 March of the current year.

III. Procedures for the Registration of the Decentralised Sewerage Systems

11. The local government shall organise the establishment and maintenance of the register of the decentralised sewerage systems (hereinafter - the register) or shall conclude a contract with a public water management service provider regarding the establishment and maintenance of the register.

12. The register shall be created in electronic form and at least the following information shall be indicated therein:

12.1. the address of the location of the decentralised sewerage system;

12.2. the owner of the decentralised sewerage system;

12.3. the type of the decentralised sewerage system in accordance with Paragraph 3 of this Regulation.

13. The entity in charge of maintaining the register shall compile and, upon request, provide to the local government information submitted by waste collectors on the amount of wastewater and sediment collected in the previous year from the decentralised sewerage systems serviced by the waste collector and transported and discharged into the centralised collecting system at specially established wastewater collection points.

14. The entity in charge of maintaining the register shall publish information on the establishment of the register of the decentralised sewerage systems on its website and also on the website of the local government if the entity in charge of maintaining the register is not the local government or the information publication of another local government, indicating the following:

14.1. the towns and villages with the decentralised sewerage systems in the territory thereof which must be registered according to the binding regulations of the local government;

14.2. the date by which the owner of the decentralised sewerage system must register the decentralised sewerage system with the entity in charge of maintaining the register of the decentralised sewerage system;

14.3. the types of the decentralised sewerage systems which conform to Paragraph 3 of this Regulation;

14.4. the registration application form;

14.5. the address and (or) electronic mail address for submitting the application.

15. The owner of the decentralised sewerage system shall submit the following to the entity in charge of maintaining the register:

15.1. an application regarding the decentralised sewerage system of the owner of the decentralised sewerage system. The application shall be drawn up in conformity with the application form available on the website of the entity in charge of maintaining the register or the legal or actual address of the entity in charge of maintaining the register and submitted in person, sent by post or electronically, if the application has been drawn up in accordance with the laws and regulations regarding the drawing up of electronic documents, by the date specified by the entity in charge of maintaining the register or within six months after the rights of ownership have been corroborated in the Land Register;

15.2. immediately, but not later than within one month after alterations - a notice regarding changes in the information specified in the application;

15.3. within one month after the regular or non-routine maintenance - a copy of the transaction supporting document regarding the technical maintenance of the wastewater treatment installation referred to in Sub-paragraph 3.1 of this Regulation.

16. The entity in charge of maintaining the register, within one month after receipt of the application by the owner of the decentralised sewerage system, shall send by post or electronically the notice regarding registration, indicating the registration number and the date on which the decentralised sewerage system is included in the register.

IV. Closing Provisions

17. The local government or the public water management service provider thereof, in conformity with the conditions specified in Paragraph 12 of this Regulation, shall start the establishment of the register by 1 January 2019 and complete the establishment thereof by 31 December 2021.

18. The owner of the decentralised sewerage system shall, by 31 December 2021, ensure the conformity of the decentralised sewerage system with the requirements referred to in Paragraph 4 of this Regulation. If the conformity of the decentralised sewerage system with the requirements referred to in Paragraph 4 of this Regulation is not ensured within such term and a centralised sewerage system is installed within the borders of the street or road adjacent to the relevant immovable property, the owner of the decentralised sewerage system shall have an obligation to install connection to the centralised sewerage system by 31 December 2023.

[19 November 2019]

19. The owners of the decentralised sewerage systems referred to in Sub-paragraph 3.1 of this Regulation which do not hold any technical documentation of the installation manufacturer shall ensure, by 1 January 2020, that the conforming merchant examines the decentralised sewerage system and issues the certificate regarding the technical condition of the installation and instructions for its exploitation to the owner of the decentralised sewerage system. If the technical condition of the installation does not conform to the requirements of this Regulation and the laws and regulations regarding the emission of polluting substances into water, the owner of the decentralised sewerage system, if necessary, shall rebuild the system or build or install a new decentralised sewerage system in order to ensure its compliance with the abovementioned laws and regulations by the deadline referred to in Paragraph 18 of this Regulation.

Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis

Acting for the Minister for Environmental Protection
and Regional Development - Minister for Justice Dzintars Rasnačs

Translation © 2020 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)