Hearing officer keeps record open in Gina Duffy appeal over year‑round status and septic compliance

A hearing officer for the Town of New Fairfield Department of Public Health left the record open Feb. 11 in an appeal by property owner Gina Duffy of a notice of violation that denies her request for year‑round water service because the property lacks a code‑compliant septic area.

The matter, docket number 241217PD, concerns a notice of violation dated Dec. 31, 2022, and Duffy’s written appeal. During the administrative hearing the local health department’s representative, Timothy Simpkins, described that the department denied year‑round status in February 2020 after concluding the parcel could not demonstrate a code‑compliant septic area under the applicable health regulation, cited in the record as section 19‑13(b)(100)(a). The hearing officer ordered both sides to submit additional records by Feb. 15, 2025 and held the record open pending those filings.

Why this matters: Year‑round water service in New Fairfield is tied to a property’s sewage disposal meeting current code. If a property cannot show a code‑compliant septic area, the town has denied conversion from seasonal to year‑round status. That determination affects billing, occupancy status and the owner’s ability to live on the property year‑round.

What the hearing covered

Simpkins, who identified his role as the local director of health, told the hearing that he and Duffy’s design engineer, Ralph Gallagher, visited the property and concluded a code‑compliant septic area could not be delineated there. He said the…