Sewage Treatment Systems

Fairfield County remains one of the fastest-growing counties in the state, with nearly 82,000 new residents expected by 2030, and with that growth comes an increase in sewage treatment systems.

The Fairfield County Health Department oversees the siting, design, and installation of Household Sewage Treatment Systems (HSTS), Small Flow Onsite Sewage Treatment Systems (SFOSTS), and Gray Water Recycling Systems (GWRS):

• HSTS, septic systems for one-, two-, or three-family dwellings.
• SFOSTS, systems treating no more than 1,000 gallons of sewage per day, e.g. a church or small business without access to municipal sewer.
• GWRS, systems that treat and recycle wastewater from lavatories, bathtubs, showers, and laundry that does not contain food or bodily wastes.

The program issues permits for new installations, replacements, and alterations, and registers household sewage treatment installers, service providers, and pumpers operating within Fairfield County. Any installation or alteration work requires a permit.

1. Get an address for the property. Contact the Fairfield County Engineer's office to apply for an address. Clear the lot of high weeds, crops, etc. before design review.
2. Obtain a soil report from a soil professional. The health department does not register, certify, or recommend soil professionals. A soil testing report is required with every new-system application, for every lot, regardless of size or creation date.
3. Receive a Calculation Worksheet. FDH returns a worksheet with HSTS options based on your soil report. Provide it to your installer, designer, or engineer as design guidance.
4. Choose a registered installer. Select from the list of installers registered in Fairfield County. All are licensed and bonded; the department does not rate or recommend installers.
5. Submit your design proposal. Provide the design proposal, soil reports, permit application, and fee to the health department.

1. Get an assigned address from the Fairfield County Engineer's office, by phone at 740-652-2300 or through the Engineer's website (opens in a new window, leaves this site).
2. Have a soil evaluation done. Contact a certified soil scientist/evaluator to conduct a soil evaluation on your lot. See the list of certified soil evaluators.
3. Submit for site & design review. Send the soil evaluation report, the Site & Design Review Application, and the fee to FDH to determine the potential types and sizes of STS for your lot. By mail or in person: Fairfield County Health Department, 1550 Sheridan Drive, Suite 100, Lancaster, Ohio 43130. By email: or .
4. Receive a Calculation Worksheet. FDH returns a worksheet with HSTS options based on your soil report.
5. Have your system designed. Provide the Calculation Worksheet to your septic system installer, designer, or engineer as design guidance. See the list of registered installers or the ODH designer/installer list (opens in a new window, leaves this site).
6. Submit your design for approval. Send the design to FDH for review and approval based on OAC 3701-29-10 (same mail, in-person, or email options as above).
7. Pick up your permit. Front desk staff will contact you when the HSTS permit is completed and ready for pickup and payment.

Not sure which permit you need for an existing system? Answer these questions:

• Are you experiencing a failure within your leaching (surfacing of effluent) that needs replacing?
• Are you abandoning your existing system/leaching to relocate it elsewhere on the property?

If yes to either, apply for a Replacement Permit. If no to both, consider:

• Are you replacing an existing residence with a new house of the same size and connecting to the existing system?
• Are you keeping existing leaching but replacing the tank or a component with similar parts? (Aerator motor and riser replacements do not require a permit.)

If yes to either, apply for an Alteration Permit. If unsure, contact the Environmental Office to speak with an Environmental Health Specialist.