Wellfleet panel approves septic upgrade with six variances for Boule property

Jason Ellis, identifying himself as the representative for Linda and Robert Boule, presented a plan to upgrade a failed septic system for a three‑bedroom house on a property currently for sale. He told the Wellfleet Board of Health the site has very shallow seasonal high groundwater (about 2–3 feet below grade), lies within wetland buffer and floodplain zones, and requires multiple local and Title 5 variances to install an Advantex denitrification system with a pressure‑dosed, mounded leach field.

The board pressed on technical constraints, including a septic‑tank inlet invert that Ellis said is about nine inches below the 12‑inch Title 5 requirement and proposed leach areas that are closer than the typical 50‑foot separation from catch basins. Ellis said the finished grade over the mound would be roughly elevation 12, about 4½ feet above the existing grade, and that the design relied on remedial‑permit provisions that allow a 50% reduction in leach area when pressure dosing is used.

After clarifying well locations and abandonment procedures for existing components — including crushing tank tops and backfilling with clean sand — a board member read a motion to approve the JC Ellis plan (dated 10/27/25 revision) and to grant the six variances requested under the remedial/general use approval category. The motion placed explicit conditions on the approval: design flow limited to 166.5 gallons per day for three bedrooms; reduced leach area equal to the 50% remedial reduction; no increase in habitable area without board approval; wellwater testing; all abandoned septic components to be pumped dry and filled with clean sand or removed; and floor plans to be reviewed by the health agent. The motion also referenced on‑site monitoring and verification of suitable soil conditions at the time of construction.

The board voted unanimously to approve the variances and the plan, recorded as a three‑to‑zero vote. The approval allows the applicant to proceed under the stated conditions; the health agent retains responsibility for reviewing floor plans and verifying construction‑time soil and monitoring conditions.

The board’s action resolves the immediate permitting need for the property and ties approval to specific technical and monitoring conditions intended to reduce nitrogen loading and address the site’s shallow groundwater and proximity to wetlands. The board did not provide a timeline for construction; any subsequent design changes or increases in habitable area will require further board review.