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Board continues variance request for 23 Pine Ridge Road, asks for Presby revision
Summary
Bourne Board of Health continued a request for setback waivers at 23 Pine Ridge Road to July 8, asking the applicant to submit revised plans showing a Presby (perforated-pipe equalization) distribution system alongside the proposed nitrogen-reducing septic unit.
The Bourne Board of Health on June 24 continued a request for variances at 23 Pine Ridge Road to its July 8 meeting and asked the applicant to submit revised plans showing a Presby (perforated-pipe) distribution system matched with the proposed nitro denitrifying unit.
Rauli Sardi of Cape and Islands Engineering presented the application on behalf of the property owner, saying the existing cesspool sits at the top of a coastal bank and that no location on the lot allows full compliance with the board's 150-foot setback from wetland resources. "It is still 93 feet from the edge of the salt marsh" and "14 feet from the top of the bank," Sardi said, describing the two waivers sought: from 150 to 93 feet from the salt marsh and from 150 to 14 feet from the coastal bank.
Board members and staff questioned whether a site-specific hydrogeologic study would change the board's analysis. Staff said the conservation commission had reviewed the project and issued conditions; Sardi said a pressure-dosed design had not been submitted and that a hydrogeologic study had not been prepared for this parcel but could be produced in a couple of weeks. He advocated a Presby system as a practical way to equalize flow across a tight field. "The Presby system... will provide the same benefits that we're seeking with equal distribution," Sardi told the board.
In discussion, board members said a hydrogeologic study might inform protective measures but also noted that moving to a Presby distribution could reduce localized overloading without requiring a pump-based pressure-dose system. Staff outlined that the town's regulation allows the board to request either a pressure distribution system or a hydrogeologic study when systems are within 100 feet of a coastal bank.
A motion to continue the application to July 8 passed, with the applicant to submit revised plans showing the Presby distribution paired with the chosen nitrogen-reducing components. The continuation preserves the applicant's opportunity to revise designs rather than seek immediate variances; the hearing will reopen July 8 with the new submission.
