Board approves Advantex septic upgrade and variances for 450 Lieutenant Island Rd

The Wellfleet Board of Health voted July 8 to approve a septic-system upgrade plan for 450 Lieutenant Island Road that replaces two existing cesspools with an Advantex treatment unit and grants several local variances.

Laura Schofield of Schofield Brothers described the 15,110-square-foot lot within the Wellfleet Harbor ACEC and said the proposal eliminates two cesspools and provides a smaller leaching footprint by using an Advantex treatment unit. Schofield said the design maximizes setback distance to the coastal bank, private well and a seasonally ponded groundwater area, and noted she is requesting a 13 mg/L treatment standard and several local upgrade approvals including reductions to property-line and leaching-field setbacks.

Board members asked about the impervious barrier material and whether the leach-field reductions complied with Title 5 allowances; Schofield said the barrier is heavy-duty vinyl and that the plan proposes a 22% leach-field reduction (Title 5 allows up to 25%). One member noted consultant Gary had reviewed the plan and was comfortable with the reductions. A motion to approve the Schofield Brothers plan (no. 0-1-2762 dated 06/30/2026) and grant the requested variances was made, seconded and approved. Conditions include limiting design flow to 343 gallons per day for a four-bedroom house, well-water testing, annual pump-out and abandonment and removal or filling of the existing cesspools, plus a recorded restrictive covenant.

The approval reflects the board’s judgment that the proposed system is a significant improvement over existing cesspools in this coastal setting, while balancing setback and footprint constraints through local upgrade approvals and protective conditions.