Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Somerville, Alabama

Rules another office applies inside Town of Somerville

Town of Somerville does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Septic permitRequired

  New or repaired onsite sewage systems (septic) on lots inside Somerville town limits, permitted by the local health department (LHD) for Morgan County under the state rule. Applies inside Somerville town because the town lies in Morgan County (src-atlas-somerville) and the Morgan County Health Department is the LHD (src-adph-morgan-hd).

  • Permit is a permit to install (repair) issued by the LHD before any installation or repair work begins; construction may proceed after the permit is issued, so status is conditional.
  • ADPH may revoke a permit if lot conditions change, the system is not installed per the permit, or submitted information is misrepresented, materially false or inaccurate.
  • Where an engineered OSS is required, installation may not start without installer consultation with the design engineer.
  • Wastewater management entities required to obtain a certificate of economic viability from the Alabama Public Service Commission must have it before permits are issued.
  • Not opened: Ala. Admin. Code 420-3-1-.68 says county boards of health may adopt stricter rules than state rules; any Morgan County stricter rule was not verified.

  “no person shall begin the installation or repair of an oss/eds, or component thereof, until the responsible person has been issued a valid permit to install (repair) an onsite sewage system (oss) by the lhd.”

• Septic inspectionRequired

  Onsite sewage (septic) installations inside Somerville town limits, inspected by the Morgan County LHD under the state rule.

  • No part of the installation may be covered or used until the LHD has had an opportunity to inspect and any necessary corrections are made.
  • Installer must agree an inspection date and time with the LHD public health environmentalist and contact that person by 9 a.m. on the inspection day.
  • An OSS/EDS may not be used until the LHD issues an approval for use.
  • Any part covered before inspection must be uncovered on LHD direction.
  • Exceptions 'as allowed in this rule' are not summarized here; review full rule text.

  “except as allowed in this rule, no part of any installation shall be covered or used until the lhd is afforded an opportunity to inspect and any necessary corrections are made, an oss/eds shall not be used until an approval for use has been issued by the lhd.”

• Off-grid sanitationProhibited

  Occupying a dwelling or establishment inside Somerville town limits without an approved sewage disposal system (state rule applied by the Morgan County LHD).

  • Applies to occupying, renting, leasing, selling, possessing, or allowing occupancy of a building without an approved sewage disposal system.
  • Exceptions and LHD approval procedures are in Chapter 420-3-1 and were not reviewed in full.

  “no person shall occupy, rent, lease, sell, possess, or allow a building to be occupied as a dwelling or establishment unless said building is provided with an approved sewage disposal system.”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Somerville or Morgan County directly.

• Building permit — Building permits for residential construction inside Somerville town limits
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder exemption from town permits or inspections
• Building code adopted — Building code adoption inside Somerville town limits
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Somerville town limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside Somerville town limits

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.